Album Review: Feed Her To The Sharks - Savage Seas

Think Triple M and Melbourne's cock-rock radio station probably springs to mind. As far as Feed Her To The Sharks (FHTTS) are concerned, Triple M's better defined as Mad Melbourne Metalcore (or Modern Melodic Metal as the band's previously stated). Either description's apt as Savage Seas is as mad as anything released this year.

In three short years Melbourne's FHTTS have risen from niche Melbourne metalcore ensemble to a band with a burgeoning international reputation. The band's take on electronic and melodic metal's progressed since their debut, The Beauty Of Falling, with their clever yet stealth-like strategy of integrating electronic influences below dominant guitars and thrashing drums. Comparisons with fellow Aussies Parkway Drive are as inevitable as they are consistent, yet justified as throughout Savage Seas the similarities are obvious. But that's not to say that Savage Seas is a disappointment; far from it. The album's savage all right – nine tracks of such relentless speed and energy that it's easy to sweat just listening to the damn thing. 

Lead single, Memory Of You, is a bona fide metalcore track with a memorable guitar solo before Andrew Vanderzalm's bellowing voice takes over. The unkindly titled Fuck Melbourne has enough whirling guitars to satisfy all, while Buried Alive, one of the best tracks, has a synth-driven mid-section and a roaring bass that kicks along as Vanderzalm howls. Take Me Back is another pick as the easy drum pattern pounds to Vanderzalm's crisp vocal. There are enough breakdowns, electronic stabs, furious drums and well-written lyrics scattered throughout Savage Seas to make this savage enough to feed anyone's appetite.