Album Review: Feed Her To The Sharks - 'Savage Seas'

Feed Her To The Sharks are one of the more hardworking bands in the Australian metalcore scene. In recent years, you haven't had to look very hard or very far to see their name popping up somewhere, whether it be on the bill for a show or local festival, or simply hearing of them by word of mouth. The Melbourne based band have been carving their name into the national metalcore scene in a big way in recent years, something which they seek to strengthen with their latest release, 'Savage Seas'.

Opening with the title track, the group sets the tone for the whole album. Heavy, fast, and unrelenting. After the 90 second intro to the album, FHTTS waste no time getting into the swing of things, hitting you with a brutal, overpowering wall of sound that is bound to please any of their fans. The track wastes no time on anything too flashy here, aside from the occasional guitar lick between phrases, setting the tone for an album that takes the band to a sound that much heavier than what they are already known for.

As soon as 'Memory of You' kicks in, the band start to show off some of the more technical side of their abilities. You can't help but admire some of the lead guitar work of Marinos Katsanevas, not just on this track, but through the whole album, dishing out some very impressive riffs and solos. All of this is complimented rather nicely by the bands use of electronic sounds, managing to give a bit of a twist to the music, without 'drowning' the music in a sea of effects and synths.

The album isn't just full of strong points though. The vocals leave a lot of room for improvement, especially in the higher register. In tracks like 'Sink or Swim' and 'Take Me Back', it sounds as if the vocalist is struggling just a bit too hard to hit those clean high notes, and similarly when he goes into his higher register when screaming, he loses a lot of the power in his voice.

There is also a lack of much diversity, with a lot of the album just having the same basic sound to it, which can get very boring. There are also times where it feels like a massive chugfest, with breakdown after breakdown just watering things down,which is a shame given how much potential is shown here.

All in all, 'Savage Seas' is an impressive effort, which will give the band a step-up they need to get further in their career. This is an album that will not only be loved by fans of the band, but by other fans of the genre who may not yet have been won over by the band's previous efforts.

1. Savage Seas

2. Memory of You

3. Sink or Swim

4. Fuck Melbourne

5. Shore of Loneliness

6. Buried Alive

7. Take Me Back

8. Save Yourself

9. Death's Design