Fed To The Ocean - Keep On - Album Review

Fed To The Ocean

Keep On

Track listing:

1 - 1984

2 - InDependent (Ft. Max Campbell)

3 - Un-noticed

4 - Human Condition 

5 - Never Fade

6 - Part II

7 - 500 Roads 

8 - Keep On (Ft. Kadeem France)

Manchester hardcore outfit Fed To The Ocean have really delivered their debut album 'Keep On'. The eight track album demonstrates yet more extraordinary talent that is lurking in the British hardcore scene. 

1984: A short and sweet introduction to the album, nothing really to say for or against it. It gives a sense of what is to come and does it's intended job of making the listener want to hear some more of the album.

InDependent: A track that doesn't really stand out to me, it's just there. It does, of course, pave way for the next track and keep your attention, but that being said it just doesn't leap out and grab you. 

Un-noticed: This is more like it. A mixture of throat vocals and shouts really give the band a solid depth to work with on their music and the addition of clean/vocal chants is a very nice touch. I feel that if they had incorporated something similar into InDependent then it may have been a better track, but that being said it may have also taken that something special away from Un-noticed had that been the case, excellent track non the less. 

Human Condition: The pace is picked up which aids the vocals a lot more than a slower tempo songs which the past two slightly were. A very energetic track which would most definitely be the type of track to wake the audience up at a live show and it transfers well on to recording.

Never Fade: More shout orientated than previous songs (as opposed to actual throat vocals) which works really well, it gives the band more options in their song writing process and sets them apart from the average hardcore/death metal/ what ever other genre these kinds of bands are listed under these days. More clean vocals thrown into the background which are a brilliant addition, an addition that I believe should be looked at more closely and incorporated into many more future tracks, not to make the band sound more commercial but to set them apart from the millions of other bands doing the exact same thing.

Part II: Very similar to Never Fade, very good track with the cleans, throats and shouts all coming together to push the band in a direction other hardcore bands just can't go in. 

500 Roads: A track that really demonstrates the technical ability of the band and again shows their competence to be more than they currently are and it makes a great closing for the final track.

Keep On: When you name a track after the album or vice versa you always assume that the title track is going to be the strongest on said album, but in this case I don't think that is correct. Don't get me wrong, it is a great single and, again, shows the band off to the world, but I can't help but feel that the band have stronger singles on the album to work off in the future.

The album shows that Fed To The Ocean have two, maybe three ways to go about business in the future. Number one is that they continue down the path they are on and relay on their ability to shine through the mass amount of shit bands competing in the same market. Step two is they incorporate shouts and screams more prominently into their work to give them something different that others don't have. And step three is, of course, include the clean vocals a bit more, sure it won't make them the hardcore band they currently are but in the long run it will appeal to more people as well as keeping the current fans happy and it will pull them away from a market that is very hard to break out of. 

All in all an excellent album with many points to look at for the band, a great listen, a great promise for the future of the British music scene, well done lads.

- Adam, Editor