Demos

F451 - The New Empire E.P

Joe Coyle 08/06/2005

Rating: 3/5

Potential. Fahrenheit 451 possesses a lot of potential. Currently lurking underneath a sometime lacklustre surface there are elements to the band, which could see them break out. Listening to the E.P, I sometimes felt a sense of disappointment that the band, in some places, don't appear to have stretched themselves.The lyrics are reasonable, but not as emotive as I would like. The alienation of the lyrics would have been much better illustrated if a bit of human emotion had managed to weave its way into them. But occasionally as in the breakdown of Everything you know is wrong the band get it completely right. The musicianship of the breakdown proves that the band have it in them, to be a bit different and separate themselves from the glut of punk bands currently around.
Science is Everything is the lead track on the E.P and lyrically and musically the most straight forward. The Tracks Buzzcocksian undertones mixed with Manic Street Preachers philosophy make strange bedfellows at first but by the second chorus everything seems pretty straightforward. This is on the better side, of average but only just.
Everything you know is wrong is definitely the superior track of the E.P with its aforementioned breakdown that hints at depths not fully mined. Lyrically it is slightly better than the other two tracks although as in all the lyrics in the E.P they are very impersonal. They are Passionate yes, but sometimes impersonal.
The last track The New Empire is the least inspired track on the E.P, lacking the immediacy of the other tracks, after a promising start the song descends into a sub Manics rant that is only slightly redeemed by the chorus. Definitely not the strongest track on the E.P
Fahrenheit 451 have the potential to be something special and out of the ordinary: but on this evidence they are only half way there. The Dynamics of the music as well as Lyrics need to be honed to lift themselves ahead of the competition.
In conclusion… not a bad EP, Fahrenheit 451 have definite potential.www.F451.org.uk