Fight The Fade – Apophysitis
Release Date: 22nd July 2022
Label: FiXT
Bandcamp
Genre: Alternative, Rock, Metal, Nu-Metal.
FFO: Linkin Park, Skillet, I Prevail.
Review By: Ross Bowie
Fight The Fade are back with their new album Apophysitis, the band look to meld anthemic rock choruses, hard driven guitar riffs and a dalliance of electronics. The follow up to 2020’s In. Love. In Hope. In Peace has delivered 14 tracks for fans to sink their long-awaited teeth into. The band have seen success with their cover of Echosmith’s “Cool Kids” doing the rounds on alternative TikTok, leading to the band now having more eyes on them than ever.
Apophysitis isn’t an album that is short of ideas, however, a lot of the ideas aren’t Fight The Fade’s. It would be impossible to listen to the opening track on this record and not mutter the words, Linkin Park. Bands are always going to be inspired by each other and that’s the beauty of music, but the best artists take those influences and meld them with unique ideas and put their own creative spin on them to make a product which is their own. When Matter Of Time started with the electronics and vocal effects, a degree of panic began to set in that this album was going to be a long haul. Unfortunately, those initial fears were correct…
It’s completely normal and often expected for bands who are chasing the American radio rock hype train to include some generic electronics, to try and fit in with the crowd and chase current trends. When incorporating these elements, it becomes quickly apparent which bands have a genuine understanding of electronic music and who is trying to boost their monthly streaming numbers by following the crowd. Fight The Fade find themselves in the latter category. The electronics deployed across the album miss the mark, time and time again, and instead of adding anything they become a detriment to the overall songs themselves.
Across the albums absurd run time, the only song that seems to get the balance correct of arena ready rock and electronics is Old Wounds. This track injects some pace into the band and lets the vocalist Zene Smith utilise his harsher vocals to bounce off the now heavier guitar work. The blend the band achieve here make the song easily the highlight of the album and the sound hopefully they chase next time around, but it’s the only time the ideas that are being thrown around stick.
By the time Monster rolled around, my generic radio rock bingo card was almost full as the band take a shot at writing their Imagine Dragons inspired song, before Letting Go delivers the more mellow clean track accompanied by vocalist Massie for good measure. Just as I started to wonder if I would ever get a full house, the “Fun” up-tempo clapping song arrives in the form of Stratosphere to seal the deal.
It’s not that Fight The Fade can’t write songs because they have shown at rare moments they can deliver some quality, the problem with Apophysitis is the ideas that are going into it are easily found by any other band on American radio, and they’re often better executed. Fans of the band will be happy to have the band back, but winning over new fans could be a tall order for the Midwest rockers. 
(1 / 5)
