{"id":25739,"date":"2015-03-18T00:01:32","date_gmt":"2015-03-18T00:01:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=25739"},"modified":"2015-03-18T15:42:22","modified_gmt":"2015-03-18T15:42:22","slug":"album-review-fm-heroes-and-villains","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-fm-heroes-and-villains\/","title":{"rendered":"FM – Heroes And Villains (2015) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

FM
Heroes And Villains<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nFrontiers (2015)<\/span>
Rating: 9\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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In 2014 British rockers FM celebrated 30 years in the music business, and with new album Heroes And Villains<\/em> we get a set of solid hard rock songs that will stand as testament to that fantastic career. Now, I own a lot of FM albums but have to say that this latest offering is definitely one of their best; a really chunky, catchy and above all classy slab of rock.<\/p>\n

The album opens with the brilliant \u2018Digging Up The Dirt\u2019, which is one of the best tracks I\u2019ve heard so far this year. From its slick opening fizzle to that killer riff I\u2019m reminded as to why nothing beats a fiery slab of cosy British rock. Sure, it\u2019s nothing innovative, but boy it\u2019s pure and soulful and oddly hints at Def Leppard, with Jim Kirkpatrick\u2019s effortless guitar tone creating a cool foundation for a song that remains timeless in its quality.<\/p>\n

Steve Overland\u2019s vocals never fail to raise a smile within my heart as they soar in graceful, smooth fashion over Pete Jupp\u2019s steady drum backdrop. It\u2019s classic rock, nothing more and nothing less, and at most times this is all you need in life; just be thankful that FM have supplied such gems in abundance over the course of nine studio albums.<\/p>\n

The band is of course masters of aching melody too. \u2018You\u2019re The Best Thing About Me\u2019 is an upgraded dose of 80s power ballad buffoonery, while \u2018Fire And Rain\u2019 almost, dare I say it, begins like a hip-hop track before the guitars and percussion come rushing in to make it an orgasmic struttin\u2019 funked up rock stomp. Where FM keep finding so many ideas from is beyond me, but to carve them and construct them into such timeless gems baffles me even further. Literally every track is a winner here, especially the AOR ascension of \u2018Call On Me\u2019, the hair metal rush of \u2018Cold Hearted\u2019 with its cool, sassy lick, and the simple yet driving shimmy and shakes of \u2018Some Days I Only Wanna Rock And Roll\u2019 and \u2018I Want You\u2019.<\/p>\n

FM have proven to be the masters of simplicity time and time again, and whereas many acts would be condemned for being formulaic in their uncomplicated manner there\u2019s just something so special about this collection of modest designs which are completely removed of manufactured pomp and prissy ego. Right down to the heartbreaking \u2018Walking With The Angels\u2019, Heroes And Villains<\/em> is a truly rewarding opus from the rulers of their trade.<\/p>\n

Neil Arnold<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

FMHeroes And Villains Frontiers (2015)Rating: 9\/10 In 2014 British rockers FM celebrated 30 years in the music business, and with new album Heroes And Villains we get a set of solid hard rock songs that will stand as testament to that fantastic career. Now, I own a lot of FM albums but have to say […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,1805],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25739","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-ep-reviews","category-fm"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25739","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25739"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25739\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25765,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25739\/revisions\/25765"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25739"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25739"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25739"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}