Title: Full Speed Ahead
Artist: Fanoe
Genre: Electronic Rock / Industrial Rock
Release Day: 9th July 2010
Label: Thexoomo / Broken Silence
Introduction
FANOE is an electronic rock / industrial outfit from Zurich (Switzerland) that was founded in 2005 by Klaus Fanoe (vocals, guitars), who gave the band its name and who is also the creative force behind the band as he writes and composes all the music. According to their rather dusky maxim “Those who are about to die salute you!” the band, which also consists of Ari Rossi on guitar, Diana Perola on bass and Marco Trachsel on drums, has quickly managed to win over the Swiss electronic scene with their debut album Empire Dirt (2005). In the same year, they were also presented with the opportunity to be the openers for the renowned gothic metal band SISTERS OF MERCY and they were able to play in several bigger clubs throughout Switzerland.
In 2006, they went on to play at the famous German Wave-Gotik Treffen in Leipzig and had one of their singles being played on Swiss music TV. Two years later, they released their second album ‘Down To Heaven’ and decided to give away both of their albums as a free download on their official homepage. With their newest output ‘Full Speed Ahead’, FANOE are finally taking their music to a new level, while still dealing with the fear, drive, and abyss of humankind - themes that have always been central to their music and ideology.
Album Review
The first thing that comes into one’s mind while listening to FANOE’s third album ‘Full Speed Ahead’ is that Trent Reznor would probably be really proud of the four-piece if they were under his wings. In fact, the album is characterized by obvious NINE INCH NAILS influences, especially in the vocals, the general vibe of the songs, and the synth beats. A song like ‘Fuck You’ for example, can easily be described as FANOE’s counterpart to NIN’s ‘Starfuckers Inc.’ as I’ve noticed some striking similarities between these songs (not only because of the use of the word “Fuck” in both song titles). Songs like ‘Only You’ and ‘Pig Inside’ also bear some resemblances to typical NINE INCH NAILS songs (ironically, this can also again be seen in the song names) but all in all one should also not merely peg FANOE as an uninspired NINE INCH NAILS copycat.
No, this would not do the band justice, because they definitely stick out with some great and also very atmospheric moments on this CD. The most extraordinary track might be the Beatles cover ‘Come Together’ wherein the band adds a nice batch of electronic beats and rock riffs to the original, which suits it surprisingly well. A special Beethoven intro also exposes FANOE’s diversity in musical influences, and in general the album can be considered a solid electronic rock piece with some major industrial and synth/wave influences: Also it offer moving and oftentimes distorted vocals that can both be loud or powerful as well as calm and dark, repetitive lyrics (e.g. in the song ‘Pig Inside’ where Klaus Fanoe never gets tired of singing “You cannot kill the pain inside of me”), monotonous beats, rocking riffs, and tempo variations.
The interplay between the synths and the heavy guitars mostly turns out well, as well as the symbiosis between heaviness, melodies, and electronics. The work on the drums is also very impressive at times and furnishes the songs with an appropriate amount of rhythm and groove that invites the listener to constantly shake his head or tap his foot (e.g. in the song ‘All For Nothing’ which is one of the best songs on the album). Nevertheless, the album also contains some typical “fillers” (such as ‘Falling’ and ‘Wild Card’) and sometimes one wishes for some more variation, some more rising tension, or a faster tempo (especially since the album is called ‘Full Speed Ahead’), so let’s say there is still room for improvement and further development which I hope will take place on future releases of the band!
Tracklist
01. Overture
02. Only You
03. Narcotica
04. Full Speed Ahead
05. All For Nothing
06. Fuck You
07. Come Together (The Beatles Cover)
08. Falling
09. Fire
10. Pig Inside
11. Wild Card
12. Dive
13. Grace
Line-up
Klaus Fanoe - Vocals, Guitar
Ari Rossi - Guitar
Diana Perola - Bass
Marco Trachsel - Drums
Website
http://www.fanoe.ch/ / http://www.myspace.com/fanoe
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 7.5
Sound: 7
Extras: -
Total: 7.3 / 10
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