In Fear And Faith - Your World On Fire (2009)

Rise Records has a way with surprising me with their early January releases. While the whole metalcore scene doesn't exactly coincide with my usual musical preferences, I try to give everything a fair shot, and early last year I was rewarded with For the Fallen Dreams' Changes and the now-defunct Here I Come Falling's Oh Grave, Where Is Thy Victory. The former's skill at intertwining atmospheric guitar lines with thundering riffs and the latter's knack with a hook made them both a cut above what I would have expected. Just about a year later, enter In Fear and Faith with their debut full-length Your World on Fire, the follow-up to their late-2007 EP Voyage. Make no mistake about it, Your World on Fire is not a scene-changing record. In Fear and Faith are far from the first band to pit soaring hooks in a head-to-head battle against brutal breakdowns, but they're good enough at it that they're sure to make some serious waves.
Despite being relatively new kids on the block, In Fear and Faith draw some high profile guest appearances in the form of Craig Owens (Chiodos) and Jeremy McKinnon (A Day to Remember). I can't say I'm a real fan of either frontman or their bands, but both make valuable contributions. "The Road to Hell Is Paved with Good Intentions" is one of the strongest tracks, due in part to Owens' delivery. In addition to having a Chiodos-like title, the song features some twinkling piano that wouldn't have sounded out-of-place on Bone Palace Ballet and perhaps the best use of melody on the record.
For the band who drew their name from a much-beloved track from Juturna (a better choice than "The Glorious Nosebleed," I must say), this is a worthy effort in a oversaturated genre. While there are countless bands falling under the general rubric of metalcore who can bring the breakdowns and vocal vitriol, fewer do melody quite so skillfully, while incorporating some captivating piano sections as well. Go in with the right expectations andYour World on Fire is an enjoyable release that will likely satisfy the palate of anyone looking for an aural pummeling with some catchy hooks on the side.

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