My Fate: Room For Regret

Ten years is a milestone that many bands fail to reach, so it is rightly something for Finland's My Fate to be proud of and whilst not an anniversary celebration, it is fitting that in that tenth year the band have finally managed to get album number three released. The band's first effort Happiness Is Fiction, which followed two EPs saw the light of day in 2003, before Kill The Light kept up the momentum two years later. The sound over those releases and one further EP in 2007 would best be described as aggressive, yet melodic metal that leans on classic thrash and metal acts from the past, but manages to add in a few elements that makes for a decent mix of old and new. I suppose a fitting comparison would be to a less produced or sharp Fear Factory trying to get the vibe of Machine Head.

The guitars of Jaakko Jarvensivo and Mikko Lehtinen are both sharp and focused, whereas vocally, as you've probably guessed by now, Jukka Ruostila spends most of his time screaming and growling. As is mandatory these days, those animal noises are interspersed with some "clean" vocals, which truth be told are actually Jukka's weakest point, as he is much more convincing when howling in a way that doubtless makes his neck bulge and his veins make a bid for freedom. As for the songs themselves, well it is tough to criticise a band that play with such conviction and focus, however it is extremely difficult to pick out any of the songs as really standing out from the pack, or offering something that you haven't heard countless times before. What My Fate do achieve though is to pack huge dollops of energy and effort into every song and even when the likes of "Reptile", "Snap" or "Dead Shell" roar past in a similar vein to that of a huge amount of bands, it is hard to stop yourself being sucked in by the pummelling beats of Vilho Rajala and pounding rhythms of bassist Roope Lehtinen, or be carried along a tidal wave of riffage. There is also some interesting dynamics hinted at as the album runs its course, with the beautiful melancholic guitar playing that works into a pointed gallop of drums and bass on "Run Dry, Drop Dead" or the dark atmosphere of the untitled bonus track, offering something slightly different from the rest of Room For Regret.

I doubt very much that My Fate intended to break any real new ground with their third full album, however it is a reasonably strong effort, although one that never gets close to setting the world alight.

Track Listing
1. Unchained
2. Reptile
3. Fulfilth
4. Forgot The Sun
5. Run Dry, Drop Dead
6. Snap
7. Giant Collapse
8. Dead Shell
9. Won't You Already Die

Added: May 27th 2010
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: My Fate MySpace
Hits: 1879
Language: english

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