![]() This refraining from the musicians in the band means that the project effectively hinges on how well the frontman performs. The overbearing hip-hop production tends to only let up in the soaring choruses, which are easily the highlight of the album, but at no point do they deviate from generic power chords and crash cymbal beats. Nearly every track has the potential to be good and seemingly gets sabotaged by poor decisions along the way. In a way, Butler’s shortcomings on “Inglewood” perfectly encapsulate what’s so problematic about Fever 333’s effort here. The song’s lyrics have the potential to make a monumental statement, and instead they fall flat from an awkward delivery. The few times Butler offers legitimately insightful lyrics, like on ballad “Inglewood,” he chooses to rap and sounds like he’s appropriating the style rather than actually utilizing it. I wholeheartedly support his perspective and political statements, but too often he waters down his message into catchphrases, callbacks to famous events, and generic “we’re mad as hell and we’re not going to take it” cliches. We know what the musicians recording this music are capable of, but what’s the point if we never actually get to hear their personalities?īutler’s vocal work is unapologetically the focal point of Strength in Numb333rs, and in similar fashion to the album’s production, he struggles with finding a reliable balance between his rapping, singing, and shouting. I’m not sure who it’s meant to appeal to, but no one should be satisfied with the outcome. As the album progresses, the separation of these genres into trite imitations gets increasingly frustrating. There are hip-hop parts, there are hardcore parts, but both are so diluted that the song’s only identity becomes that of cheesy rap-rock vocals. When the second part of “Prey for Me” (the not-so-cleverly-named “3”) kicks in, that balance gets thrown woefully off-course. “Burn It” and “Prey for Me” are appropriately anthemic and the electronic elements feel like the flourishes that they should be. ![]() They find genuine success in the album’s early tracks, where the genres seem to complement each other. It’s tricky to balance a fusion of hip-hop and hardcore, and Fever 333 deserve credit for when they do it right. ![]() So much of the album’s runtime is funneled through a hip-hop filter that strips away any musical character and leaves the listener with an abundance of vocals and lyrics that simply can’t carry the weight that’s asked of them. Unfortunately, those moments are contrasted with a lackluster production philosophy. There are brilliant moments to be found all across the album, where the riffs of Stephen Harrison, beats of Aric Improta, and vocal mania of Jason Butler check all the boxes and live up to the expectations that the band's members bring with them from their previous projects. They have all the ingredients for making the scorching political and musical statement that they seem so keen on broadcasting, and every so often that potential actually manifests itself. Group Units Group Units this Character is in:įirst page under characters is where the unit information is.Review Summary: Why does a meal with great ingredients taste so stale?Īt every turn on Strength in Numb333rs, Fever 333 seem to be on the cusp of doing something great.
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