Only ever release an album if you have enough songs to justify it. Otherwise, you’re just a band putting out an EP with a bunch of filler around it. And it seems Chasing Dragons were more than aware of this as it’s been two years since their last EP, toiling away to make sure they’ve had enough songs to justify such a release.
Thankfully, Faction isn’t an EP with filler. Each song has been carefully crafted to ensure the dozen tracks found on it are worthy. And by the time nu-metal-ish quasi-title track (and opener) “Factionless” and venomous “How the World Went Black” are finished, they’ve told you exactly what they’re about. Short, punchy songs which don’t mess around with riffs to match, though there’s plenty of melodic moments and technical skills to keep it interesting. Meanwhile, there’s massive drums and vocals which wouldn’t sound out of place in most symphonic metal bands.
Whilst the influences are fairly obvious such as Halestorm, Avenged Sevenfold and Bullet for My Valentine, how they twist it into their own sound is what keeps this to be an engaging record. Alongside that is the fine balance of ensuring the songs are similar enough to each other for a consistent album but enough variation to show they’re not a one-trick pony. As such, you’ve got an album heavy enough to keep a metal fan amused but wanting to welcome in those who enjoy their rock as hard as it gets.
As riffs fly throughout, they’ve got the chunkiness you’d expect but there’s also lean bravado to them from their more melodic and serene moments. They come together excellently on neck-snapper “Parasite” with Kate’s frenetic drumming as Tank’s vocals run the gamut of what she’s able to do. However, it’s not all high-octane numbers as they’re able to bring it down several gears with songs like “The Time is Ours” and “The Connection”. Whilst they’re both great songs, their strength lies in the up-tempo numbers and it’s obvious they’ve been included because the band believe in the songs, not just shoe-horned in to tick the ballad box.
Faction is a great album and the meticulousness of ensuring everything is of a high standard is obvious to anyone listening. Chasing Dragons haven’t rushed this, marshalling everything they have into a succinct record. Instead, they’ve taken time to make the best album they can, for pre-existing fans, it’ll likely have been worth the wait and for newcomers like myself, it’s solid to make you sit up and take notice.
Faction is out now
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