Before There Was Rosalyn
The Fuhrer: An Allegory Of A History Of Deception
6.4
Norma Jean, Spitfire, The Chariot, and Scarlet. Mix them together and water them down, and you have Before There Was Rosalyn. I could literally end the review right there and you’d know exactly how The Fuhrer: An Allegory Of A History Of Deception turns out, but we have a three sentence minimum at this site, so I might as well try to elaborate since I’m here anyway.
It looks like Jesus Christ is alive and well in Houston, Texas, bound in swaddling breakdowns, and bathed in praises on high. I have no problem with this, but what I do have a problem with is the mundane nature of the music itself. Sure, “The Prophet” is a rather beautiful song in parts, the vocal melodies that begin “The Revealer” are sort of cool, and “The Deceiver” pretty much rocks all the way through to its very Scarlet-like conclusion, but there’s such a thin line between passion and pretension that you can’t tell the difference most of the time. It’s as if the Lord himself reached down and produced the damn thing, I’ll give them that much, it sounds like a million bucks, and their own lyrical stance seems to express their own experiences rather than venomously condemning you to eternal hell, so I can respect that they openly cater to a specific audience rather than emulating Fred Phelps. But I already own Bless The Martyr, Self-Help, and This Was Always Meant To Fall Apart, and I’ve listened to the entire catalog from The Chariot, so if you have done close to the same as I have, then you know what to expect. They give us lilting cleans, impressive roars, occasional cleanly rendered digitalized guitars, power strumming along with arrhythmic breakdowns that feature a somewhat wide range of tempo speeds, and all of it is done with a decent amount of class, style, and personality. Case closed.
If you’re a fan of devoutly Christian metalcore, and are looking for a blandly spirited, fractionally obnoxious take on the style, then I cannot recommend The Fuhrer enough, because Before There Was Rosalyn really appear to be making a move to become the new face of the genre. I hope they packed a lunch, since it looks like it might take them a while. God bless ‘em.
