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Album Review

36 Crazy Fists – “Lanterns” [Album Review]

Truth be told, Lanterns comes across as really quite generic in its sound and, after several listens through, I still struggle to pick anything that stands out from the crowd.

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When you think of Alaska you don’t really think of nu metal, but this is exactly where 36 Crazyfists started their career back in 1994. Now, some would say the “nu” scene died some years back but, as long as groups like 36CF exist, this will never be the case. Enter their eighth studio album and with it, Brock Lindow and crew are making the statement that they are not yet done!

Truth be told, Lanterns comes across as really quite generic in its sound and, after several listens through, I still struggle to pick anything that stands out from the crowd. It’s not bad by any means, just perhaps a little mediocre. The title track “Death Eater” is the perfect example of how uninspiring it is. “Wars to Walk Away From” does improve the initial dull feeling with tight metal guitar riffs, but only a little. Things do change up when it comes to the slower numbers of this album like “Sea and Smoke” and “Where Revenge Ends”, but it feels nothing more than the required tunes needed to add variety before the record heads back into a standard metal fodder.

The truth is, I really want to like this album because, after hearing 2004’s A Snow Capped Romance, I was hooked! The band have also had several enjoyable releases in-between, but this just didn’t grab me the way I’d hoped. The great thing about music though, is it’s a matter of opinion. Just because I wasn’t blown away by this record, doesn’t mean others won’t. As I said before, there’s nothing inherently wrong with this release, it just felt it was lacking that kick and any fan of the band will agree, they are very capable of producing amazing songs. It’s just my opinion; this time, they didn’t quite hit the mark.

Lanterns Track Listing:

01. Death Eater
02. Wars to Walk Away From
03. Better to Burn
04. Damage Under the Sun
05. Sea and Smoke
06. Where Revenge Ends
07. Sleepsick
08. Bandage for Promise
09. Laying Hands
10. Below the Graves
11. Old Gold
12. Dark Corners

Run Time: 46:43
Release Date: September 29, 2017

Stream the band’s new single “Better To Burn”

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