“It made me sick.”
Following a steady drip-feeding of singles over the past year, Denver-based metallic hardcore/nu-metal group Fox Lake are back with their latest EP, Fear & Loathing. Containing the four aforementioned singles, as well as an instrumental interlude and an additional unreleased track, the EP sees the Colorado quartet continue to try and carve their own space into the burgeoning nu-metal revival of recent years.
Pulling its title from Hunter S. Thompson’s novel of the same name, Fear & Loathing loosely continues the casino themes and motifs used for Fox Lake’s 2021 EP Lady Luck. The title of the instrumental interlude in the back half of Fear & Loathing—”36.1716° N, 115.1391° W”—is even the coordinates for the middle of Downtown Las Vegas. But for all the chaos of the notoriously drug-fueled misadventures of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas’ Raoul Duke and Doctor Gonzo, Fox Lake’s own trip to Sin City is relatively tame in comparison.
While the soundscapes explored across Fear & Loathing aren’t particularly new or groundbreaking, the members of Fox Lake work hard to display their exemplary musicianship and high energy. The groovy, high-octane riffing from guitarist Brandon Kemp and the thick, gritty tones from bassist Zach Swafford, backed by the dynamic time-keeping of drummer Griffith Johnson, provide the backdrop for frontman and vocalist Nathan Johnson to do his thing.
Nathan’s commanding presence across the EP is enough to pull his own weight—however, some lackluster and repetitive lyricism takes away some of the impact his performances would otherwise have. While the tracks “Higher”, “Dog Eat Dog”, and “Blood of the Machine” fall prey to this, they are at least salvaged by the rest of the group’s tightly crafted instrumental work and pummelling, albeit predictable, breakdown sections.
While Fear & Loathing doesn’t contain as much outright rapping as the group’s 2020 debut record Silence & Violence did, “Gaslight” sees the return of Nathan’s hardcore hip-hop flow, with the frontman putting his rapid-fire delivery and rap skills on display in a much-needed return to form. Entering the back half of the track, Marc Zelli is predictably pissed in his feature, injecting the track with a dose of some of the unbridled rage the Paleface Swiss frontman is known for.
Final single “Hammer and Nail” helps to further breathe some more life into Fear & Loathing with yet another feature, this time from Like Moths to Flames frontman Chris Roetter. An established presence in the modern metalcore scene, Roetter’s distinctive voice meshes well with Nathan’s, with the two vocalists going toe-to-toe in the back half of the track. While Fox Lake certainly made the most of their two features on Fear & Loathing—with both Zelli and Roetter helping to add some additional grit and some much-needed, fleshed out lyricism.
At this point in their career, Fox Lake have a solid foundation beneath them, thanks to both their own talent and hard work, as well as that of their contemporaries in a revitalized scene. While at times Fear & Loathing falls flat due to its middling lyricism, Fox Lake have at least proven themselves a capable and dynamic act worth keeping an eye on, in a scene that seems to become more crowded by the day. But whether the group utilizes the tools they’ve been given to push past the boundaries they’ve confined themselves to remains to be seen.
7/10
Fear & Loathing is out this Friday June 16th via Blood Blast Distribution. Links to Fox Lake’s store and socials, as well as a link to pre-save the EP, can be found here.