FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH | And Justice For None | Album Review

It feels like with every interesting attraction there is always that one that visitors want to stay far away from. This applies to the album release schedule from April to the first half of May. With so many great albums this year, it is unfortunate that there is one derailment to add to the list in the form of Five Finger Death Punch and their seventh studio effort "And Justice For None". Looking at the current scheme of modern rock, it feels like this is a band that radio and media alike loves to death even though every single bit of appeal they have is almost nonexistent. It didn't start out that way with the first two discs from this band, "Way Of The Fist" and "War Is The Answer" being solid pieces of groove metal that weren't revolutionary but had somewhat of a backbone behind them. Cut to the 2010's with albums like the flawed but okay "American Capitalist", and three disgraces of albums after that that will go nameless, and it really feels like less quality music and more facepalming moments and outright discomfort. "And Justice For None" comes after an unbelievable amount of idiocy from the band with lead singer Ivan Moody "quitting" the band twice onstage and having two other stable vocalists fill in for him during that time, as well as a greatest hits album released last year that teased this album's release. And now that it's actually able to be listened to, is this an album that should be torn apart to shreds or seen as a return to form? 

As previously stated about, two songs that appear on this album were featured on their greatest hits compilation, "Trouble", which kicks off the deluxe edition of the album, and their miserable cover of "Gone Away" by The Offspring. "Trouble" can basically be described as nothing remarkable and it's pretty much the same style of song you'd hear on any of the other albums combined. There is really no reason for this song to even signify that something good is actually coming from these sessions. Neither does the cover of "Gone Away", which is probably one of the worst covers I've ever heard and it's one of this band's most painful tracks. It's literally just this song melded into the typical hard rock drivel we've heard for five albums straight, and the unnecessary guitar solo will make you so angry you'll wish you never even heard it. There is NO need for this cover to even exist and there is no significant value to it that is able to be understood. After these two songs were released, two more singles were prereleased from this project: "Fake" which is just a typical F-bomb rambling from Ivan Moody with awful lyrics that feel like he was coming up with ideas on the fly, and "Sham Pain", a rather miserable track that even namedrops TMZ which is lyrically desperate. I don't even need to set anyone up for a potential shock for this album, because if these four tracks are any indication, this level of songwriting and structure is what you'll be delivered for the entirety of this album. 

Believe it or not, the real shocker is that there is only one highlight to really consider, and that is the song "Bloody", a track that has somewhat of a solid vibe to it in the verses even though it still does carry a similar formula as the other tracks on this album and it's not particularly good outside of its decent elements. The rest of this is generic, bottom of the barrel trash. One thing I had an immense problem with the band's last album "Got Your Six" is that there were elements to create somewhat tolerable tracks, but the predictability and how the songs were structured really killed any notion of there being songs with okay ideas to them. With tracks on this album, it's basically the same experience. Some of these turn out a bit better than anything on "Got Your Six", such as "Stuck In My Ways" and "When The Seasons Change", but there is still nothing to these songs that merits any sort of repeat plays. And then, there are venomously awful tracks like the Kenny Wayne Shepherd cover of "Blue On Black", "It Doesn't Matter", "Bad Seed", "Rock Bottom", and "Save Your Breath" that really showcase how lazy this band is and how unwilling they are to do anything different than the same curse word laden, horribly written, and poorly structured hard rock that sounds completely phoned in, generic, and overall a chore to listen to front to back even for one listen. 

I will say that if you actually like Five Finger Death Punch, you'll probably enjoy this album. If you are a fan of this band and can actually find some sort of charisma in any of this, I would say to go at it. But I'm highly certain that you will reject the idea of this being their best work, because it is far from the case with this album. This album is unfortunately just as bad as "Got Your Six", and I would even go as far as to say that this is the worst album I've heard in a couple of years. It's to the point to where I can't even see the band making another album after this because there are no good qualities left in them. And if they do make another album, it's going to be the same thing as before: the same lyrics about not caring what people think and shooing away "haters", and more songs about Ivan Moody's mind being a terrible place. I don't see why people still enjoy this band in the first place because as I stated before their appeal ended with those first two albums and even some parts of "American Capitalist", and if there are any newcomers listening for the first time, please avoid this album. Please listen to better music to have a much more diverse rollercoaster ride than this one note and one level ride that doesn't even come close to going down any sharp turns or thrills throughout. One thing is for certain, and that's the fact that there really is justice for none when it comes to this album. 

RATING: 1/10 

What did you think about the record? Was it good? Was it bad? Let me know in the comments below. And of course, these are only my opinions. If your opinions are different, awesome! If they're similar, then that's great, too. So, don't hesitate- comment to me about it down below. Take care.