It's often said that Britain and America are two nations divided by a single language. Before nu-metal, you knew what to expect from a band shaped by angst: insecurity, sensitivity, introspection, intelligence.
With the odd noble exception, angst bands were British, more given to reticence and self-doubt. Nu-metal translated angst into American. There was no vulnerability, only anguish - the cold, raging certainty that the singer involved was suffering, the victim of emotional abuse.
Now that nu-metal has imploded, the next step is metal informed by the British understanding of angst. We've already had Hundred Reasons' Colin Doran wrestling with his heart and conscience trying to find some happiness. And, following naturally in HR's footsteps, here's the latest band to approach rock with more than half a brain cell. Welsh five-piece Funeral For A Friend may not have the momentum of The Darkness but they're still one of the homegrown metal sensations of 2003.
Again, like Hundred Reasons, FFAF are all about layered tensions. Their songs tend to travel in a straight line, building slowly, surging back and forth with precise shifts in momentum, avoiding the simple quiet-loud dynamics of grunge for something much more subtle. This is a very 21st century take on the visceral, often mindless joys of rock guitars: volume, not for its own sake but with a purpose. A brutal power chord isn't enough. There has to be a sense of urgency, of direction.
A similar intelligence shows up in the lyrics. As with many post-hardcore bands, FFAF aren't about to spell out their insecurities in basic capital letters. Again, there are layers. You can start off with the seemingly positive chorus of 'Escape Artists Never Die' ("we'll start a fire/we'll burn some bridges/we'll make it out of here tonight"), but soon find yourself struggling with contradictions and switches in perspective. You have to dig deeper if you want to emerge with anything approaching meaning.
Which is a potential problem. At times, FFAF feel like the metal equivalent of New Labour. They're making all the right sounds, seemingly propelled by the correct principles and ideals, but you'd be hard pressed to pin down what exactly they stand for. And like New Labour, FFAF have a neat line in slogans. That album title drips with style. 'Bend Your Arms To Feel Like Wings' is pretty good too. It all screams intelligence without offering any tangible substance. Not so much nu-metal, then, as New Metal, New Marketability.
Seeing as this is FFAF's debut album, though, and you never feel that their sincerity is in doubt merely clouded every so often, you cut them some slack. Although 'Casually Dressed...' can be difficult to get right inside of, it's still a deeply impressive first record: made not from instinct and bluster, but reason and determination.
If this is representative of what's gathering pace in Britain right now, then nu-metal might turn out to have been a false alarm. The real rock renaissance could just be around the corner.
