Formed in 1999 as a collaboration between Stuck Mojo’s Rich Ward and WWE superstar Chris Jericho, Fozzy have been kicking about for the better part of 15 years now. Originally playing covers, in 2003 the band dropped their back stories and alter egos and decided to take the plunge into trying to be considered as a serious musical unit. As a teenager, I was a WWF fan and a huge Jerichoholic but not a Fozzy fan as such. Having seen them twice already, they’re nothing special. Let’s see if we can lock in ‘The Walls of Jericho’ and see what it’s made of.
The title track opens the album with a very nu-metal edge. Samples, turntable effects and simple riffs lead into the vocals. The nasal tone of Chris is unmistakable and the lyrics aren’t exactly profound, but the backing music is decent. Its simple riffs and melodies help give some weight to the song and will have you nodding along. Ward knows how to write a riff or two and the addition of a backing female vocalist to compliment the main vocals works. “Bad Tattoo” follows next with a generic metal styled feel to it. Live, it could go down well, but it’s too hard to take the song seriously with Jericho’s lyrics. Rolling off cliché’s such as “I can’t get rid of you, you’re like a bad tattoo” it’s hard to take this song seriously without thinking of drinking games such as “Drink every time a stupid cliché or rhyme is sang”. “Lights go out” according to the press pack is one of the proposed singles and I can’t see why if I’m honest. With a synth like sound at first, a meaty sounding riff hits before the almost disco-feel to the song starts under the vocals. Jericho’s vocals at times sounds like Ozzy in his more recent albums and in the chorus, it’s almost a kick-back to the early 2000’s nu-metal explosion. Its catchy but not the song you’d want to use to draw attention to an album.
“Died without you” starts off like your typical rock ballad and the vocals aren’t too bad on this one. The simple guitar lines with the less nasal-sounding vocals in the verses works well and the big chorus sections are ripe for sing-along moments – this song is perfect for a single. “Tonight” has a more upbeat feel to it and its radio-friendly sound would also work well as a single about the whole ‘celebrate the last night of our lives’ theme which seems to be popular at the moment. Its dodgy lyrics and big “wooaah” sing-along section at the end round the song off well before the more metal sounding “Brides of Fire” follows. The harsher attack of the guitars and slightly less whiney vocals make this song better than the previous metal attempts on the album and Rich’s growled shout-styled backing vocals combined with his guitar work add to the track. The section just after two minutes in which tears into the solo is a great build up and Rich’s lead work proves he’s got some song writing talent. “One Crazed Anarchist” is another proposed single and much like the previous one, it starts off with a synth and drum beat. The drums creep up in intensity but any promise is let down by the vocals. It sounds like a bad early 2000’s Bon Jovi track (think ‘It’s my life’) in the verses, but the chorus is passable.
“Unstoppable” keeps up the nu-metal styled sound and the simultaneous vocals between Jericho and the female vocalist are strange at first, with the female dominating Jericho in the verses, but the big chorus sections allow them to shine with Jericho taking the lower register notes whilst the backing singer hits the highs. Its slight groove works at times and the solo is simple but effective, but this track is anything but unstoppable. “Scarecrow” opens up with a vocal and guitar section heavily caked in reverb before it kicks in with a series of big riffs. Its generic sounding metal at best which shifts between calm and heavy, moving into upbeat sections for the chorus. A lead break which follows the vocal melody leads into a solid solo but apart from that, there’s nothing else to say really. “No Good Way” comes next and its rocky groove works well. The big chorus moments have that sing-along feel to them and the vocals aren’t as infuriating. The Nu-Metal meets alternative rock style just about works on this track and the guitar solo is quite good too as it rips through the track.
“S.O.S” is an ABBA cover and it has to be heard to be fully understood. Jericho’s vocals start off as moody over the piano section at the start before the big sing-along section follows. Very few ABBA songs work well, and even fewer work whilst covered (Yngwie’s cover of ‘Gimmie! Gimmie! Gimmie!’ being the exception). It’d probably go down well live, but in all honesty, it’s dreadful. “Witchery” closes the album with a traditional metal sounding approach. Musically it’s spot on but vocally, it’s like the rest of the album, rather weak. It’s got the chorus sections where it shines, but that’s about it. It’s not the best track to close the album, but there aren’t many tracks on the album which could be described as “best track to…” anyway.
Fozzy have some moments of promise. They’ve got some ok songs and the knack for writing a chorus which can get people singing along, but they’d work better as a gimmick band, relying on the alter-ego’s and pomp the WWE superstar originally brought to them in the first place. If you put this album on, be ready to tap out.
(4/10 Fraggle)
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