emotional flavor to the album. Songs like “Choke” and “Emerald Blue” incorporate powerful, angry, beat-your-head-against-the-wall metal riffs with the guttural growls of Ruhlig to great effect and illustrate that the narrator of “Choke” isn’t to be fucked with. And just when you least expect it, For the Fallen Dreams shift gears, showing off the technical and musical skills of guitarist Jim Hocking.

 

Heavy Hearts begins with a punch in the gut as the brutal riff of “Emerald Blue” fades in, only relenting for the short breath before each chorus and the ethereal outro. Rather than slowing down, For the Fallen Dreams only speed up into “Choke,” a furious display of Chad Ruhlig’s ability to convey anger in his music. The entire album, it seems, is a struggle between Ruhlig’s angry, powerful voice and Hocking’s mesmerizing guitars. Ruhlig’s power and anger are sometimes checked by Hocking’s melodies, such as on “Bombay,” and other times by the raw emotion of the music itself, such as on “Endless.” Ruhlig is able to capture the power in his voice and establish a powerful tone to the story of the album.

 

Where the album becomes most complex is when the music slows down, allowing for the raw power and mystery of Hocking’s single-note leads in “Lights” to cut through the brutal rhythm section. The emotion of the album is not found just in the lyrics of “Choke” or the mere title of “Unfinished Business,” but is rather felt in the soaring melodies during the outros of songs like “Lights” and “Endless.” This kind of emotion is the kind that turns a good hardcore album into a masterpiece. The dreamy interlude of “Lights” allows you to ponder the power of the first two songs and wonder where the music will take you now. The journey you take through the album then becomes defined by the dichotomy of tones you have heard so far. The almost angelic melodies of Hocking’s guitars lift the tone of the music from the rage in Ruhlig’s words.

 

For The Fallen Dreams will be headlining a tour in May featuring Obey The Brave, I The Breather, and Reflections and will most definitely be playing songs off this new album. The tour makes a stop in Atlanta on June 5 at the Masquerade, so you better check it out.