‘American Capitalist’ | Five Finger Death Punch

Five Finger Death Punch (FFDP), the five-piece metal act from Los Angeles, delivers another sonic assault in its new album, “American Capitalist.” The follow-up to the band’s highly successful albums “The Way of the Fist” and “War is the Answer,” “American Capitalist” is a strong effort that unfortunately lacks in new musical ideas. The band members seem to be content with applying the same formula that made their earlier albums so great: detuned guitars, heavy and crunchy tremolo-style riffs, relentless drumming and singer Ivan Moody’s battle cry-like screams. The lyrics mostly deal with life as a stereotypical violent tough guy yelling at everybody who feels the occasional sensitiveness on emotional issues. The result is a head-bang-inducing, mosh-pit-ready, testosterone-fueled musical destruction that threatens to tear any venue apart.

Many riffs on “American Capitalist” sound like they are directly sampled from FFDP’s previous albums. Song structures remain mostly the same as before. Aside from a few songs, even the band’s trademark aggressiveness seems to be turned down a notch. Overall, the album does not contain as many inspiring songs as its predecessors do. But fans of FFDP or anyone interested in metal in general should pick up this CD. You are guaranteed to get pumped up and want to punch someone in the face. (It is not recommended to punch people, though. Get a sandbag, or a piñata or something.)