For the first time in my short tenure as a Metalreviews.com writer, I have the feeling that I am defending an album as much as I am reviewing it. This probably stems from the suspicion I have that the moment this review becomes available to the site’s readers, they will begin tearing it a multitude of new assholes. That’s not to say that the site is necessarily anti-mainstream, but I have seen what has been made of albums from bands like Korn and Slipknot. Unfortunately for Five Finger Death Punch, I don’t think they will get much better treatment on the forums, and at times while listening to War is the Answer, I’m not even sure if they deserve it. Despite being hailed as the “next big thing” by some of the press (particularly Metal Hammer Magazine), this band doesn’t provide anything particularly fresh to a largely stagnant “mainstream” metal scene. Most of the riffs are your standard down-tuned chug-fest, and while the solos and twin harmonies are often refreshing, they aren’t anything particularly miraculous. Ivan Moody’s vocals are solid, but the lyrics are elementary at best and laughable at their absolute worst. As such, I could easily see how someone already bent on hating this band could take one listen to one song and forever discard them as one of the mainstream’s ghoulish embarrassments to “actual” metal.

But now, against part of my better judgment, I need to defend this album a little bit. Sure, the album’s heavier riffs are incredibly standard and uninventive, but the way the guitars are tuned and mixed gives them an almost industrial clank to them, which actually sounds pretty good. The melodic guitar work is actually pretty impressive at times; even the album’s remarkably cheesy ballads Walk Away, Far From Home, and Crossing Over feature some solos that pretty much save the songs as wholes. Pretty much every song has some sort of solo or melodic guitar harmony that might manage to impress even some of the most stubborn listeners. The mix on this album is phenomenal; regardless of the quality of the songs, you can always hear them perfectly. The guitars are nice and loud, the drums and bass are at comfortable levels, and Moody’s well-enunciated vocals are crystal clear throughout. Besides the guitar work and the production, this album’s one shining strength is its massive choruses. Dying Breed, My Own Hell, Hard to See, and others boast some hooks so deliciously catchy and bombastic that only the most strong-willed will avoid their lure. An impressive cover of Bad Company’s eponymous anthem rounds out the album strongly, and along with the albums other gems, keeps the album from being a failure.

If you hate anything that is even remotely mainstream, don’t even try this album. If you think anything that has tough guy lyrics is juvenile and unlistenable, stay far, far away. If you are knowledgeable enough to distinguish run-of-the-mill musicianship from virtuosity and anything closer to the former than the latter runs on your nerves, you will tear your ears out before the end of this album. But if you have a thick skin for such things, and want a chunk of no-bull, no-frills metal with big hooks, then you will probably have a good time with War is the Answer. I definitely wouldn’t call it a bad album; listening to this album didn’t fill me with the kind of boredom and hate that Bullet for My Valentine’s newest turd Fever did (yes, another Fever reference in a review of mine!), and THAT was a bad album. Don’t listen to the hype around this album, because it is off by miles. This isn’t the new face of metal, or metal’s next big thing, or any silly thing like that, but it will inevitably have its fans. I wouldn't say that War is the Answer has made me a Five Finger Death Punch fan, but hell, if they come to town on the right bill, I certainly wouldn't mind seeing them live.