I’ll get straight to it – The Fulcrum is an unashamed prog act, mixing flavors of Coheed and The Mars Volta with hints of sludge, grunge, and psychedelic. Annihilate, the band’s latest LP, manifests these influences across 10 tracks that top a 50-minute runtime. Needless to say, there’s a bit of musical meandering at times – but that comes with the territory, most would argue.
But what truly sets The Fulcrum apart from their compatriots is their collaborative process – two frontmen who share songwriting responsibilities with equal levels of ambition. “Virtue” opens the record and shows hints of thrash and blues all at once, a combo that comes from Anthony Chiofalo and Eric Bruno’s disparate contributions. And when the title track kicks in immediately after with its piano intro, listeners will know this release doesn’t stay nicely in any single lane.
Even so, there is a certain mystique at play. The songs often have a certain eeriness, perhaps even an operatic slant on the vocal side. It’s as if the Phantom of the Opera started microdosing and learning sweep picking. There are some “heavier” moments, but most of it is simply more technical, focus of time signature changes and a liberal amount of dissonant riffage.
Admittedly, I’m not the target audience for this record in many respects. But I can say this confidently because the technical choices on this record do point toward who the potential superfan might be. There’s plenty of radio hard rock foundation here, but there’s enough of an exotic flavor from the choice of scales and the rhythms and riffs to hit home with fans of TOOL, Disturbed, Trivium, Alice in Chains, or Metallica. There’s a classic sensibility in place, especially again on the vocal side, that hearkens back decades to earlier thrash and prog endeavors. And as easy as it is to scoff at some of these comparison acts, it’s clear they have huge followings and incredible influence. So, there is definitely a lot of potential for this record.
And even beyond my own personal limitations, I still found a few tracks that bridged the gap for me. First, “Virtue” starts the record off on a very high note and the subtlety of doubling vocals at parts and the bluesy riffs makes it one of the most melodically-intense tracks on the album. The vocals here have more of an edge and even remind me a bit of Envy on the Coast at times.
“New Moon” is a rhythmic highlight and throws in a couple twists through with screaming and trade-offs from faster and slower sections. At over seven minutes, there’s a lot going on here.
Closing out the first half, “The Man” is easily one of the best tracks on the album. There’s a bit of emo and pop-punk influence here that’s mixed in with strong guitar lines. It’s a nice departure vocally, opting for more of a modern sound. It’s one of a few songs to have a main hook, and while a traditional chorus isn’t really to be expected from this type of record, it definitely pays off big time.
“Ultima Thule” is the rager of the bunch, showing the most screaming of collection. It’s not entirely more aggressive than its compatriots when it comes to instrumentation, but the intermittent change of pace keeps the album from getting too stale.
All that said, Annihilate is definitely a mixed bag of a record for the general listener, but it has just enough grunge, thrash, prop, hard rock, and post-hardcore to appeal to 80s and 90s rock devotees with ease. The Fulcrum has crafted an album that at once seems familiar but is never too predictable or generic. And even if you aren’t a fan of these styles, there are a few crossover tracks in the mix that might just grab your attention as well. This is an ambitious record that shows the band’s commitment to their art.
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