‘The Righteous & The Wicked’ is the new full-length album for Belgian melodic punk rock fivesome For I Am. This highly anticipated full album, a harmonious blend of punk energy and melodic finesse, is a testament to the band’s musical prowess and offers an insight into the band’s view on today’s world’s tribulations. facebook.com/foriamofficial
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REVIEWS:
ThePunkSite.com
Something appears to have woken up Belgium, at least on the recording front. Following on from their fellow Belgians F.O.D. releasing their superb new album, The Once A Virgin Club, their first in four years, earlier this month, now For I Am have returned after five long years with their third full length, The Righteous And The Wicked. Not that For I Am have been idle, they’ve been active on the live front, including a triumphant appearance at the 2023 Manchester Punk Festival, and lead singer Hanne Terweduwe has guested on too many recordings to recount here, but it’s been a long wait since Late Bloomers was released in 2019.
The seeds of The Righteous And The Wicked were sown once lockdown ended, the band started making their preparations and writing new material and reunited with producer & studio engineer Tim Van Doorn at Big Dog Recordings. The album received it’s final mastering courtesy of Troy Glessner at S.P.E.C.T.R.E in 2023, and now here we are with the album fresh out of the traps. The Righteous And The Wicked kicks off in fine style with the frantic lead single, The Power Behind The Throne, that indicates that For I Am have kept true to their original mission statement, but have also added some muscle to their new album. Keeping that theme going, the appropriately titled Game On takes the pace down a notch, but keeps the slightly darker heavier tone going.
Somewhat unexpectedly Jaded brings an almost jaunty rockier element into play, along with a fist pumping chorus that is guaranteed to go down a storm. The fury, or possibly the righteous, element comes in the shape of full on short sharp punk bangers such as Riler, Jack Shit His Pants, Pity Party and especially the utterly berserk Sorry For Karen So Much. But there’s more to this album than just adrenalised speedy punk tunes, the likes of Devil Undercover, the rather wonderful My Little Princess, Bonnie, The Storytellers Tale, Shoestring Sailors and closing track, The Wicked Witch, shows they have unleashed their inner rockstar for the wicked element of the album.
Punkette Webzine
FOR I AM is punk rock band from Belgium and they have a new album that is coming out tomorrow. By far…this is the best album I have listened to in a while!
“The Righteous & The Wicked” is giving us 13 songs that for me were love at first listening. It is one of those albums you don’t need to listen a few times so it can “sit” in a right place. No! This one has it all.
“Power Behind The Throne” was the first single from the new album, but is also the first track on the album. It gave me a clue in what direction this would be going and I was right. This is musically matured FOR I AM and even though there is still some pop punk residues, this one is much stronger. Hard jet melodic guitar riffs, mighty sound and even some well incorporated metal parts, this album definitely stepped up from pop punk etiquette that followed them. Hanne sounds so confidant, so big!!! She is definitely one of the biggest punk rock vocals ever.
The second single “Devil Undercover” is totally different, as is every other song on this album. No two songs sound alike. For me the top three songs are “Jack Shit (His Pants)”, “Pity Party” and “Riler”, but it was a hard top three pick. What thrilled me the most on this album are the little twists in some songs that you would never expect.
To sum it up: this is one strong, mature, fast and mighty punk rock album! The best punk rock album in a while for me! Thank you FOR I AM for the goosebumps.
And to the rest of you: enjoy the new FOR I AM!
OX Fanzine
A new, varied album with 13 killer tracks by the amiable five-piece from Belgium led by charismatic front woman Hanne with her impressive voice. Once again, the band impressively proves that they have mastered the entire range of pop-punk ranging from melodic poppy tracks to high-speed melody core, which once more shows that they easily keep track with the big shots in the genre. The spectrum ranges from up-tempo skate punk to groovy punk rock to pop anthems that would make GREEN DAY proud. An absolute recommendation, especially for pop-punk fans who don’t always want their daily soundtrack to be sugar-coated and monotonous. If you like the BOMBPOPS, you can blindly buy the record without giving it a spin up front. An all-round successful album, even if there are no absolute earworms at first sight that immediately dig into your brains. The high-quality production with beautiful cover artwork, stunning dark green marbled vinyl, lyric sheet and download code round off the positive overall impression. Everything done right.
PowerMetal.de
Skatepunk all-round roundhouse-kick from Belgium!
Our neighbouring country [perspective: Germany] Belgium is not necessarily known for its vibrant and gigantic punk rock scene, but as usual, exceptions prove the rule, because since 2014, FOR I AM have been around, earning themselves a name among the big shots as well as the D.I.Y scene in the genre, which cannot be ignored. The quintet’s continued existence has not always been under a lucky star, as their previous album ‘Late Bloomers’ was released when the coronavirus pandemic more or less destroyed all opportunities to play the songs on stages across the European continent. Fortunately, however, the band led by front woman Hanne were not discouraged and, just over three years after „the late bloomer“ have released their third full-length album ‘The Righteous And The Wicked’.
The first thing that jumps into my head in view of the thirteen tracks is the question of why I didn’t discover FOR I AM much earlier. With their extremely melodic sound, somewhere between American pop-punk and melodic hardcore ( see RISE AGAINST or THE OFFSPRING), the Belgians are so right up my alley that the new long player ended up on my shopping list after just two tracks. These tracks are also quite something, because ‘Power Behind The Throne’ is a compact, hard-hitting and at the same time so outrageously catchy composition that it’s simply a real pleasure to listen to, while ‘Game On’ comes along with some metal and rock vibes and is garnished by Hanne’s outstanding vocal performance. In general, the front woman is a real feast for the ears, as she can cover everything from biting shouts to poppy melodies.
This ability is definitely necessary, because on their third album, the five-piece wander through all facets of punk rock with dreamy confidence, without delivering a single weak track. So every fan of the genre is sure to find what they’re looking for on ‘The Righteous And The Wicked’. Do you like upbeat GREEN DAY anthems? Then ‘Jaded’ is definitely your cup of tea. Fancy something a little more metal-infused? ‘Riler’ and ‘Game On’ will be right up your street and quench your thirst for a metal-hardcore brew. Wouldn’t mind a little more party and choruses to sing along to? Then listen to ‘My Little Princess’ or ‘Jack Shit (His Pants)’, because both tracks would definitely have been hits in the heyday of pop-punk. Finally, are you still missing some melancholy and thoughtfulness? Don’t worry, FOR I AM has the right medicine on offer here too, as ‘The Storytellers Tale’ can easily keep up with RISE AGAINST. And yes, the classic full-speed wrecking ball with a massive hardcore impact is also pulled out with ‘Sorry For Karen So Much’, where Hanne’s vocals are once again close to the edge of insanity and should cause a few dropped jaws in just under 50 seconds.
In the end, I can’t really say much more about ‘The Righteous And The Wicked’ and simply take my hat off to this great band, who have written a love letter to the most diverse genres of the punk sector with great compositions and who also have numerous hits up their sleeves. It goes without saying that you have to give it a spin!
RELEASE DATE:
19 April 2024
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CREDITS:
CAT #: PV040
Produced, Engineered & Mixed by: Tim Van Doorn at Big Dog Recordings
Mastered by: Troy Glessner at S.P.E.C.T.R.E.
Art by: Mark Desalvo.
