Energy…it’s the one thing that keeps EMPLOYED TO SERVE afloat and not sinking into a sea of modern metal mediocrity. I noted the same thing in my review of their last record, Conquering. You could tell they put a lot of genuine fire into their playing and so you could forgive moments of banal cliché.

The same thing goes for Fallen Star, except this record sounds somewhat bigger and more ambitious. But in terms of style, ETS is still trying to be a bit of everything to everybody. Within the grooves of this record, you’ll find balls-out modern thrash, touches of melodic death metal, syrupy metalcore clean vocals, nu metal chug, thuggish breakdowns, poppy female singing, traces of keyboard melody…you know the drill. They try to describe this mish-mash as “Heavy Metal Unity” in the press. Sometimes it works…sometimes it doesn’t. Does it work enough to make ETS worth your while?

When this band deals in pure aggression, they are at their best. The most ass-kicking songs are the thrashers, which would include the ferocious opener ‘Treachery’, ripping ‘Now Thy Kingdom Come’ and excellent ‘Whose Side Are You On?’, which features Jesse Leach of KILLSWITCH ENGAGE. These all got my blood up. Singer Justine Jones has a pantherish roar like Alyssa from ARCH ENEMY and indeed, there’s a good case to be made that ETS is strongly similar to that band.

Then there are tracks that aim more for melody or feature nu-metal type groove. These are a lot more variable. I find clean, poppy choruses that contrast with growls on the verses to be one of the worst cliches of modern metal. The title track is a key offender there and also features another one of the big cliches…the down-tuned breakdown. If you’ve heard one, you’ve heard them all. Yet not all the band’s experiments with a more accessible sound are bad…I thought ‘Last Laugh’ was a super catchy track with a great mix of harsh and clean vocals, a well written modern metal song. ‘Brother, Stand By Me’ also has its moments. Aside from the tunes I’ve already mentioned, the rest of the album has songs that are on the average side, but again, EMPLOYED TO SERVE inject enough real energy to make it listenable.

I can’t say this is a huge advancement over Conquering, but neither is it a let down. I still think the best place for these guys is on the live stage…hopefully they can one day find the classic that is within them.
Review By: Dr. Abner Mality

EMPLOYED TO SERVE
Fallen Star
Spinefarm Records