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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Seldom has a pop personality engineered his own fall from grace quite so determinedly as Charlie Simpson, formerly of UK chart stars Busted. There’s enough visceral energy and musical depth to debut album Grand Unification, however, to confirm his new project Fightstar are something far more fully realised than a haphazard stab at rock credibility. A suite of dynamic, gutsy post-hardcore songs in the vein of Biffy Clyro, Hell Is For Heroes, and Funeral For A Friend, Fightstar can’t entirely hide Simpson’s impulse for a inclusive shout-along chorus, but the likes of "Waste A Moment" and "Paint Your Target" take care to temper their moments of pop hookiness with screamed vocals, bludgeoning guitars and the odd arcane time-signature. "Build An Army" is the most convincing example of Fightstar’s heaviness at its most rampant and unchecked--a coiled rattlesnake of quiet/loud dynamism that achieves Deftones levels of intensity. A success? Put it this way: in controlled conditions, nine out of ten Kerrang! readers could happily mosh out without ever once suspecting an ex-member of Busted was in the building, and one suspects that for Charlie Simpson, that’s a victory well worth winning.--Louis Pattison
Review
So this is it, the return of the most famous eyebrows in pop, the man that broke a million teenage hearts by tearing apart everyone's secret love, Busted, and the question is; was it worth it?
Put simply, yes it was. Make no mistake, Fightstar are Charlie Simpson's proper grown-up band, a full-on rock machine complete with preposterously pretentious album art, big riffs, driving drums and a fine line in angst-ridden screams (oh, and definitely no choreographed jumps).
Bursting with energy and thrilling on several tunes, not least the dual powers of the split title track and the throbbing "Paint Your Target", Grand Unification is a belting collection.
The truth is Fightstar have enough chugging emo and heavy rock in their brooding songs to have made it regardless of Charlie's well-documented past. On this showing, it seems he might just out-do Robbie Williams in leaving his past behind. --Chris Long
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Right, so Fightstar are uncool because the lead vocalist is Charlie Simpson and he used to be the bushy-eyebrowed one in Busted.
Wrong.
Okay, so Fightstar make really bad music then.
Wrong.
So why does everyone hate them?
Because they are too scared to come out and say they love them.
Unlike me.
Grand Unification is the only album I have ever listened to which made me, after the last track finished, open the curtains just so I could make sure the earth was still there.
It isn't death metal, and it isn't emo, it's just damn good rock. From the soft Track One (To Sleep) that lures you into a false sense of security before dropping into Track Two (Grand Unification Pt1), the epic and truly magnificent Mono and even Charlie Simpson's incredible scream on Waste A Moment, this album is so good it hurts. And I mean, really, really, hurts.
Charlie Simpson should have been celebrating when Busted finished their first live performance on tour. And he was celebrating. But only because he and his bandmates from side project Fightstar had just completed a nine-track EP, most tracks of which made it to the main album.
So don't go thinking Fightstar is something CS did in desperation when Busted broke up. He was with them even before he was with Busted, and used them as a stepping stone to their recording contract. Wrong, yes, but very, very clever, and I'm sure his bandmates appreciated the sacrifice he made by getting up on a stage and singing the theme tune to the latest Thunderbirds film in front of thousands of girls barely out of training bras. Not many of us would.
Wrong.
Okay, so Fightstar make really bad music then.
Wrong.
So why does everyone hate them?
Because they are too scared to come out and say they love them.
Unlike me.
Grand Unification is the only album I have ever listened to which made me, after the last track finished, open the curtains just so I could make sure the earth was still there.
It isn't death metal, and it isn't emo, it's just damn good rock. From the soft Track One (To Sleep) that lures you into a false sense of security before dropping into Track Two (Grand Unification Pt1), the epic and truly magnificent Mono and even Charlie Simpson's incredible scream on Waste A Moment, this album is so good it hurts. And I mean, really, really, hurts.
Charlie Simpson should have been celebrating when Busted finished their first live performance on tour. And he was celebrating. But only because he and his bandmates from side project Fightstar had just completed a nine-track EP, most tracks of which made it to the main album.
So don't go thinking Fightstar is something CS did in desperation when Busted broke up. He was with them even before he was with Busted, and used them as a stepping stone to their recording contract. Wrong, yes, but very, very clever, and I'm sure his bandmates appreciated the sacrifice he made by getting up on a stage and singing the theme tune to the latest Thunderbirds film in front of thousands of girls barely out of training bras. Not many of us would.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
My cousin was a HUGE Busted fan, to my shame, so when he sent me a couple of Fightstar's songs, I wasn't too impressed, thinking it would be a poppy, rubbish attempt to resurrect Simpson's career.
However, I listened to them, and was immediately gripped by the strong sound and powerful vocals. So I bought their Album, and I have to say I'm very glad i did. The CD starts very melodically, and then explodes into the single Grand Unification (Part 1)
The brand new songs are interspersed with re-recordings of songs from their EP "They Liked You Better When You Were Dead" (The re-recording of Hazy Eyes I especially liked as I had only ever heard a live recorded version before)
There is a good blend of heavier, more metal material combined with softer, less hardcore Emo tracks. The disc finishes with Wake Up, a new song that bridges with a choral repetition of the title, a very good ending to an excellent album
My recommendations would be:
Grand Unification (Part 1)
Waste a Moment
Build an Army
Hazy Eyes
Last Conversation (Here Again)
However, I listened to them, and was immediately gripped by the strong sound and powerful vocals. So I bought their Album, and I have to say I'm very glad i did. The CD starts very melodically, and then explodes into the single Grand Unification (Part 1)
The brand new songs are interspersed with re-recordings of songs from their EP "They Liked You Better When You Were Dead" (The re-recording of Hazy Eyes I especially liked as I had only ever heard a live recorded version before)
There is a good blend of heavier, more metal material combined with softer, less hardcore Emo tracks. The disc finishes with Wake Up, a new song that bridges with a choral repetition of the title, a very good ending to an excellent album
My recommendations would be:
Grand Unification (Part 1)
Waste a Moment
Build an Army
Hazy Eyes
Last Conversation (Here Again)
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
This album is pure brilliance. Fightstar's sonic, tight and full sound is put to the test, and it scores full marks. There are no weak songs, and the production quality is perfect, which makes the highly emotional and heartfels songs even more epic. Charlie and Al's contrasting voices fit together perfectly, when trading lines and harmonising, and the interesting vocal lines and harmonies make the songs interesting and diverse.
The guitars, when both clean and distorted, are always huge-sounding and melodic, while the basslines are always hearable and complex, without sounding confusing. The huge, epic drums perfectly compliment the riffs and more often the bass.
This album is absolutely excellent, and I challenge anyone, even if they are not a fan of the genre, to try it and not like what they hear. Top notch.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Blown away!
This is an amazing album. I already owned their They Liked you Better When You Were Dead EP, and to be honest I almost didn't buy this CD as the track listing is quite similar. Read more
Published on 15 Feb 2010 by Norman Cheeseworthy
Fightstar
Awesome album from Fightstar. A must for any fightstar fan. Catchy, surprissing and varied; As always!
Published on 21 May 2009 by Ms. Ir Bird
AMAZING!!!!
This band are amazing. They scream, they play the guitar heavily and smash the drums like true ROCK stars. Read more
Published on 18 Sep 2007 by S. Harris
oh dear
yes this is busted singers side project...
need i say more?
need i say more?
Published on 21 Jun 2007 by IiMm GgAaYy
Can They Get Any Better?
This is a review for Grand Unification, Fightstars debut album and i must say what an album.
So the album starts off with the opening track of To Sleep and this an... Read more
So the album starts off with the opening track of To Sleep and this an... Read more
Published on 31 May 2007 by Benji
Ok....
After the EP, I was expecting a grittier sound from Grand Unification. However, despite my expectations, this is a relatively good album. Read more
Published on 15 May 2007 by Si
Unique!
Fightstar bring a fresh and unique sound to this genre of rock, The album is great from start to finish. Read more
Published on 7 Oct 2006 by B. D. Taylor
Sweet as!
I've been a fightstar fan from the start, hating busted but being instantly incapulated by this band and the amazing songs they brought out. Read more
Published on 9 May 2006 by L. Johnston
What happened to that nice boy from Busted?
This will have Busted fans running screaming to the hills, never to be seen again. Not a duff track anywhere, the production is first rate with a maturity of song writing that... Read more
Published on 6 May 2006 by Brother Grim
It is big, but it's not entirely clever.
Following on from their tentatively, but ultimately well-received EP, Fightstar finally give us a full scale look at what they're all about: namely big, meaty chords; big, meaty... Read more
Published on 1 May 2006 by Bebbet_2k
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