Customer Reviews

Hours

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Having loved the first album so much this is probaly my most anticipated album of the year. Upon the 1st listen it appeared to be not the same funeral of a friend, with no screams and not as heavy on most songs.

However the more I have listened the more I have fallen in love with this album. The catchy metal guitar riffs are still here along with Matt Davies soaring vocals. I understand the complaints about it sounding 'samey' ,the lack of screams from drummer Ryan Richards and i do miss them, but to be honest with them it would have sounded very similar to the first album.I can especially appreciate some of the more mellow offerings on the album including personal fav "History".

Overall i think it works better as a collection of songs that their previous effort, definately a much more polished and mature sound expressed in emotional lyrics.

Highlights include the 1st single "Streetcar", "Hospitality" and "Alavez" , but to be honest their isnt a bad track.

I hope fans can appreciate this release as a step foward rather than stepping back.

You gotta get this!

I first heard FFAF about 2 years ago. I saw the video for escape artists never die on MTV2 and was thoroughly hooked. After rushing out to get 'casually dressed...' I couldn't wait to see what the welsh lads would do next. And this is it...Hours, an amazing collection of heartwrenching, blistering, mosh-worthy anthems from a group who deserve all the recognition they've gotten over the last few years.

Classic songs off Hours include the first single 'streetcar', one of the best songs of 2005, and the beautifully moving 'drive.' There is a diverse range of tracks on here, ranging from the slow, tragic melodies to pure, heavy guitar riffs that you cannot ignore. I would recommend this for any FFAF fans, and it serves as a great introduction to their work. Oh, and if you ever get a chance, go and see them live...they're one of the most amazing and lovely people to go and witness doing what they do best...ROCKING OUT! just buy it, you need this album.

This album is all that i expected from FFAF. This is a band that wants mainstream success and a band that wants to keep themselves a "band". They made a comprimise. At the moment, the world has had enough of the screamo-emo-core. So many bands over the last year have shown they can do it. So with this album for funeral for a friend to get the two things they wanted they had to show they could evolve but keep their mind on the music. They adjusted to keep the mainstream success, keep the old fans and bring in some new ones.
They have kept the rapid guitars and some old school riffs, keeping the british spirit whilst matts vocals both tuneful and easy on the ears adds heart and emotion to the tuneful soul of the guitars and drums.
All in all, a few listens and it hits the spot. A few more and you pick out the lyrics. It will keep you listening.

I didn't know much about Funeral For A Friend until the first single from this album, "Streetcar", hit radio playlists earlier this year. It totally blew me away and I decided to take a chance and buy the album. I'd never describe myself as a fan of metal, but I do love grunge and by the sound of this album, so do FFAF. Streetcar's still the best track on here (as well as maybe the best single of 2005) but there are plenty of other excellent tracks, in fact you'll struggle to find a weak one.
I'm so impressed, I'm going to check-out their earlier work.

I probably should've reviewed this back when I first got it when it came out, but what the hell...Hours is noticeably different from Casually Dressed, that goes without saying, but it doesn't detract from the fact that this is an absolutely fantastic album. It's a bit more mellow and as much as I hate to use the phrase 'grown up' it's the best way to describe it. Lyrics are beautiful, (but then again they always are with FFAF)and have more depth and variation in issues addressed. The thing with Hours which some fans are probably objected to is the fact that the sound is a bit more mainstream, and can be accessed by a wider range of people as a consequence of losing the screamo aspect obvious in Casually Dressed, because for some reason some people still have a problem with screaming on songs... which I personally love but that's irrelevant... Anyways, the point is Hours is different, but don't be prejudiced by that, it's a beautiful album and hasn't lost any of the energy its predecessors have. Most of the songs you'll instantly love. For me, my absolute favourites on here are All the Rage, Recovery, The End of Nothing and Alvarez, admittedly, I'm not too keen on History but that's the only one i don't really like, the rest are excellent. FFAF have been around a while and now are getting more well known and getting the recognition they deserve. Great band, yet another great album. Buy it if you havn't already...

This album is better than "Casually Dressed..." They have experimented far more and put much more feeling into this record. The lyrics that Matt Davies has wrote are very personal to him e.g. "Roses For The Dead" is about his difficulty to deal with the loss of his friends and "Hospitality" is about when he worked so hard that he put himself into hospital.

The two genius guitarists, Darran Smith and Kris Roberts have improved so much and, as a guitarist, i aspire to them for their awesome two handed tapping riffs in "Roses For The Dead" and more simply in the first single "Streetcar."

Many fans i'm sure will be disappointed by the lack of screaming, courtesy of drummer, Ryan Richards, but just listen to track "The End Of Nothing" and you will hear that he has not been totally forgotten and his drumming is astounding on tracks such as "Streetcar" and opener "All The Rage." You also have to listen to his other talents of playing piano and loop sampling on end track "Sonny."

Gareth Davies vocals are brilliant as well, especially on "Streetcar" and his bass harmony on "Hospitality" is very cool.
Many "true fans" have slated this album because of it's mellowness compared to the last album, but these "fans" obviously don't know what they are talking about:

1. All The Rage - Heavy
2. Streetcar - Heavy
3. Roses For The Dead - Heavy
4. Hospitality - Heavy
5. Drive - Mellow
6. Monsters - Heavy
7. History - Mellow
8. Recovery - Heavy
9. The End Of Nothing - Heavy
10. Alvarez - Heavy
11. Sonny - Mellow then turns heavy

So thats 8 - 3 to Heavy, some fans they are. The true fans would buy this whether it be good or bad. Anyway to finish up, stand out tracks are, "All The Rage", "Streetcar", "Roses For The Dead", "History" (greatest song ever - band choir sing the final chorus, just brilliant,) "Alvarez" (awesome riff) and "Sonny."

Buy this record now and i hope you all have tickets to go see them in June/July. It's gonna be really good!!!

P.S. Just for the record, my favourite track by "Funeral..." used to be "This Year's Most Open Heartbreak", it's now "History." Mellow is good...

with their 2nd full album FFAF are back with a slightly less scremo tone but the music is still toip notch. the single Streetcar is a great anthem and has recieve much air play. the rest of the album has some great vocal performances from davies and guitar riffs that are awesome ( taken from there maiden heritige ). this labum is a great follow up to casually dressed and deserves a listen.

It was actually my friend who introduced me to Funeral for a Friend for the first time last year and ever since, I have been listening to Hours on my Ipod. It is a diverse, beautiful album with loads of different sounds and packed with heartfelt emotion.

Who could forget Streetcar?

I love the album because I can relate to it, the lyrics reflect my emotions which means sometimes it makes me cry and at others it makes me smile. My favourite song is Alvarez because the lyrics, "You took and killed everything about me" has to be the best line ever and its the perfect comeback to someone who has broken your heart.

It has to be one of the best albums of last year and I looked forward to the next. Both their albums in fact are absolute class and should not be written off as emo but experimental because they are ten million times better than MCR and all that other unoriginal crap in the charts which is considered as "music". This is music.

An amazing album by one of my all time favourite bands, its just one good song after another! My personal faves have to be 'Roses for the Dead' and 'The End of Nothing'. It may not as be as heavy as casually dressed but it sure has the same if not better quality as previous tracks they have released! and at this price it is a must have! Buy it now!

i got this album as soon as it was released, already being a big ffaf fan, mainly because of "casually dressed and deep in conversation" and "seven ways to scream your name"
i was not disappointed, a quality album, 2nd best in my collection, losing out to "CDADC" by a whisker.
this CD is easy to listen to, the DVD is interesting and its worth spending the extra couple of quid for the special edition.
not as much screaming as "CDADC", but still an emotionaly charged collection of quality songs, with ace lyrics. MUST BUY ALBUM