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Before starting all the preliminary nonsense for this Musing, I would like to say that I am damned well terrified!

The reason for this is because this review – for ‘Open Letter Before the End’ by Fiftyfour is my first ever review of an actual band!…by ‘band’ I mean ‘a group of musicians that real-time-record songs via playing "real" instruments together at the same time’.

All other reviews to date have generally been for ‘bedroom artists’ that compose via computer aided music – sure some of these class themselves as ‘bands’, and work together via creating sequences or samples and co-constructing a track (some of them are very good too), but it’s not the same…I have played in bands, even done gigs in the murky past, I’ve been to see bands, and certainly passed comments about zillions of them….Christ I’m now a bedroom artist! The fact that Fiftyfour are the first ever ‘live band’ to make my review list shouldn’t make a difference…but somehow it does. Am I qualified enough for the task?

I tell quote to myself my favourite adage ‘music is music, and genres mean nothing’…perhaps this could equally apply to the methods in which music is constructed?

……ok I talked myself into it! (anyway there is a drum machine used in the track as well…so..)

Seem to have wasted the ‘conceptual’ part of the musing here……so let’s play the track again, see if I can gain any insights into what the song is about..it sounds great! But is there a message in those tortured vocals?

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Relationship break-ups! Don’t you just love ‘em for a song subject matter?….trouble is they happen in real life as well…and being on the receiving end is not a joke! Neither is it ‘fun’ or ‘cool’ to write about! We do so more because we have to, rather than want to….so get it down, get it all down in writing before the courage to do so is lost. Perhaps she will never read these words? In fact, she never will, because such ‘open letters’ invariably end up in the fire grate, and though the fire is cold and unlit, those words burn in our minds regardless.

Get it all down, all the poison, all the times when communication was like distant stars that flicker at opposing points within opposite ends of the galaxy, all interpretation lost as a result of the vast distances; conflicting areas within time and space…reduced to idiot blinking and flashings of garbled signals.

We drifted off into tangential opposites, each with a message to scream and shriek, always together until only a mangled disharmony is apparent; no translation possible. We both radiate energy, but cannot connect, the polarity reversed! Funny how it seems as though you can never truly know another person. You might spend years with that person, lulled into the belief that they can surely have no more surprises within them. Everything familiar, all personality traits effectively modelled and known in advance…then BANG! Out rushes an idea, a concept…a core belief that is so utterly alien and beyond your experience; and so at odds with your own core beliefs that it may as well be expressed in an unworkable mathematical formulae. The understanding fails, and the former familiarity becomes a dangerous unknown. The attraction turned to hate, fear and self-cannibalism.

‘can’t take it anymore’ we breath to ourselves in the depths of the night, as the disassociated partner lies beside us, disconnected and separate as a gulf between stars, perhaps lost in her own dark thought and inner turmoil, thoughts perhaps in sync for once, yet unable to lock…..yet we do take it….for how many days, weeks, months…years??. But all the while the contents of this message, this notation to nobody that only serves to crystallise our own inner chaos begins to write itself, first in the subterraneous regions of the brain….then, at last in a more concrete form.

It is over – at last it has finished….no moving on to better things, no horribly melodramatic slamming of doors and storming into the rain…..perhaps a silent retreat? Your belongings no longer visible within the house that has become a ricocheting shell occupied by matter and anti-matter…

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I did feel that in terms of holistic ‘song’ ‘Open Letter Before the End’ does get the message across very well indeed, my interpretation of the meaning may be at odds with that of other listeners, or indeed the author. This does not matter very much as the framework is solid throughout, both conceptually and musically.

The contrast between the ‘verse’ sections and the harsh, ear chattering chorus compliment other very well indeed. Whereas the latter us an angrily efficient statement, counterpoised by deep, overdriven guitars and wildly thrashing drums, the verses are rather more thoughtful, holding a little in reserve before the gasp of the chorus.

The opening dual guitars, one a growling, background signature, the other winding lazily over the surface work to create a strangely mellow ambience that serves to lull us into a false sense of security. This is further emphasised by the use of only the underlying drum machine and the lack of bass…the build up is slow and gradual, and the bass and drums, winding in after eight bars remain strangely understated…all building up to the desperate shriek of the chorus.

The vocals are tight at first, the emotion doled out in short, sharp bursts before being given free rein like a dog released from a leash. The voice is packed with raw energy and power, yet focused and disciplined.

Pleasing touches in the production include the panning effects within the channels, which ensure that the singer is kept partially to the left channel, and primary guitar signature moderately to the right. This serves to create a nicely balanced stereo field throughout, and adds a great deal of dynamism to the complete performance. Indeed the professional and polished quality of the entire track leads me to assume that this was recorded within a pro-studio setup..

In terms of serving the needs of the particular musical style that ‘Open Letter Before The End’ aspires toward, the result is generally bang on target! Hard hitting rock/indie hybrid music that does not endeavour toward any hideous pretensions of being ‘nu metal’, and also a sight more intelligently written than the net results of much of the ‘mainstream rock’ available. There are several bands that sell a great many records, all of whom have a similar general flavour to Fiftyfour. The ones that get a lot of daytime radio play (at least in the UK, I can’t speak for the States) tend to be a little softer than these guys, however you can hear the outpourings of bands like Fiftyfour in many more interesting areas, and on that basis alone I would make a safe assumption that their future is assured with continued hard work and promotion. The nearest comparison I would make to the style would perhaps be the (early) Manic Street Preachers? And I assure you that this is no bad thing.

….my first ‘band’ on the review list……that wasn’t so hard to do after all, as the experience was a positive one.

Ffabbia

Ex-Klank members Pat Servedio and John Zaletel team up with big name hip-hop producer Mr.Fingaz to give you 54's self-titled debut album. OK, I know what you're thinking... hip-hop, hard rock... sounds like another rapcore clone. Thankfully 54 isn't that predictable. This album is too eclectic to place under any single genre. Imagine instead you're stuck in rush hour traffic with car stereo's blasting chugging guitars, old school record scratching, synthetic blips and beeps, and even a taste of the orient by way of last track "High and Mighty". Vocals go to one Kerry Merkle who gets the job done well enough, but he occasionally sounds distant, as though sometimes fully separate from the mix. It's still too early to tell if 54 will appeal to hardcore Klank fans, but it's sure to garner attention from folks looking for something a bit more eccentric in their hard rock.

Fiftyfour is a hip-hop flavored rock band whose 11-track release actually does the label justice, as the rock part of the equation is bountiful and meaty, while the hip-hop element is not overwrought, but instead illuminates the tracks. Songs like "Repetition" and "That Day" dually benefit from the heavy hip-hop beat and the pulsating guitars, as
Fiftyfour can effectively reach a wider spectrum of listeners with its near-flawless meshing. The main difference between this New York based quintet and its counterparts is that Fiftyfour's vocals are never rapped, but instead are sung with a fiery rock passion, something most of the group's peers fail to accomplish.

Long Island's Fifty Four are a new hybrid band who have tapped into a completely new, innovative sound. Citing influences from Nine Inch Nails and Filter to Helmet and Nirvana, Fifty Four biggest influences may come from popular hip hop producer Taiwan Green (a.k.a. Mr. Fingaz). The prevalent element to Fifty Four's sound are the hop hop beats, although the vocals have nothing to do with rap.
The roots of Fifty Four were borne from Klank and Big Baby Satan. Klank was an industrial metal band with the misfortune to be on a terrible/ shady label (Conquest Music, now known as Progressive Arts Media). Following the release of Numb, Klank soon seemingly disappeared. Drummer John Zaletel and guitarist Pat Servedio hooked up with Big Baby Satan (great stoner rock) vocalist Kerry Merkle and bassist Ivan Gonzalez to form Fifty Four (named after the popular nightclub from years ago). While the music is strongly rooted in hip hop rhythms, which Klank dabbled a little previously, Kerry's vocal presence gives them some grit and power. This is an eleven-song debut and should help the band latch on to a label. It's a new sound which Fifty Four have created, but should have commercial and critical appeal. Plus these are serious, driven people- success is imminent.