So, Bring On Mixed Reviews

Four Year Strong – Enemy Of The World – Review

Release Date: March 9th, 2010
Record Label: Decaydance Records
Genre: Melodic Pop Punk

Back in 2007, my musical tastes took a punch to the jaw when Four Year Strong‘s debut “Rise or Die Trying” hit store shelves. Although underrated at first, it soon became a cult hit along with other albums of the melodic pop punk persuasion, such as Set Your Goals‘ “Mutiny.” I actually had to buy their freshman release twice, because it received so many spins, the wear and tear eventually made it unreadable. And the last three years have been a long waiting game until their newest album would surface. I can forgive that covers album, which was a pure tease effort, and left me wanting some quality original material. Well, after all the anticipation, their new album “Enemy Of The World“ makes a splash this week and you must know up front, it doesn’t disappoint one bit.

Differences this time around range from being on a major label, to working with a more established producer in Machine, to providing more (“platinum”) simply awesome pre-orders. Either way, Four Year Strong doesn’t seem to have alienated any long-term fans with this latest release. It still has all the jumpy pop punk that made sweaty, bearded, tubby dudes famous. It also still possesses the anthem shouts, amped-up melodic guitars, and of course lyrics that are bound to become coined phrases and facebook statuses.

We also get to see a different side of FYS with “Enemy Of The World.” Of course the soon to be classic songs such as the album opener “It Must Really Suck To Be Four Year Strong Right Now” and the recent single “Wasting Time (Eternal Summer)” will gain instant acceptance because they don’t attempt to stray from the bands steady formula of carefree pop punk and melodic hardcore. But it is the lighter and more heart felt tracks on the record, most namely “One Step At A Time” and the more upbeat “Find My Way Back“, that really give this effort character. Of course I always find myself loving the more aggressive, poignant, and anthem shout-heavy songs like “Nineteen With Neck Tatz” and “What The Hell Is A Gigawatt?” which add a considerable charge.

You have to love an album with references from Ghostbusters and Back To The Future; you just have to. Plus the album cover is pure magic. And despite a forgivable miss or two, I’ve pretty much mentioned all the tracks on the album in my “pros” column with nothing more than genre stagnation sitting lonely in the “cons” bin. Truthfully Four Year Strong is one of my favorite artists this year, as they have been for several now. They bring fun-loving music back into a stuffy hardcore uniform and do so with memorable lyrics and catchy pop punk. You should stop listening to all the boring and serious rock out there and take “Enemy Of The World” for a spin. You won’t regret it. ~Staff

Score: 4.5/5

Track Listing:
1. It Must Really Suck to Be Four Year Strong Right Now
2. On a Saturday
3. Wasting Time (Eternal Summer)
4. Nineteen with Neck Tatz
5. Find My Way Back
6. What the Hell Is a Gigawatt?
7. One Step at a Time
8. This Body Pays the Bill$
9. Paul Revere’s Midnight Ride
10. Flannel Is the Color of My Energy
11. Enemy of the World