Musical Style and Influences
Fightstar's sound is widely referred to as "post-hardcore", incorporating a style that is "equal parts melody and menace". Their music has also been labelled by other publications as "alternative rock", "Busted on steroids" and "emo" (despite the band distancing themselves from the label). Kerrang! magazine have stated the band draw equal influences from genres such as post-rock, heavy metal and hardcore punk. Charlie Simpson has echoed this sentiment by describing the band's musical aim as trying to "combine the light and dark shades, to make something utterly brutal and really heavy, and on the other side have something really delicate and beautiful. The fusion of those things is what Fightstar does."
Commenting on debut EP, They Liked You Better When You Were Dead (2005), Allmusic wrote, "Vocalists Al Westaway and Charlie Simpson utilize a distinct sound that reaches total catharsis. Train-like guitar work also adds strength to the record, creating drama and tension in the key moments." Josh Barr, journalist for American music websize Aversion, described the EP as containing, "passionate musicianship that's equal parts serenading melody and jarring punch, these blokes unleash a welcome roundhouse kick to the face of overly sensitive emo rock, triggering crying fits and bloodying scarves".
Lyrically, the band claim that they aim to avoid writing in an "emo" fashion. Grand Unification was centred around the theme of the apocalypse, while subsequent work has varied thematically from patriotism (The English Way) to knife crime (Damocles). Fightstar have also drawn on influences from books (most notably those of Chuck Palahniuk), films and comics- the Neon Genesis Evangelion series have provided inspiration for several of the group's songs.
In his review of the band's debut album, Grand Unification (2006), Vik Bansal of MusicOMH spoke of the bands varied dynamics; "Where others are happy to be one-dimensional, Fightstar are not content unless a song moves fluidly through seemingly incongruous but ultimately coherent moods and musical dynamics. The interspersion of thoroughly heavy metal sections within the otherwise widescreen rock of 'Grand Unification Pt I' and 'Sleep Well Tonight' encapsulates this perfectly". The band's second album, One Day Son, This Will All Be Yours (2007) was viewed as a "harder effort" than their debut, containing a "thrilling mixture of alt. rock and post-hardcore". Q magazine wrote that, "the intricate instrumental passages, multi-tracked vocal harmonies and pounding riffs hint at Muse-scale ambition and intellect". The Sun also described the albums sound as, "heavier, slicker and as focused as ever, tracks such as '99' and 'We Apologise For Nothing' embrace an epic, panoramic sound that sweeps you off your feet. It’s aggressive but emotive, with heaps of melody among the huge riffs."
Third album, Be Human (2009), heavily implemented choral and orchestral elements. Emma Johnston of Kerrang! emphasised this in her review by stating, "Fightstar throw as many orchestral and choral flourishes as their muscular, solemnly heavy rock as it could take without drowning". AbsolutePunk writer Anton Djamoos also opined that the album contains a "certain symphonic quality", that is "a departure from the general body of work we've seen in the past. They break from their own norm with several orchestral elements to make the album sound more full and let the music hit even harder".
The band have said they are influenced by a wide variety of music, particularly film scores, and have named artists such as Nirvana, Deftones, Radiohead, Silverchair, Pantera, Mono, Explosions in the Sky, The Cure, and Jeff Buckley as major inspirations. Abidi has declared Deftones the band he would most like to perform with "If I got to play with (them), that'd be it, you could stick a fork in me.
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