Faktion - Faktion

Genre rock Publisher Roadrunner Records External Links Official Website Roadrunner Records

If you're looking for something fresh and interesting, don't waste your time with Faktion's self-titled release. If you're looking for radio-friendly scream rock then this album has your name on it. The tracks are all clichéd and while the vocals might be catchy they aren't something you'll want stuck in your head. There is nothing genuine to be found on this album.

First off, the artwork looks like it was created in five minutes using a grunge brush set in Adobe Photoshop. Between the artwork and the spelling of their name, I have to ask, are we in the 90s again? Musically, the album consists of the standard twelve tracks with a few ballads that try to be emotional, one or two possible radio singles, and a whole lot of filler.

Roadrunner Records boasts the talents of Faktion in a press release that states, "With its melodic vocal harmonies and vivid lyrics, 'Distance' features an irresistible combination of masculinity and sensitivity." Sorry, but when a label describes a song as containing a balance of masculinity and sensitivity then chances are it is a bogus marketing ploy. "Distance" could be described as emasculating and super-sensitive, if anything. The song opens with an acoustic guitar throwing around some minor chords while soft drumming keeps the song moving forward. The lyrics are whiney and simple (far from vivid), "I can't believe that it hurts this much, when I hear your voice / You're a constant hurting, that gets the best of me." The lyrics on the rest of the album are equally simplistic while the music is generally faster and driven by distorted guitar, harmonizing, and short melodic riffs. In "Control," they even use a lyric used by countless other bands ("Let the music take control"), most noticeably by the Backstreet Boys.

Faktion is yet another band in a long lineage that attempts to mix elements of metal, emo, and pop in an attempt to innovate when regrettably they are a few years too late. Its saddening to see this band be hyped by Roadrunner with such fictitious marketing terms when Roadrunner has so many other great bands in their repertoire. If you'd like to get a better idea of Roadrunner's sound, check out Trivium, Opeth, Dresden Dolls, or Killswitch Engage. Those are just a few bands under Roadrunner Records' belt that really do have "vivid lyrics," talented "vocal harmonies," and a sense of "masculinity."