This single from the “Holding A Wolf By The Ears” album was originally released at the end of May and was a precursor to the band playing a string of dates around the country, these dates will be long gone by the time you read this review  but lets get onto the single. 

What FATA have delivered this time around is another slice of mid to up-tempo post hardcore very much in the vein of the likes of Taking Back Sunday, Saosin or Alexisonfire, almost to the point where you could start to check tracks like this against the industry standard.  

All of the requisite elements are here, we have the mix of clean and snarled vocals, we have the up-tempo drums, we have the spoken interlude etc., etc. What we don't have though is a particularly memorable song. The guitar hooks are not quite insistent enough and there's not enough of a vocal melody to stick in the brain either.  

There's not a lot to dislike about “Pioneers” as such but, if you sat me down with it amongst a selection of tracks from the likes of Senses Fail and the aforementioned Taking Back Sunday I would be hard pressed to distinguish one from another, and that is something that the whole scene needs to try and avoid if any of these bands are to have any longer term future.

Let us know your views on Pioneers

Track Listing

In The Presence Of Enemies Pt. 1
Forsaken
Constant Motion
The Dark Eternal Night
Repentance
Prophets Of War
The Ministry Of Lost Souls
In The Presence Of Enemies Pt. 2

Line Up

Francis Mark - Vocals
Brian Deneeve - Guitar
Josh Newton - Bass
Rob Lauritsen – Guitar
Jeff Gretz – Drums