The End is Near

Description

The End is Near is the fifth full-length studio album by the American ska-influenced alternative rock band Five Iron Frenzy, self-released in June 2003. (The album was later widely re-released as a part of double album titled The End is Here – stylized as The End is Near Here – by Five Minute Walk Records in April 2004. The double album includes both the studio album and a live recording of the band’s final concert performance.) It was recorded in early 2003 and sold directly by the band during their farewell tour and through their official website. The album was produced, recorded, and mixed by Masaki Liu at One Way Studios in Concord, California; with the band co-producing. Additional engineering by Micah Ortega, Bret Barker, Reese Roper, and Bob Schively. Additional recording at El Estudio De Ortega. Illustrations by Douglas TenNapel.

Five Iron Frenzy is Reese Roper on lead vocals, Micah Ortega and Sonnie Johnston on guitars, Nathanael “Brad” Dunham on trumpet, Dennis Culp on trombone, Leanor Ortega on saxophone, Keith Hoerig on bass, and Andrew Verdecchio on drums. The album features additional vocals by Bob Schiveley, Dennis Culp, Justin McRoberts, Mick Leonardy, and Masaki Liu.

Five Iron Frenzy’s illustrious musical existence has always been littered with rumours that the band were to split up. Now, eight years after their genesis, the band are conducting their farewell tour and ‘The End Is Near’ is their final studio album. It’s impossible to do the album justice in a short review as it is quintessential of everything FIF have stood for. Reese Roper has long established himself as one of the most creative and idiomatic singers and songwriters in the industry and ‘The End…’ showcases him at his best. There’s a vitriolic attack on capitalism («American Kryptonite»); a ruthless onslaught on media spin («Anchors Away») and savage swipes at the music industry («So Far, So Bad»). The light-hearted «Wizard Needs Food, Badly» is a track for all those men who just want to play with big boys’ toys. The aptly named «That’s How The Story Ends» serves to bring a sense of closure with references to tracks such as «Where Is Micah?», «The Untimely Death Of Brad» and «These Are Not My Pants» as well as a farewell to favourites such as Combat Chuck, Kitty Doggy and the blue comb. «It Was Beautiful» is a sincere song of praise and thanks to God as the band remember the past eight years together. Musically, the band combine elements of rock, punk, ska and metal, whilst «See The Flames Begining To Crawl» features the rasta vocal and groove that the band experimented with on ‘All The Hype That Money Can Buy’. By far the brightest jewel on the album is the painfully honest closing track «On Distant Shores» which recognises the band’s struggles and seems to encompass everything that FIF (and Brave Saint Saturn) write about. The song borrows its closing lines from what is undeniably one of FIF’s most powerful songs, «Every New Day». Clearly, a lot of thought and detail has been put into this project as it combines the best musical elements of previous releases with challenging, poignant and, in typical Five Iron style, humorous lyrics. You could almost buy the record, which comes in a jewel case and cardboard sleeve, for Douglas Ten Napel’s artwork alone. Rumours are bound to be rife as Ten Napel’s seemingly dead-and-buried Five Iron Bunny Monster nudges its box open. Suggestion, perhaps, that this is not FIF’s final chapter, though I prefer to think that this is just an ironic prod at the rumours which seem to have been an inherent part of FIF’s career. The album can be bought exclusively from www.themobilemessage.org [Aleem Hossain, Cross Rhythms, November 2003]

CD tracklist:

01. Cannonball
02. At Least I’m Not Like All Those Other Old Guys
03. So Far, So Bad
04. New Years Eve
05. American Kryptonite
06. It Was Beautiful
07. Wizard Needs Food, Badly
08. Farewell To Arms
09. See The Flames Begin To Crawl
10. Anchors Away
11. Something Like Laughter
12. That’s How The Story Ends
13. On Distant Shores
14. (hidden track)

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