The Fallen State

“A Deadset Endeavour”, the long awaited debut album from Devon quintet The Fallen State has been almost six years in the making since the band formed in 2013.

In that time the anticipation of fans eagerly waiting for an album has been fed with the release of five E.P’s to whet and satisfy their appetite while the band have honed their songwriting and performances before unleashing their full length debut album ‪on 12th April 2019‬ through Last Man Records.

High profile support slots with the likes of ‪Black Stone Cherry‬, ‪Tremonti‬, ‪3 Doors Down‬, ‪Halestorm‬ and most recently ‪Pop Evil‬ in February/March of 2019 which saw them venturing into Europe for the first time.
These shows, along with their own headline shows have garnered them a reputation as a powerful live act and this album can only further cement their place as one of the UK’s most exciting emerging rock bands.
They are already booked to appear at Ramblin’ Man Fair Festival In Maidstone, Kent (‪19th-21st July 2019‬) and will be touring throughout 2019 in support of this album release, with headline dates to be announced soon.

So, I hear you ask, has it been worth the wait?
This reviewer is of the opinion that it most certainly has been.
A Deadset Endeavour has the potential to be one of the standout releases this year and is setting an early standard that others will do well to match never mind better.

This, in a nutshell is one damn fine album full of powerful, anthemic songs driven by the powerful rhythm engine of Rich Walker on drums and Greg Butler on bass, along with some inspired solos and huge riffs from guitarists Jon Price and Dan Oke. The cherry on this sonic cake is the emotive vocals of Ben Stenning who takes you through a soul searching rollercoaster of a journey as you feel and experience every raw emotion in his voice.

I never like to say that a band sound like or remind me of another band and fortunately with The Fallen State there is no need to go down that road as they have already defined their own recognisable sound, but suffice to say if you are a fan of the bands mentioned above or ‪Alter Bridge ‬and ‪Shinedown‬ this should be right up your street.

The album opens with ‘Statements’, the brooding, ethereal intro growing into a simple guitar riff before exploding into drums and bass thus setting the tone for what is about to follow over the next 40 minutes.
Stennings vocals follow a similar path easing you into the song before letting it rip at the chorus with a vocal full of pain and emotion. Jon Price rounds it out with a shredding solo before fading out much as it began.

‘For My Sorrow” is driven by the drums and bass of Walker and Butler once again with the painful, apologetic lyrics pleading for forgiveness and redemption. This is one for full volume, though be careful if you are driving as it will encourage you to break the speed limit, so it might be worth learning the lyrics “I’m holding my hands up, I made a mistake” and pray for leniency.

‘American Made’ will be known to some of you as this was the first single release from the album and has been available since 8th March.
This catchy, anthemic song references the band’s struggle within the music industry fighting against the favour of the US scene over all others.
Hopefully, this may well just be the album that will help The Fallen State break down some of these barriers.

Next up is ‘Paradox” and this the highlight of the album for me, this epic sees Stenning’s vocals toned down slightly which totally showcases the richness and tone of his voice. This is a rock radio friendly song which matches anything that the U.S. has to offer. A future single release in my opinion.

’Torn’ is a brutal, angry face melter full of attitude and will be familiar to anyone who subscribed to the ill fated Pledge campaign when it was made available as a free download.
l also caught this live in Glasgow back in November on the Devilskin tour, and it could get messy if you find yourself on the barrier - you have been warned.

‘Can’t Fight The feeling’ starts with a chunky guitar intro before settling down when the vocals kick in, but don’t relax as it builds to the chorus. This one will get inside your head and set up camp with it’s catchy chorus that will have you singing along defiantly.

‘Open Wound’ and ‘Attitude’ are reminiscent of some of the previous releases and what we have come to expect from The Fallen State utilising the dynamics and strengths of the band as mentioned earlier in this review, so I would only be repeating myself to mention them again.

‘Lovers & Psychos’ is a fast paced, drum driven rocker of a song which i’m particularly looking forward to hear played live.

‘Fragments’ is the nearest that we get to a rock ballad on the album and I can see this being a cellphone/lighter (does anybody still have those?) moment in a live environment and rounds out the album beautifully.

One refreshing and pleasing aspect of A Deadset Endeavour is that The Fallen State are giving us a completely new body of work for their debut album and haven’t chosen to fill out the album with some of their undoubted fan favourites from their previous excellent E.P releases.
This is a brand new album full of brand new music and while this is fantastic for fans who have been with the band on their journey so far and already have the (now discontinued) E.P’s, this could prove to be a source of frustration for the new fans this album is surely going to bring to the party.
These fans are going to surely want to pick up the back catalogue.

The song that switched me on to The Fallen State was the excellent “Nova”, particularly the version featuring Chris Robertson of ‪Black Stone Cherry‬. This along with many others are a must have for any fan of this band.
Maybe we can look forward to a deluxe version of A Deadset Endeavour with a second disc of the material from the E.P’s to fulfil the demand that this album is surely going to create.

Until then, enjoy what we do have, it is a fuckin’ belter of an album and if you want to hear some of the back catalogue get yourself along to a show this year when the dates are announced shortly.

A Deadset Endeavor - released on Last Man Records ‪on 12th April 2019‬

Tracklisting:
1. Statements
2. For My Sorrow
3. American Made
4. Paradox
5. Torn
6. Can’t Fight The Feeling
7. Open Wound
8. Attitude
9. Lovers & Psychos
10. Fragments

To Pre-order ‪until 8th April‬: A Deadset Endeavour:
https://adeadsetendeavour.bigcartel.com/

The Fallen State are:

Ben Stenning - Vocals
Jon Price - Guitar
Dan Oke - Guitar
Greg Butler - Bass
Rich Walker - Drums

Website: ‪ https://thefallenstate.wixsite.com/fallen-state‬
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thefallenstate/
Twitter: @thefallenstate