Funeral For A Friend - Chapter and Verse

WHENEVER there is a conversation about Funeral For A Friend, a certain song inevitably gets mentioned.

Escape Artists Never Die is not only the Welsh rock band's signature tune but it also captured the imagination of the alternative scene and helped define the post-hardcore sound.

The problem is that single was recorded more than a decade ago for their 2003 debut album, Casually Dressed and Deep In Conversation.

Six records have followed and some would argue that the quartet are still working in the shadow of that song.

Casually Dressed and Deep In Conversation was critically acclaimed and influential but it also proved a lot for the young band to live up to.

And while their second CD, 2005's Hours, was almost as successful, follow up records like concept album, Tales Don't Tell Themselves, began to feel awkward as the band continued to be defined by the past and faced a struggle to branch out.

Funeral For A Friend seem to be acutely aware of all this because since their 2013 album, Conduit, they have made the wise decision to go back to their roots.

This has never been as evident as on the new record, Chapter and Verse, which instantly brings back memories of the band's early EPs like Seven Ways to Scream Your Name

So it is raw, fast, hard-hitting and on their terms. You get the sense the band's days of playing for the industry and for critics is over and fair enough.

And while Chapter and Verse will hardly attract new listeners or topple the impact of their first two records, loyal fans will be more than satisfied.

DAVID MORGAN