Still shakin', and that's odd

"Odd how People Shake" is a big fucking upfuck of an album. In fact, one of the biggest I've ever came to witness. It blends at least half a dozen different genres, from Post-Hardcore to Metalcore to Mathcore to Screamo to Emo-Pop and everything inbetween. And it contains at least half a dozen different vocal styles, from shouting to growling to screaming to shrieking to spoken words to clean sung vocals. I always loved that the first word of the record was "odd" cause retrospectively it really was odd. It was a product of its time and right in its place in the early 2000s, when everybody was doing crazy shit and succeeded. Just like the cover of the album is a collage, their style was a collage of basically everything that was going on in Hardcore five years prior to its release. Bands who likely influenced FEAR BEFORE: THE BLOOD BROTHERS, BOTCH, CURL UP AND DIE, POISON THE WELL, ORCHID, SAETIA, REFUSED, AT THE DRIVE-IN, THURSDAY, FROM AUTUMN TO ASHES, THE USED, MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE, among many others?

"Odd how People shake" was the debut album by FEAR BEFORE THE MARCH OF FLAMES and I don't know exactly how old they were when writing and recording it but they were pretty young. And you could hear that. From the often amteur-ish vocals to the whole indecisive character of the record, this spreads of teen angst. It's the prime example of a young band going out there, having balls and cherishing all the different styles they like. Honestly, I could relate to that a hundred percent and that's why I loved this album so much when I was in my teens. Hell, if I'd have any musical talent I'd have written the exact same album. 

FEAR BEFORE couldn't settle for one particular direction with "Odd how People shake". It's unbelievable how much they were able to cram into 3-minute-long songs. What's more unbelievable is the fact how catchy this record is. I don't know if it's the nostalgia (I really listend a lot to this back then) and the fact that the course of the record is saved forever in my subconscious... but, the flow is just perfect. I can't pick a certain song or moment that stands out to me, but I know what happens next and still get lost in the flow of the album. The hooks are timeless and the breakdowns let me "shake", no pun intended. On top of it, it sounds even crazier as back in 2003/4. 

Not long after they released the follow-up "Art Damage" and settled for a more cleaned up, straight style. It's nowhere near a bad album and has a few standouts but it was the start of their "serious" run. The critically acclaimed third record "The Always Open Mouth" left me kinda cold then. Again, it's not a bad record, but they sounded even more interchangable. "Odd how People shake" remains my personal favourite of FEAR BEFORE THE MARCH OF FLAMES. It was them at their rawest and most energetic. Twenty years later it stands as a testament for how freaky (but awesome) this period in HC was.