REVIEW: Favorite Weapon – ‘Sixty Saragossa’

October 13th, 2014

Kriston McConnell

Artist: Favorite Weapon
Album: Sixty Saragossa
Genre: Post-hardcore
Label: Rise Records

It’s not unusual for a new band to crop up from the ashes of another group. Generally speaking, when a band breaks up or members depart they usually end up in another band. Musicians sometimes hop from band to band before they finally find their place (if they ever do). In the instance of Favorite Weapon, things worked out just a little bit differently. Frontman Hance Alligood was a part of Woe, Is Me before they broke up. Instead of starting a brand new page for Favorite Weapon though, the band’s label, Rise Records, decided to just update the page from WIM to Favorite Weapon without telling fans. This has upset many fans, especially considering Favorite Weapon don’t sound anything like their predecessor. That’s certainly one way to get your brand new band nearly 800,000 fans instantly without buying them.

All the drama aside, Favorite Weapon actually have a pretty decent sound. They are not the best Rise band, but I don’t believe they are the worst either. If you liked the singles they released, then you may want to give all of Sixty Saragossa a listen before writing it off entirely. “Hollow” is easily one of the best songs on the album, and there are a few more where it came from.

I will start off by saying that I was hoping for more of the screams that the band showcased in “Hollow” but they do not utilize them much at all. That extra dynamic would have really benefited them in the end. Other than that though, “Hollow” has an addictive melody that will get you hooked right away. Unfortunately, not all of the other tracks will end up drawing you in the same way. With that being said though, the next noteworthy track is the second one on the album, which is titled “Let’s Shake On It.” This is another song that has some ear-catching lyrics. That, in combination with the cadence of his singing make this a memorable song. They utilize some more of the unclean vocals during part of the melody which helps it stand out against other songs.

Considering this is a post-hardcore band, they have quite a bit of pop-punk influence. While the lyrics don’t reflect that style, the instruments certainly do. They don’t rely on breakdowns or chugging guitars to get them through each track. Instead, they have that upbeat, fast-paced tempo that we’re used to from artists in the pop-punk scene. Unfortunately, the instrumentation isn’t particularly unique from track to track which makes some of the songs seem repetitive.

All of the songs up until the very last track are relatively fast-faced and have that pop-punk feel. Closing out the album though is a song titled “Wayside.” It’s much slower in pace than the rest of the album, and it also has a more personal message. Alligood sings about coping with being abandoned by his mother at a young age. It’s certainly an emotional track, and quite frankly one of the best. It adds a new dimension to the band’s sound that they definitely needed.

While I do still believe it was incredibly shady for their label to hijack the old WIM page, and I also do not think the band deserves nearly 800,000 fans, I have to admit the album has some pretty catchy songs. Alligood is not the strongest vocalist out there right now, but his lyrics can easily get stuck in your head. He doesn’t have a solid range however, and some of the songs are pretty forgettable. I feel they would have benefitted by keeping a full-time unclean vocalist. With that in mind, it’s better they did not keep Woe, Is Me’s name. We will have to see how they end up doing in the long run with such a dramatic start to their career. If you can look past what happened with WIM, then you may find yourself digging the album.

SCORE: 6.5/10
Review written by Kriston McConnell