6. Funeral For A Friend - Escape Artists Never Die
Emo metal was all the rage back in the day with bands writing incredibly heavy music and having emotionally wrought songs piled over the top. FFAF were amongst one of the first bands to break out into this particular sub genre and are, ironically enough, one of the few who didn't implode in on themselves with petty infighting - still going strong today. There is a distinct disconnect between the vocals and the music in this particular song. The lead vocals simply don't fit the music, which is heavy, chunky and technical, the clean vocals simply just don't gel well at all. What is often overlooked with FFAF and their contemporaries is that they are all outstanding musicians. The sheer volume of riffs, passages and technical breakdowns on this song and on their debut album were superb. The skill the band displayed and even charted with was something almost unheard of at the time, especially when heavy rock and metal were very much out of favour with the mainstream. With a more appropriate vocalist this song could have been perfect.