As much as I enjoy reviewing albums from internationally known bands like Metallica and Judas Priest, I equally enjoy discovering younger bands and tell my readers about them. Whether we like it or not, some of our favorite musicians – people who influenced us and even helped us through difficult times – are getting older. It’s not easy to face that because we, the metal fans, are passionate and we have this unique bond with our favorite bands. But such is life… What helps during these times is knowing that there are some talented new bands that are not only eager to carry the torch but are also doing a great job of representing the scene to which they belong. This review is about a great new band I discovered named Farooq and an album they released last year, The Faction.
To be honest with you, I don’t spend enough time discovering newer bands out there. It’s not because I don’t want to, it’s because we live in an age where access to music has become easier and some of our favorite, and more established, bands are also releasing some great music. And keep in mind, I never review an album unless I’ve listened to it at least 3 times to make sure there’s nothing impulsive and I give the record my utmost attention. So, it becomes challenging to then look out for younger bands. Luckily, this time it was different.
I came across Farooq on Facebook and upon hearing the first song on The Faction, I knew the whole album was going to be captivating. To me, the secret of Farooq is their ability to channel their anger into music that could easily connect with their audiences. They definitely have a sense of humor and I can tell they’re having fun while recording, but they’re also not afraid to voice their frustration with people or with the system.
“He’s at the top of the ladder, smiling down like he cares.
Spitting on me as I keep my head down and grind my teeth away.
I’ve become this stone. It’s all I’ve known.”
I don’t like spending too much time on genre definitions; but if I had to pick a few to describe the overall vibe, I’d say their sound has elements of hardcore, thrash, hip-hop, punk, and metalcore. The biggest reason I was immediately drawn to their music is that it reminded me of one of my favorite albums. Around 1999-2000, I was getting into Suicidal Tendencies. The first album of theirs I bought was this gem called Suicidal For Life. It’s the album they did with drummer Jimmy DeGrasso, who later joined Megadeth, and Rob Trujillo, who later joined Metallica. And it’s a fantastic album! To be honest with you, most of my favorite bands are melodic thrash or heavy metal bands. But there was something about Suicidal that made me stop and pay attention. The songs were heavy, the lyrics were angry, and the groove was insane! I’d never heard anything like it. Imagine how happy I was when, years later, I saw ST open for Megadeth! Farooq, of course, have their own sound. But the Suicidal Tendencies influence I picked up on was the reason that I knew I had to review this album.
The band hails from Fresno, California and their members have been working on writing and releasing songs since 2010. Their debut, The Truth, was released in 2013, and their second album – our topic of review – The Faction, was released in 2017. The band name, Farooq, also rang a bell because I’m originally from Turkey and Faruk (same name with a different spelling) is a fairly popular name. I never knew its meaning, though. Lead singer Daniel Dominguez says they wanted to have a wrestling influenced name (a nod to Farooq Asad, maybe?) and they chose this particular spelling because of the meaning. Farooq means discerning truth from falsehood. Their debut, The Truth, is directly linked to the band name. It’s a bold statement, but just get into their music and you’ll see they’re not afraid of bold statements at all!
The Faction was tracked by lead singer Daniel and guitarist Phillip Camacho. Zack Ohren, who recently co-produced and mixed Machine Head’s Catharsis, mixed and mastered it. Production duties were shared among Daniel, Phillip, and Zack. And the first thing you’ll notice when you listen to the album is that it’s well balanced. It doesn’t suffer from ridiculously loud mastering, commonly referred to as loudness wars. It’s well produced, mixed, and mastered. I have been learning more about recording because I started writing my own songs, and now I know better how difficult it is to get the sound right. That’s why I was impressed with the attention that was given to how The Faction should sound.
In addition to Daniel and Phillip, the band also featured Brandon Rubio on bass and Eric Martinez on drums. I say “featured” because there’s been a small change after The Faction was released. Brandon has recently switched to guitar so the band can take advantage of a twin-guitar sound, and Adam Lopez joined to assume bass duties.
Now, let’s dig into it and talk about the songs themselves!
The Faction is the kind of album that gets to the point right away. It features 15 songs but it’s only 35 minutes long. They have something to say and they want to say it without having to add layer after layer. And even though the songs are relatively short, the advantage is that you get songs that don’t repeat the same thing. Each song, with the exception of interludes, goes through a lot of tempo changes, different rhythms, and genres. It’s hard, if not impossible, to anticipate where the songs will go. To me, that’s part of the charm here.
The album starts with Write Up (video above). It’s a short song that’s only slightly longer than a minute, but it sets the tone of the entire record. And for a short song, it still goes through so many changes! It reminded me of S.O.D. a lot. Next, Insinuations starts slower but there’s an insane groove. I love the back vocals on this one. Very nice bass work here too. But just when you think the song is going in one direction, Farooq kicks into higher gear around the 1-minute mark. I think fans of Pantera would really dig this one. Suck Dynasty has a bit of everything. The chord choices were interesting to me – at some point it adds almost progressive elements to the track. Towards the end, there’s some great groove on this one too – I can just picture the mosh pits at live shows! I can’t tell about whom the lyrics are, but anyone who has been frustrated with people taking advantage of others’ vulnerability and getting rich off of their miseries will find something relatable in here. Like I said before, Farooq touches upon the topic of injustice, and this song is just one way they approach it.
Before I continue with the songs, I should also add that there are 3 interludes on the album. For this review, I decided to focus on the songs because there’s a lot to unpack here. But if you give the album a listen, don’t skip them because you get a better feel for the whole thing if you include the interludes in there too.
My favorite track was #Barz, and no it’s not a typo, there’s a hashtag in the song title. It has a great thrash and punk vibe to it. It’s as angry as the other tracks, but there’s definitely a bigger thrash metal infusion happening here. And towards the end, you get some insane grooves that reminded me of Pantera and some of Anthrax’s mid-’90s work. I’d love it if Farooq ever decided to do a full-blown thrash/punk album! This song also has a political tone that I enjoyed. I know it alienates some fans when you get into it, but you can’t win over everyone. Musicians should never censor themselves from writing about whatever they’d like to write about…
Right after, we go into another track with great guitar-work called Ask Me. There’s some cool lead guitar here too. I wish it was a little longer because I liked the direction it took. One area I think Farooq can explore is leads. They certainly have the chops and I think it would add a unique new layer to their music.
Then we’ve got gems like Hoarders, which is another example of some thrash infusion. Flippin’ On Ebay reminded me so much of Anthrax and I mean it in a good way. Remember, Anthrax was a pioneer when it came to mixing certain elements of metal and hardcore/hip-hop. This track has everything you’d want from a metal track! Speed, groove, aggression! Corporate Champ, like you would imagine from the title, deals with corporate greed; but in a way you’d expect from a metal band! Our character in the song says no to ill-treatment and takes matters to his own hands! Musically, the track, once again, shows elements of Pantera, this time in some guitar squeals the way Dimebag used to do.
As you get closer to the end of the album, there are no signs of slowing down! No Parking, which is probably my favorite after #Barz, has some oddly timed rhythms that kept me engaged. It’s one of those Farooq tracks where I couldn’t guess where the song was going to go. It’s super heavy and it’s angry! The song, at times, gets faster and there’s some great bass lines all the way through. In particular, the bass towards the end reminded me of the legendary punk band NoMeansNo. HumleU is a shorter and slower track but the groove is there! Picks up some speed throughout the song and there’s some interesting drumming. Then we have You Got Me, that borrows some lyrics from the Kinks track. But the music, of course, is a different story! I love the guitar-work here, there’s the groovy rhythms during the chorus, but there’s also the intricate riffing during the verses. The lyrics reflect an appreciation of hardcore music, which just shows you these guys genuinely cherish their scene. And the last song, 80_20, which is listed as a bonus track, is a great way to end the album! It features guest vocals from Fresno rapper JDubb and Michael Mygind of Gorilla Stomp. The guitar solo on this track was played by another guest musician, Arthur Bueno. I love the riffs towards the end, they provide a solid thrash and punk infusion but definitely groovy enough to cause some mosh pits and headbanging at the shows. I get the feeling that this song was written with live shows in mind. It’s Farooq’s declaration to their audience that people in attendance shouldn’t expect anything like what they normally see around them… “this is a hardcore show, not the church, not the mall“, Daniel says and he ends by saying “We all gotta get along since we’re here”. Sounds good to me!
all images in the Gallery above are by Randy Jacob
Overall, my impression is positive upon listening to this album multiple times. Farooq not only understands how to create an engaging track but thrives in this area. They don’t want you to get comfortable with a certain tempo or riff. They want you to pay attention. It’s easy to get lost if you’re a passive listener, but you’ll enjoy the ride if you’re there with them along the way. At least that was my experience. For fans of thrash infused with hardcore, this album will deliver the goods!
Farooq has recently signed with Glacier Recordings and are working on their 3rd album. It will once again be mixed and mastered by Zack Ohren and released soon. For updates, you can follow them on Facebook and YouTube. As you are waiting, you can keep enjoying The Faction on music streaming services like Spotify, but if you want to support the band even more, their music is also available on Bandcamp. I’m excited to see what direction they take with their new album and wish them the best of luck with their tours!
