2010 is just getting started with its musical releases and if Four Year Strong’s new LP Enemy of the World is any indication as to the quality of the releases this year, we’re all in for a really good year.  In 2007 Four Year Strong released their second full-length Rise or Die Trying on I Surrender Records. This album not only picked up buzz from both hardcore ‘bros’ and pop-rock fans but also from Decaydance Records and they signed in 2008.  A little over a year after their signing, Four Year Strong have brought you Enemy of the World and this album  is sure to leave you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end.

“It Must Really Suck To Be Four Year Strong Right Now” opens the album with the guitars and drums that everyone’s always loved about Four Year Strong. After FYS released …Explains It All there were plenty of people hesitating as to whether or not the quality of their next release would be as good as Rise Or Die Trying. Anyone who hesitated, including myself, was slapped in the face with this first track. What are some things that stand out to you about Four Year Strong? Is it A:their recurrent use of catchy gang vocals, B: their hilarious song titles, C:  the way the use riffs as hard as A Day To Remember without falling into those same vocal capacities or is it D: a mixture of all of them? If you answered yes to any of these then Enemy of the World is the album for you. Moving on to tracks #2 and #3, the energy just keeps throwing punches and if you thought the titles were good, the lyrics are even better. Track #3, “Wasting Time (Eternal Summer)” is probably a universal song; with lines such as “I’d give this all up for a chance to find my way back to that summer in 2003 when I felt alive… It was the first time I didn’t fall asleep until the sun came up cause we never had enough. It was the first time that we could rush the streets feeling no defeat cause we were ready to ignite the sky. It was the last time that I had the time of my life,” how can you not relate? Everyone’s felt that way before and if they haven’t, they’ve just been inspired by Four Year Strong to go out and make it happen.

“Nineteen With Neck Tatz” opens with signature FYS gang vocals and doesn’t disappoint in its 3:23 run time.  Actually, everything about this song is virtually perfect for Four Year Strong. It incorporates every single aspect that the fans love about them. If I could go through and highlight everything good about this album, I’d surely end up listing every song but instead lets go through some absolutely flawless tracks. Track #6 , “What The Hell Is A Gigawatt?” is instrumentally AND vocally one of the strongest on the entire album . The drums and guitar are overwhelming and lead vocalists Dan and Alan deliver gruff, fast paced vocals then entire duration. “This Body Pays The Bill$” tells the story of a girl who is, according to Four Year Strong, “everything that possibly could go wrong, a lifelong tragedy” and although they maybe want to contend for this title, it must really suck to be this girl right now (much pun intended). Hell, apparently this girl “couldn’t hit a fly if she was standing in a pile of shit”. If I were this girl, under normal circumstances, I would be pissed that they wrote this about me, but considering how outwardly great this song is composed, I would actually be pretty flattered.

The album closes with the title track to the album “Enemy of the World” and it’s probably the perfect outro. Quite frankly, I don’t think Four Year Strong is an enemy of the world. Actually, after the release of this album, the world is probably going to love them. This is a group of strong guys no doubt and I think they know that they have some seriously loyal supporters. “Enemy of the World” opens with “Well if you’re in from the start then we’re in this together. If you’re not then I’ll have to take on this world cause this world can’t take on me.” Whether or not you support Four Year Strong, whether you actually purchase this album, go to their shows or buy their merchandise won’t be the determining factor of Four Year Strong’s future. See, while they really can’t do it without their fans, there will always be someone who will fill your shoes and Four Year Strong has no intention to give up, despite having people who may turn against them or try to bring them down. They may feel like enemies of the world but come on, it’d be a little foolish to believe that anyone has the entire world on their side; and even throughout them feeling this way, they “still put their trust in this world cause this world can’t trust in them.”

Review by Clarisse Hansard