The Righteous and the Wicked – For I Am

The Righteous and the Wicked is the fourth album from Belgian punkers For I Am. The album is being released through SBÄM Records and Bearded Punk Records and follows 2019’s Late Bloomers.

For I Am plays skate punk, which is very much apparent in the opening track Power Behind the Throne, which is a fast and furious opener, setting the scene for the album nicely both musically and lyrically. The band doesn’t sit idly in the skate punk sound though, steering a bit towards more pure punk rock and pop punk as well over the thirteen tracks. The second track is more the former, sounding a bit like Tsunami Bomb, especially as both bands are female fronted. Jaded is more mid-tempo, and overall For I Am are good at shifting tempo between tracks throughout the album. On Devil Undercover there’s much more of a rock sound, and Pity Party almost sounds like From autumn to ashes in certain parts, while Bonnie brings the pop punk. Overall it’s a mixed bag of styles that For I Am brings, but what keeps it together is that it’s always on the melodic side.

Lyrically it threads some of the same territory as The Iron Roses did on their last album, standing up for your rights, taking action and being proud of yourself. It’s generally well written, and doesn’t go into cliches too much. On the production side it’s pretty solid. Lead singer Hanne has got a good voice, although I feel that the vocals can become a bit muddled in the mix in some songs. This makes me feel a bit distant from Hanne, and the message that is being delivered. It’s not the case on all tracks but a bit more apparent on a few of them.

The Righteous and the Wicked is a well crafted skatepunk/pop-punk album from For I Am. Varied in tempo and style, nice lyrical themes, well performed and overall a pretty solid production. If you’re into the genre you should check it out, it’s well worth a listen.