��F.T. ISLAND - 'I WILL'

Track List:
1. Intro
2. PRAY
3. Black Chocolate
4. BPM69
5. Do You Know Why?
6. Hey Girl
7. To The Light
8. Time To
9. Shadow
10. Please
11. Light



After more than a year's hiatus, F.T. Island dropped their new album 'I Will.' Known as a band that plays its own instruments, they've done one better on this album: they composed and wrote the tunes as well. I'm not really a Primadonna in any way, shape or form; the only thing I knew them from was an appearance in AOA Black's MV "MOYA." Had no idea what I was about to hear...� �

The unnamed intro song does not betray at all what this album has in store; it's a quiet piano piece with some strings. It's alright, but it didn't do much for me.



The LP launches into "PRAY," the title track to the album and an all-out sonic assault.� Fiery guitar leads, driving drums, and soaring vocals build this into a masterful piece of hard rock. I could have used less click-track, but that's a minor quibble. This song grabs you and shakes you. If the first piece was quiet, "PRAY" is thunderous by comparison. The lyrics almost sound like he's trying to convince himself of what he's saying:�

"See you now? See me now?
I'm broken in my faith
Oh, please god hear me!
I can't do anything
Oh, please god tell me!
In this frozen world
Oh, please god hear me!
But today I shout out
So I won't lose my way"

"Black Chocolate" starts mid-tempo, suspenseful, building to a satisfying chorus. Minhwan's drums are purposeful and powerful, Jonghun and Seunghyun's guitars crunch and wail through the track. Hongki's soaring vocals just serve to add punch to the whole package. If there's something wrong with "Black Chocolate," I can't find it.��



"BPM69" bounces along cheerily in the same way that the lyrics don't. The main verses sound a bit upbeat, but the vocals hit melancholy cadences in the chorus. It's a lovelorn song with the boys in pain:

Love always leaves me after giving me warmth
It freezes me up again, it runs away so I can't catch it
After you left, there's no light in my life
I miss you so much though I hate myself for it"

"Do You Know Why?" has some things in common with the power ballad, but the way the smooth vocals charge into the slamming leads lifts it beyond that overused label and give it more energy then it might otherwise have. Hooky and melodic, the boys position themselves as the bad guys here and tell the girl (who is apparently in love) to forget them.



Minhwan starts out "Hey Girl" with powerful, steady drums, and the guitar starts up to match the cadence. Highly technical guitar scales help the chorus pop on this tune. Sadly, the lyrics are pretty prosaic. Your standard love song. The track, taken as a whole, stands easily with any piece of more traditional AOR and indeed is better than most.

A ticking clock opens and closes the meditative "To The Light," a reworking of their Japanese single. I really like this, how the guitars are kind of doing their own thing behind smooth croons, and the song itself pops as Hongki exercises his powerful pipes yet again. The song sounds fairly natural in Korean as the boys are able to say what they really want to in their native tongue.



"Time To" steps in and kicks "To The Light" off the stage. A dirty, crunchy guitar opening reminiscent of 70s AC/DC, energetic vocals, and a rock n' roll swagger make this a rocker worthy of the name. The hooky refrains like "fight fight fight" and "you can do it again" are memorable and singable. Hongki does an amazing job on vocals here;�Jonghun and Seunghyun deliver a dual axe attack amid galloping bass and drums by Jaejin� and Minhwan.

"Shadow" starts out well to skilled guitar riffs and machine gun drums; it slows down a bit on the chorus, which seems to drag in comparison to the main verses. It grew on me the more I listened to it, though. To be fair, it would be difficult to find a song energetic enough to follow "Time To."



"Please" starts out as a ballad, but the cadence picks up in the next verses and the drums shift and fill alongside a moody guitar riff. It drags a little, but the clever harmonies near the end and the increased instrumentation inject new life into it before it completely flatlines.

"Light" is the only song that doesn't entirely fit here. It is noticably slower than the other pieces, a power ballad that Hongki kind of drones through at times. It takes a full minute for his powerful vocals to shine through here, which casts a pall over the tune as a whole. The lyrics urge the listener to "find a light, believe in yourself."� It's not a bad song, but not my style.



This is a solid rock album. Gone are the more traditional power ballads like "Lovesick," lighter pieces like "I Wish," and the bouncy "Hello Hello." They've taken a heavier direction on this disc; the pieces are darker and hard-hitting. And since this album is self-composed, the members had a hand in making it sound that way. I like it. I've wanted a darker, harder concept for awhile, and it's refreshing to see a band take that on after hearing a ton of R&B influences. The guitar parts are highly technical in places, Hongki's husky voice soars over the album, and the drumming is pretty skillful, as well. FNC needs to promote the heck out of this. This album slays in so many ways.

Recommended tracks: "PRAY," "Black Chocolate," "Time To"
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