Three years after the release of their debut, Fires in the Distance are back with their six song second album and their first with new drummer Jordan Rippe. The rest of the line-up remains unchanged with principal composer Yegor Savonin on guitar with Kristian Grimaldi, and bassist Craig Breitsprecher, the last two also taking care of vocal duties. Musically, they are melodic death with doomy overtones. Heavy as a ton of bricks, but with an ultra-heavy emphasis on the melodic elements.
The album opens with “Harbingers”, where Yegor’s keyboards join the guitars along with Cymrie Hukill and Julie Beistline’s violins, Julie Jacobson’s viola and Lisa Williams’ cello. Jordan’s drumming is slow and steady but littered with little blasts and intricate footwork as fills to add accents to Kristian’s deep roar, while Craig’s heady bass runs are a pleasure to listen to throughout the 10-minute track.
The relentless kicking on “Wisdom of Falling Leaves” appears totally effortless it’s so precise, with the guitars slipping between wallowing leads and heavy rhythmic riffs, all-the-while the piano adds a melancholic beauty for the melody to follow as the slow growls add an extra element of heaviness.
The chunky guitar riff on “Crumbling Pillars of a Tranquil Mind” works well under both the death vocals and quasi-black metal rasps, as the slow drum rolls drive the rhythm on, before the piano takes to the fore forcing the guitar to head into a lead solo before everything is reigned in to allow the string section their time to shine.
“Adrift, Beneath the Listless Waves” features Burial In The Sky guitarist James Tomedi adding his touch to the already hauntingly beautiful track filled with piano and violins.
Drums and piano are the key focal instruments at the beginning of “Psalm of the Merciless”, as the guitars and vocals appear to be there to fill the wall of sound, but once the piano fades out and the melody guitar steps in, the rhythm guitar and vocals show their strength before the bass takes your breath away and the lead solo begins.
Feeling like the fastest track on the album, “Idiopathic Despair” uses an unusual drum syncopation to highlight different guitar elements, letting them appear faster rather than heavier but never overshadowing the key component of the song, the melody.
I thoroughly enjoyed this album and am truly impressed with the polished product that has been released here.
(9/10 Marco Gaminara)
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