ALBUM REVIEW: Circadian Promise – Fires In The Distance
With their origins as a solo project, it didn’t take long for FIRES IN THE DISTANCE to flourish into a fully-fledged band. A four-piece specialising in intricate melodic death metal. Delivering a heart and passion with a sharp edge of aggression. Previous release Air Not Meant For Us, boosted their profile significantly. It shone a light on how a band can temper the raw emotions of death metal and channel them with emphatic melodic delivery.
Composing the colossal is something that FIRES IN THE DISTANCE take in their stride on new album Circadian Promise, and opener Of Radiance And Levitation encapsulates the essence of the band to a tee. Epic, melodic movements, moments of delicate intricacy lacing a forceful rhythmic delivery. However, it doesn’t become over contrived. Despite its nigh ten-minute runtime, the introduction for the latest album proves to be organic and sweeping, delivering highs that reach out of a majestic sorrow and still deliver a weighty punch.
This is the theme laid bare for what is on offer. While every chord progression, tempo change and blast beat has clearly been considered to ensure the exactness of delivery. There is no over complication and at its root, Circadian Promise contains the natural heart of death metal. To You, Author Of My Fade strikes hard and with a rhythmic relentlessness that easily holds it own in heavier circles. While some may see the additional softer passages as a dichotomy, at odds with the breakdowns, they serve a purpose to strike the perfect balance and highlight how heavy and engaging FIRES IN THE DISTANCE can be. They’ve taken some of the best techniques and songwriting from earlier albums and evolved them to offer up something truly special. Enthralling as the music unfolds, twisting and turning while always demanding rapt attention.
Tracks like Once The Silence Take Your Place and Agonal Dreaming showcase the musical development of the band. Incorporating all of the elements that made their previous release stand out, they upped the ante in both compositional and production realms. Delivering music that has an unmistakable DNA yet stands as a pinnacle of what they are currently capable of achieving. They show signs of great growth, yet no signs of running out of ideas. The sublime production of each track allowing adequate space for all of the phrases to be clearly appreciated. Yet when it comes to the necessity of hitting the harder elements, the wall of sound unites like a sledgehammer.
Bleak yet captivating, melancholic without being overly dramatic, and grandiose without pretentiousness. FIRES IN THE DISTANCE have once again produced an album that is stunningly captivating from start to finish. Melodies weave like an intricate tapestry, holding together the heavier elements that the band are adept at delivering. Circadian Promise distills all of the finer points of modern melodic death metal and lays everything bare in an accessible and engaging manner. The band have progressed from their debut and previous release and here on album three have flourished with six tracks of crushing embrace.
Rating: 9/10
Circadian Promise is set for release on June 12th via Prosthetic Records.
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