One can only assume that it has been a frustrating few years for The Safety Fire in many ways. It is 2012 now, six years on from their formation, and only now are they releasing their long-awaited debut album. In the interceding time the likes of TesseracT and Periphery have come along and become stars of the ground that The Safety Fire also tread; a region of progressive metal that alternates brutality and melody with startling ease and precision.
'Grind the Ocean' thereby will be judged inevitably unfairly by some listeners. Despite the fact that The Safety Fire have been around plenty of time they will be seen my many as just another in the long line of ‘djent’ bands to have emerged in recent times. There is no denying that 'Grind the Ocean' showcases this style of music as well as any of the band’s contemporaries. Opener and single 'Huge Hammers' is a behemoth of a track, darting about all over the place (musically and vocally) in unnervingly dextrous and overwhelming fashion.
Indeed, technically this record is largely flawless. Time signatures are blown to kingdom come by the fretboard wizardry of guitarists Dez Nagel and Joaquin Ardiles and vocalist Sean McWeeney is as close to the djent Mike Patton as any other vocalist on the scene. The only thing that occasionally lets The Safety Fire down is their lack of genuinely creative songwriting, a trap that seems to befall all too many prog metal acts. A track such as 'Sections' has promise but is rendered somewhat mute by an over reliance on technicality.
The Safety Fire prove that they do have the nous to create genuine songs on this album. Closer 'Grind the Ocean' is especially noteworthy. It’s a true epic and it ends the record on a major high. However it is a shame that The Safety Fire have not, yet at any rate, made themselves really stand out from the crowd and consistently infused their tech metal with the care and craft that is evident on this album’s strongest moments.
'Grind the Ocean' is out on Monday via InsideOut.
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'Grind the Ocean' thereby will be judged inevitably unfairly by some listeners. Despite the fact that The Safety Fire have been around plenty of time they will be seen my many as just another in the long line of ‘djent’ bands to have emerged in recent times. There is no denying that 'Grind the Ocean' showcases this style of music as well as any of the band’s contemporaries. Opener and single 'Huge Hammers' is a behemoth of a track, darting about all over the place (musically and vocally) in unnervingly dextrous and overwhelming fashion.
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