Fires In The Distance do not do anything halfway.
Since 2021’s debut Billboard-charting opus Echoes From Deep November, the melodic doomsters set out on a course to carve out their colossal identity. As a response, Air Not Meant For Us transcends music. With larger-than-life compositions and stunning atmospherics, the Prosthetic Records release averages nine minutes a song and impressively builds on FITD’s earlier success.
The distinctive keyboard acts as a lead instrument and each of the six tracks is eclectic, involved, and in a word, monumental.
Exhibit A: ‘Crumbling Pillars Of A Tranquil Mind.’ A hefty, chugging opening riff morphs into a tantalizing cacophony of harsh vocals and drums which spurns that ever-present keyboard. Fires In The Distance have an innate ability to make things feel entirely grandiose. Though having a prevalent keyboard isn’t groundbreaking, it’s the precision with which it’s featured.
That percussion returns on ‘Harbingers’ which is rife with superb doom metal melodies and simply entrancing atmospherics. ‘Wisdom Of Falling Leaves’ finds keyboards fueling the oncoming cinematics which becomes vibrant and engaging.
Hell, even their instrumental ‘Adrift Beneath The Listless Waves’ boasts direction and robust execution, aided by guest guitarist James Tomed (Burial In The Sky).
The rhythm section on Air Not Meant For Us is a conduit to something far greater. Empowered by stunning vocals from rugged and profusely underrated frontman Kristian Grimaldi, FITD’s sophomore record blows already heightened expectations out of the cosmos.
For nearly an hour, your ears are in more-than-capable hands. Actually, scrap that. Let’s be perfectly blunt about this record: it’s fucking pristine. It’s assuredly one that rewards and invigorates after each listen. Seemingly every waking second breeds further discovery and imagination.
But hey, what else do you expect from Fires In The Distance?
Buy the album :
https://firesinthedistance.com/album/air-not-meant-for-us
9 / 10
MATT COOK