Fire From The Gods
Narrative
(Rise Records)
“Excuse Me,” the fantastic first look listeners got from Fire From The Gods’ debut, is easily the best rap-metal song of the past decade-plus. That could be taken as a slight (for obvious reasons), but the track is an honest-to-God banger, sounding like an updated version of peak P.O.D. if they listened to a lot of djent, hardcore punk, and Jamaican music. So then Narrative might be initially disappointing, as this isn’t the story Fire From The Gods want to tell. The band want to go deeper than they’re expected. It’s fitting the band go the concept album route, telling a story of a minority man living in major American cities, and the problems he would face. The album’s theme centers around the idea “unite or die” and how people need to come together and understand one another, regardless of differences, and that’s how the world can be changed: through unity rather than division. It’s an empowering album, a bit different from your typical politically-charged record.
So it makes complete sense that Narrative eschews early expectations and the typical. Channer’s voice is truly fantastic, recalling the power, dexterity, and tone of Sevendust’s Lajon Witherspoon. It’s no surprise that the album’s more melodic moments recall that band. Throughout their debut, the band shows a keen understanding of the importance of melody and groove, without resorting to cheap choruses and an over-reliance on djent riffing. “End Transmission” would’ve killed rock radio ten years ago (or whenever radio would play new music), with a killer hook and neat symphonic background that feels necessary rather than tacky. “Composition” feels like a hybrid of Heart Of A Coward and P.O.D,, though the rapping is used fairly sparingly. The only minor misstep is a song that sounds like it was the first song written for the album, “Pretenders”, with its more rote modern metalcore style. It just feels slightly lacking in comparison to the rest of the album. There really aren’t many bands who sound like Fire From The Gods, with equal influence from Candiria, Sevendust, and modern metalcore. It’s a sound that unites many sonic movements, and that fits the album’s narrative quite well.
Lazy comparisons will be made to groups like Hacktivist and DSVR, but Fire From The Gods are more hard rock and hardcore punk than djent. They’re more interested in carefully crafted, hook-laden jams than insanely downtuned riffs and spitting bars. Channer occasionally floats out his solid rapping from time to time throughout the record, but it’s clear Fire From The Gods wants to be a great heavy rock band with a heavy message than a something with a transient sound. Narrative isn’t a great album just because it’s different. It’s a fantastic record that feels like a product of its times: powerful, with a voice that’s begging to be heard.
