Review Summary: After three solid hard rock albums in a row, Fireflight have finally flopped.
Fireflight have been nothing but a consistent hard rock band since
The Healing of Harms, and it seemed unlikely for them to ever fall. With powerful choruses, recognizable melodies, and strong lead vocals from Dawn Michele, the band have been a force to reckon with in the Christian hard rock scene... until
Now. Overly dramatic statements aside,
Now is a serious step down for Fireflight. Dawn’s vocals are as impassioned and excellent as ever, but
Now pales in comparison to their previous efforts. The album isn’t completely useless, but the band have effectively doused their flame, and thus it’s really, painfully boring.
Fireflight have pulled out the old “mature” card, and while some may be fooled by their poker face, I’m not buying it. A shift from hard rock to bare-naked alternative rock may win over some new audiences, but Fireflight are effectively shunning their longtime fans. The occasional Breaking Benjamin or Red rip-off riffs are barely assurance considering the otherwise squeaky cleanness of this drab radio rock. Simplistic to a fault, everything that once made the band powerful is now ineffective, inexistent, or heavily dampened. Unfortunately,
Now suffocates from its generous use of ballads therefore often sounding like an ordinary worship album, which isn’t bad, but it takes them down a few notches in originality. This is incredibly average stuff.
Ultimately,
Now is too frustrating to give good marks to. Fireflight have the potential to be so much more, and a collection of weak ballads is exactly the wrong direction for them. It’s not a question of whether it’s good, it’s a question of whether it’s boring, and this album is the latter. Although the band occasionally pop their head up with some rocking songs, a few great tracks cannot save this unoriginal plummet into muddy waters. At this point there is only one thing to do – forget that this ever happened.
Recommended Songs:
- Stay Close
- Stronger Than You Think
- Now
