Review Summary: So, is This Fires Embrace worth listening to? Yes, they are.
Does anything cause This Fires Embrace to stand out amongst a sea of independent rock bands? In that, if not, why bother listening? Why waste time on an album that could be produced by any other band? So, is This Fires Embrace worth listening to? Yes, they are.
The album as a whole is a blend of heavy rock and alt-metal. This Fires Embrace does have a heavy edge, featuring distorted, downtuned riffs and gruff, screamed vocals, but they have a more melodic edge as well. Sung choruses/interludes, clean mini-solos and picking, and lighter lyrical content give Fires enough melody to be accessible to the everyday heavy rock radio listener. Tracks like On Broken Wings, Sad December Day, and Take My Life are bound for watered-down metal radio stations due to their blend of screams and cleans. However, that doesn’t mean these tracks, or honestly the album, is typical. This Fires Embrace brings a strong punch, a punch that contains talent, energy, and an overall aggressive feel. Redemption will start blood pumping and punches flying, that’s for sure. You also have your traditional ballads, of course. While the band doesn’t create ground-breaking ballads, they are sufficient enough to fulfill their required role.
There’s four or five standouts on this seven-track album. Opener On Broken Wings packs an enormous amount of energy and aggression, and both guitarists and the vocalist do especially well on this track. Vocalist Aaron Benner sounds similar to Howard(of KSE) while performing both screams and cleans, and guitarists Zack Koah and Aaron Hoff blend well, and their solos and riffs sound perfect together, if cliched. Sad December Day is a highlight for its solo, while Home Again has considerable screams, staccato riffing, and a superb interlude. Final standout One More Time showcases Aaron’s best sung vocals on the album.
Indeed, Aaron’s vocals are one of the high points. And, it’s obvious early that This Fires Embrace is primarily driven by vocals and guitars. Thankfully, the vocalist and guitarist are more than talented enough to carry the band on their shoulders. However, this does leave more to be desired from bassist and drummer. Both Josh Hall and Steve Malone could step up a little more, and contribute more to the band, so so much doesn’t rest on Aaron, Zack, and Aaron. The album can also become a little samey after a while, which may be the fault of the length.
Lyrically, the band is devoutly Christian, but other than rare moments, it’s not to the point of Disciple or For Today. The greater part of the time, the band is crying out for help from inner demons and torments, and though the angst is a popular topic, the desperation and passion in Aaron’s voice causes it to be more believable than a gimmick. This Fires Embrace have crafted a strong and passionate heavy rock debut that will leave the listener wanting more. It’s easily one of the strongest Christian rock records out there, and if it had been a little longer, it would’ve had a higher rating. If you are looking for something monumental in the heavy rock scene as a whole, this isn’t for you. But, if you are looking for a standout heavy rock record that’s better than some contemporaries, Redemption is for you.
