Review Summary: An album that deserves more attention than it's got so far.
The debut (and so far the only) album by World Fire Brigade
Spreading My Wings, released in 2012, for whatever reason has gone unnoticed by the public and still remains mostly in obscurity. In a way, it is surprising given the pedigree of the band members: Brett Scallions came to fame as part of Fuel, with which he recorded four (as of writing this review) albums, and Sean Danielsen is the permanent leader of Smile Empty Soul. It is true, their achievements do not boggle the imagination, but nevertheless are worthy of respect. That said, how fair is this lack of attention to their first collaborative effort? This is something that we will try to determine.
After a few listens comes a realization that the music style presented on the album is a curious hybrid: the majority of the songs can be placed in the hard rock territory, bordering at times on alternative metal, and a good helping of grunge, with some measure of classic rock and thrash metal. In addition to such an explosive mixture, there is also a strongly pronounced pop element in the shape of catchy choruses that would allow to play the songs on the appropriate airwaves. In fact, in terms of its sound the album can easily stand in the same group as such bands as Breaking Benjamin, Seether or Bush. Nevertheless
Spreading My Wings doesn’t pale but stands out among them due to a little less studio polish, a slightly rawer sound, a bit more sincerity in execution, and a good use of dynamics and intensity (the most obvious example being the title track that opens the album). The apparent professional approach and clear understanding of the genre is noticeable, but there isn’t a sense of something precalculated, so you feel absolutely no remorse listening to the album and just surrender to it.
The abovementioned professional approach is also evident in the technical aspect. Despite their seeming simplicity, loud guitars weave the necessary pattern and raise the songs to a high level. Together with the guitars this wall of sound is amplified by the drums: invited Ken Schalk goes toe to toe with the duo of Scallions and Danielsen, setting the required rhythm and bringing an almost punkish fury to more aggressive tracks (the title track again or the following
All You Know). The album also features some established musicians that contribute to the overall picture as well:
Shell of Me obtains an additional dimension and a classic rock appeal thanks to Mike McCready of Pearl Jam, whereas
Take Me Away and
Never Saw the Wall benefit from the guitars by Rob Caggiano, the ex-guitarist of Anthrax, who adds a certain thrash element to the melody.
To Scallions and Danielsen’s credit it can easily be said that
Spreading My Wings includes not a single weak song (interludes
The End of Silence and
The Beginning of Madness do not count due to their short length and the role of establishing a certain vibe). The only track that can be described as a weaker one is
Free and Sane, the penultimate cut on the album. Its main shortcoming is its position in the track listing: five hard and heavy songs precede it, and after so much aggressiveness, the ballad-y nature of the song inevitably creates a sense of certain sagging. Probably it is there to serve as a mean of venting for the listener, but the rather standard and not quite interesting melody together with generic performance have a negative impact. Luckily, this is quickly balanced by the final track, ending the album on a high note – the cover of
One, originally by singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson. And, in the opinion of this reviewer, the cover is the most successful one amongst those attempted and superseded only by the original.
Since the shortcomings were mentioned, another thing can be referred to, as it might turn away some of the prospective listeners. Unfortunately, in terms of lyrics the album consists of many post-grunge clichés. Hence, there are typical songs about people feeling despair, undergoing angst or contemplating suicide (due to cheating or lying girlfriends, or just because life is hard). All in all, the themes that might attract teenagers due to their emotional vulnerability in the adolescent period. However, this shortcoming is offset by the strong vocal melodies of front men (Scallions and Danielsen alternate the fronting responsibilities), so you can catch yourself singing along: “
I stare into the mirror / As I hate myself for everything I let you do” or “
Shot down again / My only friend left me for dead and buried under”.
In the end, we have the album, which is in no way inferior to what is currently on the airwaves, and definitely deserves more attention on the part of hard rock and metal heads. Yes, it can be stated that
Spreading My Wings doesn’t deliver anything new to the table; nevertheless, in all honesty, let’s confess to ourselves that many of the released albums lack the same qualities but become popular and recognized. So why not give the World Fire Brigade debut a chance? Maybe then the band will decide to release a new album.
