Review Summary: A worthy, if not a tad disappointing, follow-up to an absolute classic.
It's really hard for bands to follow up a classic album. Fires in the Distance's 2023 album,
Air Not Meant for Us, was a banger in every sense of the word. It combined melodic death/doom metal with haunting gothic metal atmospheres to create a record that encapsulates the season of fall. It was cold and windy, just like the season itself. It gave off impressions of leaves falling from trees and blowing in the nice autumn breeze. Their newest album,
Circadian Promise, is definitely a very worthy follow-up in its own right, but I'll be honest, it doesn't quite live up to the expectations that the band set upon themselves when their last album was so well-received.
The first thing I noticed about this album is that it doesn't quite have the massive autumnal atmosphere that I personally would've liked to see expanded upon. This album may be a tad heavier, the riffs hit a bit harder, but the overall atmosphere can feel a bit flat at times. I'm definitely not trying to say that it's a bomb by the band because there are certainly elements that rule extremely hard. Like I said, the riffs are a bit more to the forefront here and the vocals are more varied, with the operatic cleans coming into play a lot more than the previous album, but the sheer vibes are just a bit lacking. The clean male vocals are a nice touch, but the harsh vocals also seem a bit more tame than on the previous album as well.
I may sound like I don't enjoy this album overall, but that's not the truth. The doomy parts, especially, are extremely well done and there's a bit more of a death metal presence here to go along with the gothic influences, which is a nice touch by the band. I don't want to overstate how hard the riffage hits, but I'm going to because they're definitely the best part of the album. It's just a tad disappointing that the ambiance doesn't quite live up to the expectations that I had based on the previous album and even the debut.
Circadian Promise is definitely a solid album and a worthy addition to Fire in the Distance's discography. Following up a classic album isn't an easy thing to do, as I mentioned earlier. When you create such high expectations for yourself, it's easy to fall into a bit of a lull and kind of come up short of those expectations. Either way, this album does have plenty of riff-heavy, worthy moments that are welcomed by a seasoned death metal veteran such as myself and others. Don't skip out on
Circadian Promise just because it's not on the level of the band's previous albums because you'd be selling yourself short, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't just a tad disappointed with the outcome.
