Review Summary: Indeed, Warrior Poets is a much darker and heavier affair than its predecessor, but darkness is a great place to be for the band.
Warrior Poets feels different from Redemption in many ways, the first is that it just feels more epic, there’s no better word. On Redemption, TFE sounded like a new band who wasn’t totally confident their sound would be accepted. On Warrior Poets, they sound so much more confident, as proved on opener Our Story, Our Song, that the confidence is palpable. Also, the band has gotten heavier, dropping much of the hard rock influence, instead opting for a blend of heavier metal and alt-metal. Indeed, Warrior Poets is a much darker and heavier affair than its predecessor, but darkness is a great place to be for the band. Also, all the elements from the last album this time around: the vocalist is a stronger singer, both guitarists have upped their playing, and take center stage much more often, the bassist has a much greater role, and the drummer’s fills and general playing are stronger.
This album is chock-full of standouts. Like its predecessor On Broken Wings, Our Story, Our Song packs a massive punch of heaviness, intensity, and energy, and this track is one of the best to display the change in TFE. Warrior Poets has a great vocal performance, but also strong, distorted riffs. Aaron has some of the greatest screams out there, again sounding akin to Howard of Killswitch Engage. My Enemy has some considerable riffing and soloing, as well as pounding and exciting drums. In Shadows of Doubt, the double bass taps blend extremely well with the chugging rhythm guitar, and it’s one of the strongest openings all record. Aaron also has a superb sung performance throughout, sounding passionate and strong, especially in the chorus. Break the Cycle has the strongest opening all record, with pounding drums, and both guitarists playing their hardest. On their softer side, TFE has also experienced improvement. Closer Outlawed Tunes is longer, but heavily enjoyable. It's improved not only because of it's successful progressive rock qualities, but because it's far from the average rock ballad. Aaron, the bassist, is audible and plays very well throughout, the guitarists prove they can play clean guitar as well as distorted, and of course, Benner’s screams and cleans sound great. Back To Life has both considerable acoustic guitar playing and a sweet solo with a classic metal flare. The band’s punk-rock influenced cover of classic Love Is a Battlefield is decent, but Benner comes off a tad bit awkward.
Thankfully, those awkward moments are few and far between. This Fires Embrace is even more of a force to be reckoned with this time around, and this 2008 release rivals many popular Christian records of the day, including Pillar’s Where Do We Go From Here and Skillet’s Awake. In addition, TFE may even sound better than both Pillar and Skillet. But, contemporaries disregarded, there really isn’t much to complain about with Poets. It’s fourteen songs long, so filler is expected, though it’s only one or two songs. Also, lyrics can be slightly generic in the ballads.
Speaking of lyrics, This Fires Embrace, for the most part, has improved. Indeed, the album takes on a feel of a victim struggling through dark trials, and songs like Break the Cycle, Shadows of Doubt, and My Enemy do an excellent job of conveying the angst, desperation, but small feeling of hope conveyed in these trials. This is a Christian band, and though they aren’t ashamed of it, for the most part, it’s pretty ambiguous. Back to Life has some slightly typical lyrics about lost love, but it’s not horrid.
This Fires Embrace has heavily improved on their last release, and through their overall sound. They’ve risen above Pillar and Skillet, while reaching stronger Christian bands like Red. If you were a greater fan of the slight melodic side displayed on Redemption, then this may not be the album for you. But, if you are looking for a heavily enjoyable blend of newer and older metal/rock, Warrior Poets should be your first choice.
