“From the fire I am christened.”
I have had the great privilege of indulging in Fire From The Gods’ offerings since their 2016 debut LP Narrative, a masterpiece debut outing by my admittedly super-picky standards. Through discovering the-then relatively unknown Texan quintet as a support act for my all-time favourite band Volumes on their US tours, I ended up forging a deeply personal connection with a deeply personal album.
Fire From The Gods’ sophomore album American Sun was no different, replete with some of the band’s heaviest hitters, “Right Now”, “American Sun”, and my personal favourite, the amazingly atmospheric album closer “Break the Cycle”. With their newest outing, Soul Revolution, have Fire From The Gods revolutionised further upon their already-remarkable songwriting, or is this more of the same?
Soul Revolution kicks off with a hefty one-two punch comprised of the title track and the album’s lead single, “SOS”. The eponymously titled opener is an anthem of dissonance and discordance — lead vocalist AJ Channer provides cutthroat, crushing rapped lyrics from the outset: “There’s always something trying to break me / Fuck what they’re saying / From the fire I am christened / My mortal form I have ascended, I won’t listen”. Meanwhile, “SOS” is a superb singalong radio-friendly rock belter certain to widen Fire From The Gods’ already titanic audience of fans, whilst retaining much of that beloved DNA heard across much of Narrative and American Sun.
Fourth track “Thousand Lifetimes” is a stellar standout song on Soul Revolution — Channer has previously gone on record stating that “Thousand Lifetimes” is about the sacrifices made by those selfless souls around us who persevere through everything life has to throw at them for the greater good of others’ happiness. It’s a sincere statement of respect that adds so much humanity to an already wonderfully-composed track brimming with heavyhearted emotion.
At least in my opinion, Soul Revolution is by far at its strongest in its second act. “Double-Edged Sword” vigorously swaggers into the fold, possessing the catchiest chorus ever penned by Fire From The Gods: “I’m losing all control / Disease, losing my grip on reality / Am I wasting my breath to find that I’m left behind? / It’s a double-edged sword when the blind lead the blind.” Track six “Love Is Dangerous”, conversely, is a lamentation of heartbreak, offering much-needed respite and a gentle balance of pacing in Soul Revolution’s respectable forty-two minute runtime.
On “World So Cold”, Fire From The Gods achieve a tremendously well-executed transition into Soul Revolution’s latter half, with sombre verses equally weighted with soaring choruses throughout the track. “Be Free” brings with it some serious “Heavy Silence” by Volumes vibes, which I’m absolutely here for. These are two of the tightest tracks ever released by Fire From The Gods, and I really cannot emphasise enough how colossal of a compliment that is.
“The Message” is for me, the oddity amongst Soul Revolution’s twelve tracks — it’s a rather unorthodox hybrid between In Hearts Wake and Skindred. I’m not quite sure if this song does much for me personally, but like some other Fire From The Gods songs that haven’t quite landed with me in the past, I have full faith that this will be a grower. Fortunately, Fire From The Gods adopted a 2000’s nu-metal approach with follow-up banger, “8 Billion Rats”. If you imagine Meteora-era Linkin Park with all the fury and angst of Breaking Benjamin and early Deftones, such a promising picture still wouldn’t do this song full justice. Get this one in your playlists, folks.
Closer “Collapse” sustains those In Hearts Wake vibes from earlier in the record, but pushes all the switches up to eleven with a visceral, venomous performance once again by frontman Channer — this fella is so integral to this band’s sound. At times where the riffwork can become a little stale and leans towards the generic side, Channer’s soulful, sorrowful, scarred character resounds through all else, throughout not just “Collapse”, but the entirety of Soul Revolution. Fucking MAD props to you, sir.
In conclusion, Soul Revolution isn’t the sort of record that reinvents the metalcore wheel, nor does it seek to. What this album achieves is a sincerity separate to 99% of the other modern metal offerings out there — there’s just something special and unparalleled in the Fire From The Gods genome. Glowing highlight tracks “Thousand Lifetimes”, “World So Cold”, “Be Free” and “8 Billion Rats” elevate Soul Revolution above many of its contemporaries; everything here just hits so much harder than what I’ve grown to expect from similar-sounding bands. Soul Revolution is delightfully paced and flawlessly structured, and ultimately acts as shining specimen of exactly the kind of standard albums should be held to.
8.5/10
Soul Revolution by Fire From The Gods will be released via Better Noise Music on Friday 28th October, and you can pre-order the record here.