THE SAFETY FIRE – “GRIND THE OCEAN”
INSIDE OUT (2012)
Inside Out is an independent record label that has acquired a good reputation over the years as a result of lending its support to numerous young and much promising progressive outfits. One band that certainly seems to fit that description is the London based quintet The Safety Fire – a group of lads that first got together back in 2006 and whose 2009 EP “Sections” brought them to the attention of both the labels and the music media. Having spent most of their time ever since touring with the likes of Malefice and the musically like-minded Periphery, the band decided to start working on new material and, following a short release date delay, are now finally ready to present the world with their first full length release, entitled “Grind The Ocean”.
If I were to describe “Grind The Ocean” with a single word that would almost certainly be ‘confusing’! Why? Under normal circumstances, any album that features screaming vocals, repetitive low chorded riffs and clean catchy refrains should, by its nature, be of absolutely no interest to me, but that is not the case here! These musicians may indeed at times be too commercially-orientated, but that is only one side of their character. The other side, the one which I find much more to my liking, finds them to be both indebted to and inspired by the works of bands such as Meshuggah, Nevermore and Cynic and this is what is responsible for all those unusual time signatures, heavy laden technical riffs and constant rhythmical changes that can be found in abundance throughout this album and which help a more ‘traditional’ Prog fan such as me not to lose interest.
These guys are really fired up and if you don’t believe my words then all you have to do is to look to the opening theme of “Huge Hammers” for proof. Equally varied but somewhat more commercially-orientated, “Floods Of Colour” aims for the youngest part of the band’s audience, while the heavy discordant riffs and melodic refrain of “DMP (FDP)” is the absolute highlight of the album. The one and a half minute atmospheric instrumental “Anomalous Material” is a very welcoming break, followed by the equally impressive and quite Jazz-orientated “Animal Kind”, while heaviness and technical dexterity become once again the album’s dominant element through “Circassian Beauties” and “Sections”. In the closing section of the album, melody plays once again an integral role as suggested by the lead guitar theme of the second instrumental composition of the album, entitled “Seagraves, while the purpose of the same-titled, seven-minute “Grind The Ocean” is to prove to us that, if all goes well, we should expect many good things from this young band in the years to come.
Listening to “Grind The Ocean” these last couple of weeks has been both an interesting experience and an eye-opener for me. I would be lying if I were to say that the nine compositions on offer constitute an easy listen or that I enjoyed them all in equal terms, but what these young lads have proven to me is that certain musical elements that I find off-putting by nature can become fairly attractive if presented well. I can totally understand why Inside Out decided to invest in this London quintet and I hope this continues, since I may one day present you with a top-rate release from this band. Only time will tell!
John Stefanis
Rating: ***1/2 (3.5/5.0)
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