On May 19th, metalcore/hardcore band Fire From The Gods will be releasing “Narrative Retold” through Rise Records! Let me tell you, get to that record store as soon as possible!
Fire From The Gods, out of Austin, Texas, is composed of A.J. Channer on vocals, Jameson Teat on guitars, Drew Walker on guitars, Bonner Baker on bass, and Richard Wicander on drums. They are picking up where they left off since the departure of Eric July(who is now fronting Backwordz) and they are exploding with “Narrative Retold”.
This album offers up a Bob Marley style consciousness with a rage-fueled anger of Hatebreed with a track entitled “The Voiceless”. We all have watched in horror as the United States currently has this major issue and concern with police brutality. The bridge of “The Voiceless” gives me the absolute goosebumps as AJ chants “Choked a brother to death for the world to see/and filled the headlines up with his criminal history/Distort the facts and sever the communication/Unite or die, my people, nation to nation”. It brings about vivid images of Eric Garner getting choked to death by the New York Police over untaxed cigarettes. As a listener, I sense the rage being fueled like a match has been stricken to a fuel pump and it just explodes. The musicianship knocks it out of the park.
Social consciousness about various injustices and about conquering through insurmountable obstacles continue to be evident throughout this album, in particular, in tracks such as “Public Enemy” and “Excuse Me”. A.J. offers reggae and rapcore elements while Fire From The Gods rage on with their angry guitar hooks and devastating rhythm section. The ambiance where Fire From The Gods experiments with is overwhelming in “End Transmission”. The backing keys really take the listener on a journey while A.J. showcases his melodic side that sounds like he could be singing in a gospel choir.
The blending of guitars displayed by Jameson and Drew are really evident in “Lifeline” as the tempo changes are effortless in the rhythm section commanded by Bonner on bass and Richard on the drums. This is just one of the many tracks where Fire From The Gods take and hone their craft to heart and it really shows as they work especially hard in the arrangements to provide that memorable listening experience for you, the listener! There is even an interesting take on their staple cut “Excuse Me”, which also examines the issue of minorities being disproportionately in prison and minorities being victims of police brutality in this country.
If you’re looking for a band that is absolutely rage filled, yet causes you to stand up, pay attention, and rise up with them, look absolutely no further than “Narrative Retold” by Fire From The Gods. Their social consciousness gets fans of bands like Stray From The Path and Rage Against The Machine riled up into a frenzy while aesthetically pleasing the metalcore fans and satisfying the prog-metal fans with their experimentations in their musicianship and their arrangements. What a beautiful 5/5 star offering. Listeners will not be putting away this record for a long time because with every listen, there continues to be a layer to unpack with Fire From The Gods. Check out the track listing below!
“Narrative Retold” by Fire From The Gods
- “The Voiceless”
- “The Taste”
- “Public Enemy”
- “End Transmission”
- “Excuse Me”
- “Composition”
- “Evolve”
- “Pretenders”
- “Diversion”
- “In Spite Of Doubt”
- “Lifeline”
- “Into The Blue”
- “Excuse Me” (acoustic)
Here is the video to “The Voiceless” Check it out below!
