I love screamy noisy metallic hardcore. I also love it when bands sound like they’ve been forced to write songs as fast as possible (and make it work!). EVERY TIME I DIE claimed to have written an album in only two weeks, so I guess the hints of southern metal coming through on the first few songs on “Truth Seekers” shouldn’t be a surprise. I could also draw some connections to PREMONITIONS OF WAR for the song lengths. Unlike PREMONITIONS OF WAR, THE FIRE THE FLOOD don’t like blast beats, and usually like to keep their songs a slight bit more mid-paced to pound in the heaviness in between the high stabbing chords.
While “Truth Seekers” certainly sounds fun for the band to play, I’ve heard quite a few similar bands. Due to the fact that most of the songs aren’t at the speed of putting them on the edge of falling apart, it takes away from some of the danger of listening to this style of metallic hardcore. For some reason or another, the songs end up feeling a bit longer than the track time, probably due to the fact that they do tend to drag a little bit.
Like I mentioned earlier, there’s a problem being faced when playing the style that THE FIRE THE FLOOD have chosen, and it’s the fact that lots of other bands are looking to get into this field as an easy way to have artistic credibility. While I can’t argue too much with THE FIRE THE FLOOD on their specific take on how they want to do it, there’s quite a few other bands out there raising the bar significantly. GAZA came out with “I Don’t Care Where I Go When I Die” last year, ENGINEER has high hopes for the release of “The Dregs”, and DESTROYER DESTROYER’s “Littered With Arrows” has become the album to try and top this year.
THE FIRE THE FLOOD know what they want to do, and they do it above average. The level of intensity they bring through the jagged, biting chaos is enough to get them touring beside the big boys, but probably not headlining.
7/10
The Official The Fire The Flood Website
The Fire The Flood at MySpace
The Fire The Flood at No Sleep Records
