The Fire The Flood - Truth Seekers

Band: The Fire The Flood
Album: Truth Seekers
Genre: Hardcore/Metal
Label: No Sleep

Tracks:
1. ...And It Grows Like Weeds
2. The Turmoil At The Gates Of Heaven
3. The Wolf Inside of Me
4. Therapy
5. The Harvester
6. Join The Rat Race
7. A Downfall Of Western Civilization
8. The Trees Eat Themselves
9. Combines
10. World's End
11. Jagare
12. Mudswampers
13. The Blizzard


No Sleep Records is a label on the rise. Through only a handful of releases, No Sleep's founder Chris Hansen, has built a reputation of having an ear for finding great new talent. One fine example of this would be The Fire The Flood. This 4 piece metal band's debut album, Truth Seekers, is a brutal, fast paced album of metal gold. Unfortunately, this band will cease to be in the near future, but for now, let us take some time to dig into what I would consider to be one of the best debut metal albums I've heard in awhile.

Truth Seekers is not an album built on gimmicks. There is no over the top production, seemingly forced lines of sing-along vocals, or even band photos that feature eye liner and tight jeans, this album is about the music and making you move. "And it Grows Like Weeds," the opening track, busts through the speakers wit the force of early Throwdown before busting into a thick, meaty riff that almost forces you to move in some way. The vocals are powerful screams without the throaty sounds that seem to be common place these days. In fact, my first impression on this song, as well as, "Turmoil at The Gates of Heaven," was that the vocalist sounded like a Norma Jean era Josh Scogin. Since Scogin is, in my opinion, the greatest metal vocalist and frontman on Earth, I was instantly attracted to what else The Fire The Flood had in store for me. The album moves along very quickly, with only two songs breaking the 2 minute mark, but that doesn't mean each song doesn't pack it's own punch. On the fifth track, "The Harvester, "which is also the longest track on the album, we find the band using chunky metal riffs with superb drumming and bass lines to get you going while the lyrics weave a tale of questioning the existence of God. It's so refreshing to find a band who manages to write catchy music, but not at the expense of lyricism. So many bands today that are consider heavy hitter sin the genre seem to write such meaningless lyrics that must be deciphered in order to attain any message, but The Fire The Flood simply lays it out there. "The Trees Eat Themselves," hosts the best guitar work on the entire album while , "Combines," allows for the drummer to take for front as a force to be reckoned with in the metal world. The official closing track, "The Blizzard," plays like a b-side from the latest album by The Chariot. The vocals scream [no pun intended] for your attention while the guitar, bass, and drums do equally amazing work. The song seems to end about two minutes in, but simply fades to some odd keys based sounds for about seven minutes before, in a classic hardcore way, the song comes back with one last furious jam session before finally closing and giving you time to catch your breath and wipe the sweat from your brow.

The Fire The Flood aren't breaking any new ground in the metal world. In reality, they've simply taken a few successful sounds and meshed them together, but in today's market, what band can say they don't do the exact same. Truth Seekers is a furious album of sound made for people who want in your face hardcore with great riffs and some seriously stunning vocal work. So what if it's not the newest sound in the scene, it's better than anything "new" I've heard in the past seven months. It's a shame this band is breaking up because after hearing this, I can't even imagine what they may have done next. If you love hardcore, pick this up and it can be that rarity album that in a few years will be the album all your friends will wish they would have known when the band was still together. The Fire The Flood may be calling it quits, but Truth Seekers has a shelf life with many more years to go.


*Written By: James Shotwell*
Grade: 7.5/10
MYSPACE