Album Review: Fires in The Distance - Air Not Meant For Us

Album Review: Fires in The Distance - Air Not Meant For Us

Melodic death-doom is starting to rise more and more in 2023 with releases from bands like Insomnium and Marianas Rest. Add another one to the list with the second release from Conneticut’s Fires in The Distance with Air Not Meant For Us.

Their follow up to their 2020 debut Echoes From Deep November, the record is a major step up from the debut. Though the production can sound a bit gritty or down in the mix, it works with this genre, adding more to the melancholy sound of the doom metal genre. Musically, this record bleeds death-doom and grabs the listener to “feel the sorrow” mixed with the chugging guitars and beautiful piano pieces.

The album’s opener “Harbingers” starts the album off with a great doom riff over building strings that sets a great opening tone for the record. With sweeping guitars and vocals that sound similar to Johan Hegg of Amon Amarth, the chugging guitars leading into a sorrowful piano interlude right into the guitar solo works beautifully and is a great solo that ties back into the main riff over this almost 11-minute epic track.

Standout track for me, “Crumbling Pillars of A Tranquil Mind”, is an awesome song that starts with a heavy and slow chugging riff that makes you want to bang your head nice and slow throughout the whole thing. Production wise, the song sounds fuller with the ambience help build the track and adding to the chugging of the riff. The guitar solo is good, but sadly a little short for my liking, and there is an amazing string arrangement near the end of the song that leads back into the main riff that just creates this doomy crescendo that makes this my favorite track off the album.

The instrumental “Adrift, Beneath The Listless Waves” has another heavy opening riff, definitely leaning more towards the melodic death metal sound than doom metal. The band really shines with instrumentation on this record playing an amazing death/doom track and another intricate combination of piano over the main riff leading into the solo is very well done and just blends beautifully together bring that death/doom sound together in a sorrowfully gorgeous way.

Overall, this record is a good standout this year in the death/doom category and this is a great up and coming band that does this genre-mixing very well and can hold a candle to the likes of the bands at the forefront of this genre. Fires in The Distance is a great band and this record is a standout for 2023 and a must-listen for anyone who is a fan of melodic death/doom metal.

Track Listing

1) Harbingers (10:41)

2) Wisdom of Falling Leaves (7:34)

3) Crumbling Pillars of A Tranquil Mind (9:23)

4) Adrift, Beneath The Listless Waves (6:01)

5) Psalm of The Merciless (7:05)

6) Idiopathic Despair (9:03)

SCORE: 10 / 10

Released: 04/28/2023

Label: Prosthetic Records

For Fans Of: Insomnium, Novembers Doom, Swallow The Sun

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