FIRESTRÖM — And the Candle Burns​.​.​. (review)

FIRESTRÖM — And the Candle Burns​.​.​. album cover EP · 2015 · Speed Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3/5 ·
siLLy puPPy
FIRESTRÖM is a band from Yuba City, CA that consists of just two members. D.S. is the guitarist and bassist and J.G. is the drummer and vocalist. The band hasn’t yet released any full length albums but this debut demo is now considered an EP since it was made available digitally on Bandcamp.

I’m not sure what to make of this band. While this is a 2015 release it sounds like a long lost demo from the mid-80s at the time when speed metal was infused with crust punk and slowly but surely creeping into thrash metal territory. This release AND THE CANDLE BURNS… showcases five tracks that find speed metal riffing teased into punk rock compositions. The album has a lo-fi production job which gives it a black metal feel as well.

To my ears this sounds like something that was recorded over 30 years ago and only made available today but it could be that the band simply wanted to emulate that era but if so they did a convincing job of it. Overall there is nothing to get excited about here. This is decent crusty punk infused speed metal and some proto-thrash / black leanings but doesn’t measure up to early Celtic Frost, Venom or G.I.S.M, however if you just can’t get enough of that early era of metal where all the extreme varieties were still infused into one then this isn’t bad.

The EP starts off with a noisy ghoulish intro “Tongue Of The Dead” before erupting into the more standard punk speed metal with “Deathly Night.” While the tracks are punk in style, there are galloping speed metal riffs and traditional classic metal guitar licks that give it all a more melodic feel than plain crust punk. There are many similarities to classic Motorhead as well. Overall not bad but the production is really as bad as it gets. Great as a lo-fi underground type of listening experience but not one to go out of your way to find either.
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