Firebreather - Dwell In The Fog (Album Review)

Release Date: February 25th 2022. Record Label: RidingEasy Records.  Format: DD/CD/Vinyl

Dwell In The Fog - Tracklisting

Kiss Of Your Blade

Dwell In The Fog

Weather The Storm

Sorrow

The Creed

Spirit’s Flown

Members

Mattias Nööjd - Guitar/Vocals

Nicklas Hellqvist - Bass

Axel Wittbeck - Drums

Review

Dwell In The Fog is the third album from Sweden’s Sludge Metal Titans Firebreather and it feels the band have come of age with this release. With its uncompromising blend of High On Fire style Sludge/Stoner Metal grooves and Monolord-esque Spaced Out Heaviness but still allowing Firebreather playing their own vivid and original style of Apocalyptic Doom/Sludge Metal.

Opening song Kiss Of Your Blade is full of razor sharp riffs that veer from modern day heavy Sludge/Stoner Metal to a progressive style of Psychedelic Doom with gruff and grizzled vocals from lead singer Mattias. The vocals are clean but quite aggressive which is what you need for this style of music. Firebreather do a damn good job of moving the atmosphere along at a stunning fast pace when compared to their previous releases. The mood of the record is quite serious and the album never backs off from that style of music for the rest of the album.

Second song Dwell In The Fog starts rather quietly with a Post-Doom/Post-Rock groove before descending back into the Sludge/Stoner Metal limelight with intricate riffs and fantastical guitar solos which could have been considered too “flashy” in places but Firebreather manage to stay on the right side of seriousness with first rate musicianship from all members of the band. The song has the right balance of Progressive Sludge/Stoner Metal sounds and Psychedelic Cosmic Heaviness that Swedish Sludge/Stoner Metal is becoming well known for.

The majority of the songs on Dwell In The Fog may all follow a similar structure but this album remains utterly captivating with the different levels and attitudes of Metal and Hard Rock that Firebreather employ on this album.  

Boosted by first rate production values, the album oozes violent charm and aggression that shines through on songs such as: Weather The Storm, Sorrow and Spirit’s Flown. Perhaps my favourite songs on the album with Firebreather managing to play their own original style of music that sees them finally becoming one of the best bands from the Swedish underground Sludge/Stoner Metal scene.

Dwell In The Fog is a dynamically powerful album with Firebreather releasing their best record to date. If you’re looking for your next fix of top-level Swedish Sludge/Stoner Metal riffs then Firebreather are the band for you. This is an undeniably thrilling experience with Firebreather releasing perhaps another Album Of The Year Contender.

This is a must have album. Add this to your collection when you have the chance to.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to US/THEM PR and Palmer Turner Overdrive for the promo

Dwell In the Fog will be released on CD/DD/Vinyl via RidingEasy Records from February 25th 2022.

Links

Facebook | BandCamp

FIREBREATHER - Under A Blood Moon (Album Review)

Release date: September 27th 2019. Label: RidingEasy Records Format: CD/DD/Vinyl

Under A Blood Moon – Tracklisting

1.Dancing Flames

2.Our Souls, They Burn

3.Closed Gate

4.Firebreather

5.We Bleed

6.The Siren

Members

Mattias Nööjd

Kyle Hagman

Axel Wittbeck

Review

Firebreather new album – Under A Blood Moon – sees the band signing to RidingEasy Records and returning with a more expansive and heavier sound. Perhaps closely influenced by Black Sabbath, High On Fire and Monolord, this album still sees the band forge their own way into the realm of Doom/Sludge/Stoner Metal. This album is darker, heavier and more groove based than their excellent debut album.

This album contains 6 songs running around 50 minutes of intense riffage. The music and vocals impress from the start with Firebreather reaching a new level of maturity with the progressive sounds leading the way.

Opening song – Dancing Flames – is one of the standout songs on the album with the Psychedelic Grooves leading into High On Fire style pummelling guitar riffs and frantic drumming to match. The vocals are excellent with the right amount of aggression from the start. It’s also an added bonus that you can easily understand what the vocals are saying even when the harsh growls appear.

Second song – Our Souls They Burn – is perhaps the most Doom based son g contained on the album with a more gloomier outlook leading the way. This is another epic song for the band to tease your musical taste buds with. The atmosphere is quite intense with Firebreather unleashing another round of HELL with fresh sounding music that will leave you wanting more. 

The progression of different genres and melodies is the perfect answer to show you how far Firebreather have progressed since their celebrated debut album. As the band have a more threatening sound with the Psychedelic based atmosphere being one of the standout moments of the entire album.

The songs on this album vary in length from 7 mins to 10 mins Firebreather need that time to build a complete picture of modern sounding Doom/Sludge/Stoner Metal.

Under A Blood Moon is an album that has a beginning, a middle and end where the band impress even further on songs such as Closed Gate, Firebreather and The Siren. Some people may complain that the album doesn’t take enough creative risks. However, this is an album that is built on RIFFS and in Firebreather’s case – BUSINESS IS BOOMING!!!

Under A Blood Moon has all the right ingredients to for a sure-fire best-seller and offers the listener a thrilling style of Progressive Sludge/Stoner Metal that will rank as one of the best albums of the year.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Dave at US/THEM PR for the promo. Under A Blood Moon will be available to buy on CD/DD/Vinyl via RidingEasy Records from Sept 27^th 2019.

Links:

Facebook | BandCamp

Firebreather share first track from forthcoming Riding Easy Records Debut.

Swedish trio Firebreather share the first track from their forthcoming debut on Riding Easy Records, Under a Blood Moon today via Brooklyn Vegan. Hear and share "Dancing Flames" 

HERE: http://www.brooklynvegan.com/firebreather-releasing-under-a-blood-moon-on-ridingeasy-stream-a-track/

Fire is what happens when a carbon based object is consumed by oxygen. That chemical reaction is fitting to the sound of Firebreather: The riffs are suffocating, the rhythms fast moving and all-consuming. It's so blindingly and deafeningly monolithic, don't be surprised to find yourself gasping for air while listening.

The Gothenburg, Sweden trio has a streamlined focus on driving, symphonic riffs in the vein of High on Fire, Inter Arma and their tour- and label-mates Monolord. The guitar and bass tones are, quite simply, entrancing. Like watching flames engulf a forest, the billowing guitar tones are simultaneously beautiful and destructive, while the rhythms sway and lunge with vicious precision.

"It's riff based, heavy as fuck, but with a groove to it," explains vocalist/guitarist Mattias Nööjd, formerly of popular Swedish doom merchants Galvano. "We had gotten off a tour with Monolord in February of 2018 and by that time we had the song 'Firebreather' done," but soon thereafter new drummer Axel Wittbeck joined the fold.

"Once Axel had joined, it was like the flood gates opened," says bassist Kyle Pitcher. "The rest of the album just came together." Under a Blood Moon was recorded at Elementstudion in Gothenburg with engineer Oskar Karlsson, who also recorded the band's lauded 2017 self-titled debut on Suicide Records.

Album opener "Dancing Flames" sets the stage for the onslaught to come with a slinking, serpentine riff over slow churning rhythms. Nööjd's hushed, gravelly vocals sink into the mix, more like a baritone guitar than a human voice. "Our Souls, They Burn" nicely exemplifies the band's furious grind that makes even faster tempo songs sound impossibly heavy, like a slow motion stampede. 

Elsewhere, "We Bleed" perfectly sums up the band's focus on the riff and groove, honing in on the power of hypnotic attrition. Closing epic, "The Siren" opens with lugubrious, slightly swinging drums and rumbling bass building tension over delay- and phaser-soaked guitar harmonics, until a massive, sliding riff crashes headlong into the proceedings. The song seems to cleverly shape shift across several harmonic and rhythmic parts, without losing the core groove underneath. A short pause for breath, then it's off to the races with a galloping crescendo for succinct closure.

Under a Blood Moon will be available on LP, CD and download September 27th, 2019 via RidingEasy Records.

FIREBREATHER LIVE 2019:

Sep 20 Gothenburg, SE @ Musikens Hus w/ Halshug
Oct 01 Utrecht, NL @ De Helling *
Oct 02 Brussels, BE @ Magasin 4 *
Oct 03 Pratteln, CH @ Up In Smoke Festival *
Oct 04 Reims, FR @ La Cartonnerie *
Oct 05 Paris, FR @ Saturday Mud Fever Festival *
Oct 07 Dortmund, DE @ Junkyard *
Oct 08 Nuremberg, DE @ Z-Bau *
Oct 09 Cologne, DE @ Helios 37 *
Oct 10 Mainz, DE @ Schon Schon *
Oct 11 Hamburg, DE @ Molotow *
Oct 16 Oslo, NO @ John Dee *
Oct 17 Gothenburg, SE @ Sticky Fingers *
Oct 18 Malmo, SE @ Babel *
Oct 23 Linkoping, SE @ The Crypt *
Oct 24 Stockholm, SE @ Close Up Baten *
Oct 25 Tampere, FI @ Olympia *
Oct 26 Helsinki, FI @ Nosturi *

Under a Blood Moon Release Details and Tracklisting

Label: RidingEasy Records
Release date: September 27th, 2019

01. Dancing Flames
02. Our Souls, They Burn
03. Closed Gate
04. Firebreather
05. We Bleed
06. The Siren

Links:

www.firebreather.bandcamp.com
www.facebook.com/Firebreathergbg
www.ridingeasyrecs.com

FIREBREATHER - S/T (Album Review)

Release date: October 13th 2017. Label: Suicide Records. Format: CD/DD/Vinyl

Screen – Tracklisting

1.FIRE FORETOLD

2.EMERALD EYES

3.THE ICE LORD

4.RELEASE THE LAVA

Members

Mattias Nööjd

Kyle Pitcher

Fredrik Käll

Review

From the ashes of sadly defunct Sludge/Doom Metal overlords - GALVANO - comes Firebreather. A new Sludge/Doom Metal trio who fuse the familiar sounds of Galvano but match it with a more ferocious intensity of High On Fire. Their debut S/T album is something to behold, admire and riff-worship from afar. As Firebreather are more primal than Galvano.

The riffs have a doomier feel and the vocals from Mattias take influence from Matt Pike at times. Firebreather excel throughout on this fantastic sounding album. As they offer four prime cuts of pure doom/sludge metal riffs that will have you grinning and head-banging in agreement.

Opening track - Fire Foretold - creates a gloomy atmosphere with fast-paced High On Fire inspired riffs but still creating their own sound. The psychedelic elements of Firebreather’s music allow them to experiment more freely with their music and see the band become a force of nature to be reckoned with.

Second track - Emerald Eyes - opens with a long drawn out distorted riff before the bass heavy sounds moves the atmosphere to a more exciting level. The vocals from Mattias may sound harsh and menacing at times but at least you can fully understand them. The music becomes less angry than the opening song but still undeniably heavy. With the song running for around eight minutes, Firebreather have a lot of time to fill. Firebreather do this by playing epic psychedelic doom sounds that soon give way to heavier sludge grooves. You may start to feel and hear the friendlier Stoner Metal riffs that Firebreather add at different parts of the album. The music interplay between all members of the band is what makes the band work exceptionally well. These guys sound and feel they've been playing together for years and this feels like album number five or six and not their debut release.

Third track - The Ice Lord - is strictly a warped doom metal affair with the heavy riffs driving the demented mood along to its natural conclusion. The whole sound of the album becomes more volatile and fragmented with Firebreather coming into their own identity and leaving the High On Fire and Galvano comparisons finally behind. The music is more primal and offers a more doom-centric on the second half stages of the album.

The final song - Release The Lava - is the standout track and centrepiece of the album. As it runs for twelve minutes and sees Firebreather adapt a more progressive style to their music. The song can be too laid-back and slow-paced at times but Firebreather soon correct that with their intense blend of Psychedelic Doom and Sludge Metal driving the song to an exciting conclusion.

Firebreather's debut album maybe too short, clocking in less than thirty three minutes. Though it's what Firebreather do with those thirty three minutes is what counts the most. As Firebreather have created a brilliantly heavy and exciting debut album that will leave fans wanting more. An outstanding debut album that showcases another great band from the Swedish Doom/Sludge Metal scene.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Richard at Sheltered Life PR for the promo. Firebreather S/T debut album will be available to buy via Suicide Records on CD/DD/Vinyl from October 13^th 2017.

Links:

Facebook | BandCamp | BigCartel