Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Fueled By Fire - Trapped In Perdition


Fueled By Fire were one of the first retro thrash bands to put out an album, with “Spread The Fire” being released in 2006, but I never took them all that seriously. Sure, plenty of thrash bands use ridiculous themes, but something just didn’t click with that record. Unfortunately, this caused me to completely overlook “Plunging Into Darkness”, which I now must revisit, because with their new album, “Trapped In Perdition”, Fueled By Fire deliver some intense thrash metal.

For one thing, this album sounds a lot more serious form the get go. The most noticeable improvement from the debut is in the vocals, which, as you might now expect, consists of a long-haired madman shouting violent and blasphemous lyrics at us. Sometimes the singing gets a bit rougher around the edge, mainly in the form of leaning more towards death/thrash vocals, but either style is a major improvement for the band. The production has also marked change for the band. It is akin to if “Spiritual Healing” were a thrash album; every instrument sounds extremely full, loud, and heavy. The guitar crunch rivals Exodus and Metallica, and the drums are pummeling, without resorting to abusing a high-pitched snare. You can pick out what anybody is doing at any time, and no instrument overpowers another. I feel the same way about “Spiritual Healing”, but there is another connection to that album. The opening riff of “Catastrophe” sounds like it was influenced by the Death classic, “Defensive Personalities”. It has the same tight, accented notes in the main riff, and then progresses into those bludgeoning mid-paced sections that Death were masters of. Plenty of other songs on "Trapped In Perdition" follow the same pattern. They tend to alternative between bone-chillingly heavy sections, and more standard thrash riffs. The second single, “Forsaken Deity”, is the other standout track of this record. Though it is definitely a lot slower than most of the record, its heaviness and riff quality cannot be understated. In fact, that pretty much goes for every song on “Trapped In Perdition”. There’s always a killer riff waiting for you, and though not too many of them are completely memorable, they’ll always keep you coming back to this record.  

Trapped In Perdition” is one of those albums where all of the elements come together so well that it’s impossible to listen to without thrashing around and headbanging furiously. Fueled By Fire has benefitted from sounding more and more like a serious thrash outfit, and this album will no doubt turn a lot of heads in the thrash community.

Be sure to check out and like Fueled By Fire on Facebook!

Highlights
"Catastrophe"
"Forsaken Deity"

Final Rating
4.2/5 or 84%. 

Written by Scott