I’ve always thought of Fires in the Distance as the type of progressive death band that could win naysayers over to harsh vox, simply because they were mostly instrumental and any harsh vocals were understated. Well, the band has lost a little of that with their new singer, but their terrific sound is still in place and getting better. Circadian Promise released on June 12th.
I’ve been following Connecticut’s Fires in the Distance since their 2020 debut, Echoes from Deep November, an album I still listen to regularly. Their 2023 follow-up Air Not Meant For Us is just as good. After that album, they lost vocalist/guitarist Kristian Grimaldi and in stepped Brendan Hayter. The rest of the band is the same: Yegor Savonin on guitars and programming, Craig Breitsprecher on bass and backing vocals, and Jordan Rippe on drums.
The band plays a mix of progressive death and doom. However, their music has always been very melodic, not just in the sparkling keys, but also in the guitar phrasing and general atmosphere. Adding Brendan’s blend of harsh and clean vox, the music is even more layered now, and some of the tracks have dreamy or eerie segments that I absolutely love. In fact, the more the band explores that territory, the more I’ll like them. I’d love to hear them compose a full ambient track or even album.
Circadian Promise only has six tracks, and it is very consistent. In the first half, we get the single “Of Radiance and Levitation”, a fiery track heavy on the riffs; I love the ambient keyboard segment in the middle, like floating on rain. “To You, Author of My Fade” is a darker track, weighty and rhythmic. I love that classic Fires in the Distance sound with the chugging riffs and calculating drums. The first half ends with “Lightless Days of a Songless Bird”, a piece with more licks mixed in with the riffs. I love the dark cinematic feel and blast beats.
The second half is probably my favorite. We get “By This Time Tomorrow”, just as heavy in parts, but focusing in the last few minutes on an atmospheric portion featuring an Alan Watts voiceover and a pealing guitar solo. My favorite on the album, and one of my favorite songs this year, is “Once the Silence Takes Your Place”: this gorgeous piece feels more gothic to me, more spectral and skeletal. I love the eerie, careful keys and the electronic portion that gushes with ethereal and cosmic vibes. It simultaneously has some of the heaviest and most ambient portions on the album. The closer is “Agonal Dreaming”, a ferocious track with reeling guitars. I love how it seems to morph and flow so richly.
Look, Fires in the Distance does their thing, their albums always have this abstract emotion to them that sucks you in and carries you along in a stream of brutal light. It’s difficult to leave until the album is through. Circadian Promise is a new start for the band, a strong one at that, and I expect them to keep layering, keep adding, keep experimenting with their base sound moving forward.
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Find Fires in the Distance online:
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The PROG Mind 