UK instrumental prog metal experimentalists The Fierce & The Dead explore new ground on their Magnet EP. With only three new three songs it could have pigeonholed as a stop-gap release for the new album they are currently working on, but the two "rehearsal" tracks and the alternate version of Flint from their previous album Spooky Action offer a insightful glimpse of their modus operandi on the studio.
Going for the gut from the get-go the short and heavy Magnet In Your Face contains more interesting bits than many minutes plus prog exploits. Serious air guitar material that is actually far more complex than it seems at first. In Palm Trees they go from pastoral to tension heavy Black Sabbath/King Crimson crescendos and back within the space of a single track plus, big surprise here, their first ever vocals. Well, just screaming the title in unison. Next stop: a revisit of the Spooky Action track Flint, adding a slightly distorted sci-fi feel. Heagphones recommended to pick out the superb drums sound.
The quartet gear up for the big one, another episode the multi-part Part composition - all their recordings contained one or more "parts" thus far. Part 6 (The 8th Circuit) kicks off with a drone having a friendly bout with elongated moving bass motifs acting as the undertow for the languishing guitars. This could be the perfect soundtrack for a road movie with the protagonists driving along the coastal roads of Cornwall during sunset.
Wrapping things with the two-punch rehearsal recordings Let’s Start A Cult and Spooky Action The Fierce And The Dead proof they can lay down a demo that will be over the heads of many aspiring and established prog bands. Right now they can do no wrong, something that deserves recognition outside the cognoscenti and music geeks circuit.
The Fierce & The Dead:
Matt Stevens: guitars, pedals
Steve Cleaton: guitars, pedals
Kev Feazey: bass, guitars, synths
Stuart Marshall: drums, percussion
The Magnet EP is released via Bad Elephant. Release date: August 14th. The limited CD edition (250 copies) contains an extra track, a rehearsal recording of Spooky Action.
Tracks:- Magnet In Your Face
- Palm Trees
- Flint
- Part 6 (The 8th Circuit)
- Let’s Start A Cult (rehearsal recording)
- Spooky Action (rehearsal recording - CD exclusive)
- 08/21 ArcTanGent, Bristol
- 10/04 Summers End Festival @ The Drill Hall, Chepstow
- 11/27 J.T. Soars, Nottingham
- 03/18 HRH Festival, Pwllheli
HCTF review of Spooky Action.
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