Band:	In The Fire
Album:	Volatile Beings
Style:	Blackened death metal, Technical thrash metal
Release date:	February 15, 2019
A review by:	nikarg

01. Feral
02. The Devil In The Mirror
03. Into Battle
04. Channel
05. In The Fire
06. Techno-Sociopathic De-Evolution
07. Inside Out
08. The Poisoned Rye

This is a magnificent album for those who complain that thrash metal is stale and repetitive.

Hailing from Pennsylvania, In The Fire is a project of Ryan Moll (Rumpelstiltskin Grinder, Total Fucking Destruction, Azure Emote) who wrote the music and lyrics, and basically did everything in this album -vocals, guitars, bass, keys- apart from playing drums; the latter task was left to his bandmate in Rumpelstiltskin Grinder, Patrick Battaglia. The music is described by the band as "a maddening assault of banshee cries, pummeling debris, and lacerating riffage."

Sounds like an exaggeration? Well, it is not, it is rather an understatement.

Volatile Beings is a totally enthralling debut that is predominantly blackened, technical death/thrash, but it also adds generous pinches of other styles to the Death-/Mercyful Fate-/Vektor-filled cauldron and let me tell you that, up until now, the only band I have heard pulling off something like this with success is Deceased.

Almost all songs in this record are stellar. Openers "Feral" and "The Devil In The Mirror" are constantly changing direction and speed, with awesome solos scattered everywhere and pulverising riffs coming from left, right and centre. "Into Battle" starts with an Iron Maiden-esque lead guitar, but soon disguises into a U.S. power metal assault that Iced Earth fans will immensely appreciate. "Channel" is a classic heavy metal anthem with some melodeath edge and probably my favourite track on the album. Towards the end of Volatile Beings you come across "Inside Out", a double-faced beast, half being a blackened hardcore aggressor and the other half a dark, mid-paced heavy metal ripper. Finally, "The Poisoned Rye" is a doom-laden, progressive and epic closer, the longest track in the album, featuring both clean and harsh vocals.

Speaking of vocals, I found these to be an acquired taste. In all fairness, I learned to appreciate them because the music was so good, just like I've done in the past with Vektor, for example. The guitar work, on the other hand, is immediately recognized as mind-blowing, with powerful riffs attacking from all directions and exquisite solos, and during the album's 35-minute runtime, there were very few moments that I could do without. Sometimes the ever-changing character of the songs seemed overwhelming and my undivided attention was needed in order to find out where they were going, but I guess that is something to expect when things get a bit too technical and complex.

This is not your typical thrash album and needs more than one listen to fully grasp it. So, if you want to step outside your restricting thrash box, but still remain metal as fuck, give this album a chance. It's dark, it's energetic, it's melodic, it's multifaceted, and it is good enough to make you drop everything else you are doing right now and start thrashing.

What are you waiting for? Jump in the fire.