Review by Saxy S for Fires in the Distance - Air Not Meant for Us (2023)

While I do enjoy a lot of the death doom metal that I listen to, I rarely find myself actively going out of my way to listen to it. Part of this is undoubtedly my very strict method of weeing through new releases to keep myself from becoming overly swamped, but that typically means certain subgenres take a backseat. Fires in the Distance broke through as this record drew enough attention within days of release so I figured "Why not?" Besides, I haven't listened to a new release in the Fallen clan here on MA yet this year so here we go!

First and foremost, Fires in the Distance are fantastic songwriters. I was worried at first when the opener was the longest track on the album and was closing in on eleven minutes, but within the first handful of chords, I could tell that the runtime would not be a problem. The connectivity of the record is truly commendable as main melodies and motifs are constantly called back to and permutated into alternative variations. This proceeds into all three of this records "long" songs, including "Crumbling Pillars of a Tranquil Mind" and "Idiopathic Despair".

The mixing is a little imbalanced though. On the positive, the inclusion of the piano as a primary melodic instrument is so well executed and implemented on each track. It does create quite the unique sound for Fires in the Distance and pushes the timbre of the record ever so slightly to gothic, before the guitars return and bring this record back to the My Dying Bride-esque death doom. And the three part counterpoint that takes place between the vocals, piano and guitar lead is something that I rarely hear; most artists stop at only two distinct voices and when the do add a third voice, the balancing act is almost never pulled off well.

However, the record is brought down by the timbre of the rhythm guitar. And because this is a metal album, the rhythm guitar is heavily prominent in the mix throughout the record runtime. For this style of melodic doom metal, something about the overly tinny guitar timbre just forces quite a few sections of deep despair to not hit with the same gravitas or authority as it might have if this was a Swallow the Sun album for example. I can certainly let it slide when the guitar lead or piano's are in play and taking away from the fundamental, but it's still a timbre that persists and I cannot fully appreciate this album for what it is.

Air Not Meant for Us by Fires in the Distance is a solid enough of a death doom album in 2023 and gets a huge boost in score for the songwriting alone. But the hit and miss production keeps this flame in the distance instead of closer to my heart than I would like.

Best Songs: Harbingers, Crumbling Pillars of a Tranquill Mind, Psalm of the Merciless