Mouth of Swords • The Safety Fire • Inside Out Music / Century Media Records• Producer: Derya “Dez” Nagle
With their second full-length, alt-metal Brits the Safety Fire continue to make a name for themselves through shredding leads that meld with spacey, passive breakdowns. The title track and opener, “Mouth of Swords,” displays the band’s overall sound in waves: prog themes and math-rock melodies complemented by clean vocals and an extremely tight drum-bass duo. BTBAM’s Tommy Giles Rogers’ muggy growls echo in “Beware the Leopard (jagwar)” while “Glass Crush” showcases TSF’s appreciation of emo-core “woahs.” This record strays from conformity, while remaining interesting and catchy—not an easy task. – Andy Mesecher
