Connecticut's death doom dealers Fires In the Distance were among the few highlights in an abysmal 2020. The band's full length debut, Echoes From Deep November, was hailed as promising show of skill and composition. Showcasing a presentation befitting of the melodeath coin, the band's balance of brute strength and beautiful melody offered a fresh take on the genre.
That promise was further reiterated when the band doubled down on their performative prowess with the live rendition of that same debut record on the 2022 release, Live at Telefunken. Recreating the power and presence of Echoes From Deep November, the effectiveness of the tracks was amplified as FITD's live translation proved nothing short of masterful.
The excitement of a band that clearly presented such potential from the get-go meant a real sense of anticipation for what they had cooking next - and now it seems as though the band are prepared to offer a glimpse of that next chapter.
Air Not Meant For Us marks Fire In the Distance's sophomore full length and picks up where their 2020 Billboard charting debut album, Echoes from Deep November, left off. Bolstered by the production expertise of Randy Slaugh (Devin Townsend, Tesseract, White Moth Black Butterfly), the collection of tracks furthering expands on the lyrical themes of resilience and grit in a climate rife with existential worry and mental illness.
To properly introduce Air Not Meant For Us, Fire In the Distance has delivered the first single from the project in "Harbingers" - an expansive, fully-consuming almost 11-minute track that achieves musical crescendos that translate as truly cinematic.
The band detailed how the first preview was intended to highlight their joint effort with producer and composer, Randy Slaugh and how the track was indicative of an album that ambitiously incorporated orchestral elements into the extreme side of the metallic spectrum. "'Harbingers' is a daring and eruptive introduction to our upcoming second album, 'Air Not Meant for Us', concurrently putting the orchestral collaboration with Randy Slaugh (Devin Townsend, Tesseract, Periphery) in the aural forefront."
The band also explained why they opted to pair the single with a lyric video to better reiterate the substantive weight of the cut. "Releasing a lyric video for the first track of the album felt like a natural way to introduce the themes, imagery and atmosphere of this sophomore release. A special thanks to our friends at Knotfest for the work they do in today's metal scene and for giving our fans an early listen to our new record."
The six-track masterclass, Air Not Meant For Us, from Fires In the Distance is slated to arrive April 28th via Prosthetic Records. The album is currently available for pre-order - HERE
Air Not Meant for Us Tracklist
- Harbingers
- Wisdom of the Falling Leaves
- Crumbling Pillars of a Tranquil Mind
- Adrift, Beneath the Listless Waves
- Psalm of the Merciless
- Idiopathic Despair
