Quest For Fire - Quest For Fire

As impressed as I was seeing Quest For Fire open for Eric's Trip at The Mod Club earlier this year, nothing could prepare me for the experience of listening to their self titled debut. The members of this band together as a unit may be new, but the long time experience of its collective members shines brightly on this outstanding disc.

I'm willing to admit that I can be quite the fanboy of exaggeration. I've declared many bands to be my "new favourite" and I throw around terms such as "it's been a long time since something THIS GREAT" and "best of the year" with somewhat hapless disregard. But if you'll forgive my crying overenthusiastic wolf just this one time, you have to believe me when I say that this band will blow your mind.

They have a psychedelic sound that borrows just as much from 70's metal as it does from late 60's psychedelia. The songs are progressively epic, with several ones breaking into the 8 and 9 minute range. However, their sonic assault of the senses plays like an action packed thriller that keeps you enthralled and longing for more. Bison Eyes is the album opener, the shortest and most immediate song, containing a riff that reminds me of the opening strains to Pink Floyd's Let There Be More Light. I've Been Trying To Leave is another highlight as it serves as an adventurous piece of work that never lets up for a second, containing harmonies that haunt and inspire. Album closer Next To The Fire is phenomenal, taking you on a musical journey that reaches the stratosphere before dropping you in mid air, leaving you exhausted, but in a good way.

I could wax metaphorically all day about just how impressive this album is, but it really deserves to be exposed to as wide an audience as possible, and hopefully the folks at Storyboard are working extra hard to do this. Call it post rock, math rock, prog, neo-psychedelia, grunge experimentation or whatever pigeon holing genre term you desire, I simply call it one of the greatest albums of the year.

Quest For Fire will be opening for Mudhoney at The Horseshoe on September 19th. You'd be a fool to miss it.

Myspace: Quest For Fire
Video: I've Been Trying To Leave on youtube