The Safety Fire - Grind The Ocean

Progressive metal is becoming a rather over-saturated genre, and it’s unfortunately bands like The Safety Fire who are providing a watered down take on it that is beginning to make the genre a dirty word, at least in my books.

I like my progressive metal exciting, giving me something a little different, a little progressive, whereas The Safety Fire and merely doing a watered down version of Sikth, slower tempo’s and less crazy vocals, but all the basic elements of a band who did it first and a hell of a lot better are there.

The Instrumentation is good on the album, don’t get me wrong on this, and Sean’s clean vocals have clarity and melody in plenty. It’s the screams that just let me down, they sound like they belong more in a hardcore band than a progressive metal. If they dropped the screams, and focused more on clean singing I could probably get more into the band, but as it stands, I can’t listen to them without the screamed vocals getting on my nerves.

Overall not a band I would recommend, unless you are a diehard progressive metal fan and want some more in your life, but for people who want to hear the proper stuff, go and dig out your Sikth albums and go and enjoy them instead. (4/10)

James Merrett

Band info: www.thesafetyfire.com

Label info: www.insideoutmusic.com