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Genre: Hard Rock
Label: Stomp Records

Byron Stroud, best known for his work in Strapping Young Lad and Fear Factory, started this band from the reunion of Caustic Thought, and brought Burton C. Bell in when the original singer decided not to take part. So what ended up happening is a strange little bastard child was created with City of Fire – its a beast with a very diverse set of teeth.
Opening with the particularly catchy/nut punching “Carve Your Name”, a mood is definitely set for the album, and it’s obvious it’s not a cheery one. The music seems to be taking cues from death metal, with maybe a bit of Iron Maiden and Judas Priest influence (a nod to trad metal song structure/tone) or even Canadian hard rock from the 90′s (hm… strange that…).
There’s even some touches of Type O here.
Overall, there’s tons of stuff going on with various tempos, moods – usually angry or melancholic moods – and textures in the general sound of the album. A great thing about this is it’s catchiness. It wouldn’t surprise me if you checked it out and was singing choruses the next day.
At first listen, however, I hated this. I even wrote a different review that ripped this album all new sets of assholes. Then I listened to it again, and realized it’s pretty damn good. And that I shouldn’t listen to review material when I’m in a bad mood.
Favorite tracks: “Carve Your Name” and “Rising”. The latter s a great hard rock tune while the former is an angry metal song that will definitely get stuck in your head.
7 out of 10.

City of Fire on Facebook.

Genre: Doom, Sludge, Hard Rock, Psychedelic, Punk
Label: Candlelight Records

You know how sometimes if you’re drawn to a band because it has a member of another band that you like in it? Yeah. Sometimes you run into that snag. It’s that one where the new band that you’re checking out sounds just like the original band that that guy you like is in. Well, City Of Fire has two or ‘em. Both are from Fear Factory: Mr. Burton C. Bell and a Mr. Byron Stroud.

But as luck would have it, City Of Fire actually stood alone for me, for a while. I listened to their self titled debut album about three time, loving it more and more each time… and then I though, “this vocalist sounds awfully familiar…” A quick Google search later and boom! I found my familiars.

I guess it needs to be said that City Of Fire sounds NOTHING like any of these guy’s affiliated bands, not one iota. City Of Fire makes this album feel brand fucking new, yet all too familiar and simply approachable with it’s memorable melodies and cathartic choruses. Not a single song on this album gets too aggressive at all. It’s a pretty chill throughout (especially A Memory. Awesome fucking song!)

Burton’s voice is distinctly brilliant as always. He stays on the cleaner side of things for the majority of the time and only occasionally dips into his trademark gruff shout. As far as the stings go… they manage to bring the mellow on a level that’s almost overwhelming. There’s a weight to every chord that just crushes you if you aren’t prepared for it… which I guess kind of plays against my “chill” remark. But believe me, give it a second listen and you’ll wish the Q-Tip in your hand was a joint! Remember that bit of info when Spirit Guide creeps up on you. You’ll be wondering what classic family movie this album syncs up with…

Not to mention the all too awesome covers of two heavily influential bands songs:  The Rain (by The Cult) and Children Of The Revolution (by T-Rex).

Overall: Aside from some overly ambitious stuff that just didn’t seem to pan out to me (lots of silent breaks or long bouts of droning that just seem excessive), City Of Fire is hot, Hot, HOT!!! Recommended for fans of everyone from doom to hard rock to psychedelic shit to punk. It’s all here and it’s all great!

9.5/10

City Of Fire On MySpace

Also Posted On E-MetalSpace