The Rock Blogger

Suffocate for Fuck Sake . Blazing Fires and Helicopters on the Front Page of the Newspaper. There’s a War Going On and I’m Marching in Heavy Boots . 2008. 4.5 stars.

Blazing Fires is a daring, if not downright suicidal, album from Sweden’s post-hardcore newcomers Suffocate for Fuck Sake. Gorgeous instrumentals, complete with sorrowful piano keys, shimmery post-rock guitars and strings frame a dark narrative of depression and redemption, as told by an institutionalized young woman. Just as Matthew Good’s Hospital Music expressed the toils of mental illness with dramatic shifts in mood and song phrasing, SFFS plot a winding trajectory for their tortured protagonist that goes to remarkable extremes. From the cold spoken word performances to fiery screamo fits of rage, this album is an emotional roller coaster.

The band’s uncompromising vision, in all its swings and dives, is both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, SFFS have pushed the boundaries of their genre, invoking post-rock song structures and avant-garde experimentation to head into territory roamed by the likes of Godspeed You Black Emperor. And just as Godspeed’s ambition was stark naked, SFFS may too drive many away with long song durations, unusual and extensive use of dialog samples and the general insularities that come from making a concept album. If you are not willing to listen to this in its hour-plus entirety, then there is simply no point in putting it on. It’s ready-made for intense introspection, to be taken in as a unified artistic experience. For all its difficulties though, Blazing Fires is highly original and compelling, plunging into a tragic saga that will, if given the chance, tug at your heart and imagination.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 2nd, 2008 at 9:38 am and is filed under Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.