Good As New/My Assault On The World Begins Now Koi/Engineer 7"
Laminated review by Dustin
Rating: 4/5 |
I had no clue who this band was and I was also clueless as to who KOI Records is. I guess this is the label's very first release (well, it's a split release with Engineer Records), and it sure as hell was a good way to start off a label. The Fire Still Burns play some really catchy punk/hardcore type stuff with singing, rather than screaming. It sounds a lot like Lifetime meets Strike Anywhere, with a touch of old school hardcore thrown in. But, to tell you the truth, this stuff isn't that heavy. It's a softer style of hardcore, if you can even call it hardcore at all.
The 2 song release is an excellent way for this band to start a career. It does a perfect job of showing what this band can do and where they're coming from. I definitely haven't heard many bands like this, so they have a lot going for them with their catchy-as-hell brand of punk rock. |
................................................................
Mammoth Press by: Sean-Michael
Rating: 7 out of 10
When you have a 7-inch record featuring past and current members of Ex Number Five, Lifetime, Vision, Ensign and the Scarlet Letter it’s hard to expect anything short of brutally honest, melodic, energetic punk rock. A vinyl 45 is the perfect medium for this release, these two tracks are unrelenting and any other format for this release would be an abomination.
The Fire Still Burns has an early 1990’s punk rock sound, which compliments the early 1990’s punk rock ideology of releasing a 7-inch. The first track, Good As New, opens and one thing is obvious… this band has an unquenchable thirst for music, the fast paced vocals, overlapping guitars and furious bass brings you back to a time when scene points didn’t exist, a time when music was what it was all about.
In short, this 7-inch is well worth the investment, it is surely a record that won’t spend enough time off your table to be filed with your endless crates of 7-inches. This is what music is supposed to be about, through and through.
..........................................................
Under The Volcano Magazine by Dan McClernon
Ladies and gentleman, your new favorite band, The Fire Still Burns. Don't believe me? The Fire Still Burns, featuring ex-members of Lifetime, Ex-Number Five, Ensign, amongst others, is the answer for what the fuck happened to early '90's style East Coast hardcore. This two-song seven-inch marks their first release, and with the recent news of the band signing to Blackout, hopefully we?ll have more tunes on the way. With the knowledge of knowing who makes up this band, you can be certain that this is going to be good, but it's up to you to take a listen and know just how good these cats really are. For fans of Lifetime, Dag Nasty, or contemporaries such as Strike Anywhere or early Rise Against, you need this record.
............................................................
Room Thirteen by Jim Ody
A split label release is an interesting thing, and on a single nonetheless. However this is what we have here, and it has to be said that you can see why neither label wanted the other to have sole custody of it. Engineer Records and the newly established Koi Records - from the Lonestar State - are the aforementioned labels.
The Fire Still Burns treat us to two slices of what we are led to believe is the start of a punk rock revolution. Stomping out with first song 'Good As New', it is hard-edged punk that just stays assessable to lovers of catchy punk, as it remains credible to the hardcore punk fan. Nicely named Alf Bartone has a voice which maybe lacks the gravelly anarchy of any old school or 'oi oi' punk band, but stays harmony-free long enough for full acceptance. Second song 'My Assault On The World Starts Now' is much of the same, and starts with such truly ferocious drumming by Derik Moore that there must've been smoke coming off of his sticks by the time he finished!
The Fire Still Burns have been compared to such bands as Rise Against, Strike Anywhere and Dog Nasty with their melodic/punk sound, but don't get the wrong idea, these boys have balls and these boys have a message. Let the revolution begin...
............................................................
Screaming Bloody Mess.com by Tim Scott
You remember early Revelation singles? Back when they weren’t selling like Vietnamese orphans on E-bay? The Fire Still Burns, certainly do. This single sounds like the early glory days of Rev records. The a-side ‘Good As New’ has a Farside sound to it. Especially the vocals of Alf Bartone and the crunchy guitar riffs. I’m reminded of driving to all-ages shows in my Mum’s shitbox Sigma. Nostalgia- it’s the future of hardcore!
Tim Scott
..........................................................
Verbicide Magazine by Kyle Iverson:
I put this record on kind of half expecting another tired, badly recorded
trendy post-hardcore band. But I gotta tell you, I am pretty impressed with
The Fire Still Burns. They remind me of Strike Anywhere, Rise Against, or
Before I Go two of whom are listed on the press release as comparable
bands but I swear I thought of it before I read it. Anyway, this is a damn
fine release from a band that I really would like to hear more from. Not
only is the music played well (which it definitely is, they are quite
talented musicians), but the lyrics are very well thought out and thought
provoking, but not overly done or muddled. If you see this at a record shop,
pick it up for sure if you're a fan of punk or hardcore, you will probably
enjoy it. (Kyle Iverson)
