Colossus whet our appetite. This was Fer de Lance‘s first entry ticket into the World o’ Metal. The RMR crew wasn’t mightily impressed but intrigued enough to let this one roar. The Hyperborean of 2022, their debut full-length record, truly got on our good side. One giant step up, a band seemingly on a firm path to Heavy Metal glory.
So, now, after some three years of deliberations, Fer de Lance send us their sophomore piece. And that’s always a particularly black rock in a molten ocean of metal to navigate around. So, let’s see how Fires on the Mountainside will fare. Slump or uptick? Turn up the volume.
There’s a saying that epic and lengthy tracks need to be well prepared, with songwriting chops to match the occasion. It is a bit like getting ready for a marathon. Only meticulous planning, discipline, great equipment, and – most importantly – yours truly in outstanding form and up for the game will lead you to success. If sloppiness seeps in, however, you’ll be in so much trouble.
This metaphor can also be easily applied to the 13-minute starter and title track, Fires on the Mountainside. Stunned silence roared mightily in the review desk’s listening room once the track finally petered out. A strangely mixed, Bathory-leaning, wannabe Cinematic Post Black Metal piece with uneasy excursions into tremolo land that might sit well on a Zelda soundtrack. It looks like the folks over at Fer de Lance gave up all control and meandered over them volcanic peaks and valleys with reckless abandon and zero restraints. Said differently, this track sounds as if the band wanted to make a point to show the world what they can do in one mighty serving. And by doing that, they used up all of their shiny items in their toolbox as well.
The result is a somewhat rushed affair. One that roars in on a backdrop of overdone reverb, ’90s era atmospherics,1 and an abundance of (pseudo) bad synths. On the other hand, it is also a truly epic track, and it has its merits. But it is so overloaded with everything the band has in its arsenal that even the proficient solos, sturdy guitar leads, and meaty semi-belted vocals cannot fix the damage. In other words, this kind of handiwork may have glittered brightly in times when Summoning was still young. But it sounds somewhat stale these days.
Luckily, Fires on the Mountainside sharply improves with new-found focus once Ravens Fly (Dreams of Daidalos) lets loose. Suddenly, you’ll find yourself in Moonsorrow‘s backyard with Hansi Kürsch – ahem – MP belting away from pitch-black castle towers. Gotta chase them ravens, right? The Moonsorrow / Blind Guarding combo thing will follow you around until Fire & Gold hits the turntable. At that point, remnants of Rainbow from the Dio era will make a pretty compelling appearance. This trend of ‘accidental’ impersonation continues down the tracklist with Children of the Sky and Sea2 reaching the dark and gloomy lands that Black Sabbath could easily occupy, too.
But never fear. The record isn’t devoid of good-to-great tracks, either. For instance, Death Thrives (Where Walls Divide)‘s doom-laden and tremolo-infused airs shine brightly with a melancholic groove that wasn’t quite present before. This track even features one of the rare attempts at a metal rasp. Or you get the aforementioned Fire & Gold. A track that surprised this crew with a folky intro until the guitars smoothly led into the tune. But let’s not forget The Feast of Echoes. I always get visions of Ritchie Blackmore whipping Dio into shape once this track leads off. But Rainbow dreamin’ aside, the RMR crew absolutely loved the slow-marching, oldish theme the track uses to prop up the chorus, speedier sections, and one of the best solos on this record. A solo that surely helped soothe the pain this cringeworthy monologue caused earlier.
So, what did Fires on the Mountainside deliver to this here motley crew of grouchy metalists? Fer de Lance sent us a bunch of tracks that revisit well-known themes found earlier already. Bright objects that Heavy, Power, and Black Metal covered eons ago. And as we said before, the musical prowess of this band is outstanding, and MP‘s flexible interpretations truly found our good side. However, it won’t always help if the production is continually overwrought, unduly bombastic, and almost painfully over the top.
So, do we have a slump or uptick? Neither, say the cranky geezers of the RMR Review Desk. Only that better focus and a propensity to self-edit would have worked wonders. Just sayin’.
Record Rating: 6/10 | Label: Cruz del Sur | Web: Official Band Site
Release Date: 27 June 2025