Metal Perspective Review Fire for Effect - "Inner Dimensional Chaos" [Murderworks, 2007] Tracklist: 01. Total World Assault 02. Axe Tragedy 03. Shattered Faith 04. Fatal Hesitation 05. Generic God Creation 06. Chronicles of Adaptation 07. Burial to Shroud 08. Nail Burrowed Skin 09. Entrenched 10. Predator 11. Your Blood, My Perseverance 12. Jigsaw 13. Carve, Open, Display 14. Deviate 15. Inner Dimensional Chaos The Americans Fire for Effect were put together in 2005 in Boston, Massachusetts and soon after their debut homonymous installment surfaced, a 9-track, highly rated by many, piece of thrash metal. After doing some gigs in Boston they started working on their second delivery, the one in question, during the summer of 2006, produced by lead guitarist Josh Johnson in his American Drive Studio. Cutting to the chase, "Inner Dimensional Chaos" counts 80 minutes of thrash metal and my initial thought was "man, that's too much for the specific style, it'll certainly be a tiresome experience!". Fortunately, I was wrong. Fire for Effect let loose a blend of heavy, thrash and death which doesn't wear you out at all, due to the apparent inspiration, talent and as far as I can tell, great zest for writing good music. Pretty good rhythm section, fine solos for this genre and a very good production that helps the music and adds the right timbre. As for their influences, I detected some Slayer, Pantera, Black Label Society and even Obituary parts. Vocal-wise, they fall somewhere between Sacred Reich and Obituary, something I like a lot. The most atypical thing with these 15 songs is the mid tempo they follow in their majority, an uncommon speed for a thrash metal based band. But there's more to it than this… For instance, one track can bear a profound sludge mood, like "Predator" or "Generic God" with obituary-esque vocals. Another fine example is "Fatal Hesitation" that brought to mind my favorite Black Label Society while on the other hand "Your Blood, My Perseverance" reminded me a lot of Slayer. "Chronicles of Adaptation" is a typical power thrash track of the late 80's American School of metal and the magnificent "Deviate", that's also one of my favorites here, is close to the mighty Coroner's sound. I mention all these just to help you get the picture of what "Inner Dimensional Chaos" is about and how successfully they marry a great number of different metal styles. The 80's mood is diffused throughout the whole cd and on its every aspect, from the music to the cover and the lay-out. Note also that this was sent to me in a folder containing 2 copies of the cd and a dvd with a gig Fire for Effect did, and I was really impressed by their clothing. Costume and bow tie for the singer, prim shirts and well-creased trousers for the rest!!! Completely opposite to their music and I must admit that I pretty much enjoyed it. Well, talk is cheap and you much be getting tired. In conclusion, Fire For Effect is an act that deserves your attention and since the guys are on the haunt for a label, I urge you to support them in every way you can. They have the talent and the passion. Well done guys!!! Rating: 7.5/10 Reviewer: George Karageorge

CD/DVD Reviews Fire for Effect Inner Dimensional Chaos Independent by Matthew Hoffman Staff Writer Comments: Performing more then a hundred reviews per year it’s hard to be emotionally vested in a debut album from a band. In the case of Fire for Effect’s 2005 release that attachment occurred and was seriously palpable. Finding info on this new band was nearly impossible but after contracting the band personally there was enough empirical data for a CD review (though barely). On the strength of the band's passion, the ferocious guitar leads and the awesome American Military cover art and themes the rough upstarts review was very favorable. The band Fire for Effect, a five man band from Massachusetts, proves with their second release Inner Dimensional Chaos that the giant leap of faith was more then deserved. As with the last CD the major theme is patriotism and support of our troops abroad in harm's way. This is a pretty important and forgotten theme in metal as whether you believe in what we are doing or not it is essential for the troops to know we love them. Under this theme the record starts out, soft acoustic guitar is played over top pf distant machine gun fire and bursts that continually get closer. A minute into “Total World Assault” the treacherous riffs of Josh Johnson and Rian Connell and the hellacious drumming of Joe Pelletier start up full throttle. With a lead guitarist (Josh Johnson) trained under Joe Stump at the famous Berklee School of Music (and actually graduated) you know from Jump Street that the guitar leads will be well looked after. This is evident two minutes in as a nice almost Middle Eastern lead kicks in and then stops abruptly bringing in the vocals of Luke Kimball. By mid song it’s time again for more wonderful solo work from Johnson and he does not disappoint either. Layers of lead guitar with clean notes fly around and then stop for an occasional Sabbath style deep rhythm line before this seven minute metal fest is finally over. The rest of the music on this fifteen track bonanza is powerful and spirited and probably best described as a straight mix of hardcore and thrash metal genres. The vocals of Kimball most closely resemble hardcore as do many of the aggressive riffs, while the advanced lead guitar and many of the melodies lean towards the thrash side. The interesting thing here is that all of these are seen within the same songs and the marriage of the two styles is a seamless and ferocious one for FFE. The appeal is monstrous as Patriotic Americans favoring regular metal, hardcore, death metal, thrash metal, NWOBHM and especially guitarheads will love this record. This should definitely serve as a coming out party of for Josh Johnson as fans of lead guitar technique and advanced aggressive solos now have a “new” guitar hero. Johnson laces up damn near every single track with unique and very high quality lead work in a mode all his own! He is the most unique young axe grinder since Jon Donais of Shadows Fall hit the scene 10 years ago. Simply listen to the solo work on track thirteen and you will immediately understand all the praise! This band is legit and should be taken seriously. Pick up a copy of this kick ass CD, as a 79-minute long album containing top notch metal is unheard of these days. Band Members Luke Kimball-Vocals Josh Johnson-Lead Guitar Rian Connell-Rhythm Guitar Joe Pelletier-Drums Michael Lombardi-Bass, Vocals Track listing: Total World Assault The Axe Tragedy Shattered Faith Fatal Hesitation Generic God Creation Chronicles of Adaptation Burial to Shroud Nail Burrowed Skin Entrenched Predator Your Blood My Perseverance Jigsaw Carve Open Display Deviate Inner Dimensional Chaos HRH rating: 8/10