Wild Fire
Buried Deep EP and single review
I have a question for you. If you put Judas Priest, Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath into a melting pot and sprinkled on a bit of Metallica spice, what would you get? You don’t know? Well, read on.
If you followed the above recipe, you would get Wild Fire, a brilliant 5 piece Scottish band formed in 2021 consisting of
Mikey Roberts-vocals
Liam Roberts-drums
Keir Ballantyne-guitar
Nick Smith-guitar
Lewis Stanners-bass
Wild Fire have had a massive response to their melodic metal music since the release of their first EP Screaming for Mercy in September ’21, earning them a string of gigs up and down the country supporting the likes of Massive Wagons, South of Salem and Anchor Lane. They’ve played at festivals such as Monsterfest and Rockmantic, as well as filling the Trailblazer tent at Call of the Wild Festival in May this year.
Launching their second EP Buried Deep to a packed venue at MacArts, Galashiels the guys go from strength to strength gathering new fans where ever they play.
The EP consists of 4 songs
Undercover
Buried Deep
Detached
Unspoken
Undercover has a slow build-up to it, like something epic is about to happen, and it does. With heavy drums and guitars leading you into Mikey’s distinctive voice, it will have you moving to the beat whether you like it or not. If that’s not enough, get your air guitars out, you’ll need them, as there are some gritty guitar riffs in there for all levels of players! If this isn’t their opening number, it definitely should be.
Don’t put those air guitars away just yet…………
Buried Deep is the latest single to be taken from the EP and takes your foot tapping and head nodding up a notch. Who said watching documentaries about serial killers was bad for you? Definitely not in this case. Musically it’s gutsy and is straight in there with powerful guitars building up with a sinister undertone until it slows right down again so Mikey can explain what’s going on. It’s electric as it builds back up with stunning guitar riffs that’ll wear out your air guitar! Wild Fire take you on a journey of love, hate, jealousy and murder with this song. Listening to the lyrics you can see images of how it all plays out. I had those images, but there was way too much blood!
Detached If this song doesn’t prove how accomplished musicians Liam, Lewis, Keir and Nick are nothing will. This track starts off very gently and I think to myself, ah, here’s a nice slow number with its haunting vocals …… Nah! It’s another belter of a track, with a gutsy beat that is as energetic as the
last two tracks.
Unspoken was released in April and takes you on a musical and lyrical journey of internal turmoil that can happen to any one of us when we overthink things and our thoughts get twisted and distorted, meaning that we fall down a hole of self-doubt that’s difficult to get out of. Mostly, something saves us from ourselves, in this case, it’s a love for music. Again, it gently draws you in and sets the scene for what’s to come. Midway through it changes up a gear with drums pounding out a beat to introduce the anxiety and distress felt.
This is an immense EP with extensive and mammoth guitar riffs, pulsating drums, deep low-pitched bass and distinctive vocals. What’s not to like?
The band are now working on an album which is in its very early stages. Meantime they have one or two live recordings from their EP launch night at MacArts which they will be releasing over the next few months
The band say in their bio that they combine melodic and dynamic vocals, screaming guitars, thundering drums and rumbling bass to create their own unique sound. I think that sums up Wild Fire beautifully, but you can decide for yourselves by checking them out at the links below.
You can find out all about the band at
https://wildfirescotland.com
EP is available on all music streaming sites
Video for Buried Deep https://youtu.be/hOvw_NvCWuw
Live video for Unspoken taken at Rockmantic by Cecil Paul Studios https://youtu.be/J4Zd4R6F0eA
Upcoming gigs
1st July Vaults Art Centre, Newton Stewart
22nd July Supporting Stolen Order at the Tooth and Claw in Inverness
29th/30th September Rockinburgh Festival, Edinburgh in aid of the charity set up by Gill and Andy Cowe to raise money for neo-natal and bereavement charities. https://rockinfortots.co.uk/