Album Review: Anime Fire - 'Where The Wolves Fear To Tread'

Over the last few years Perth has been a breeding ground for amazing

musical talent. Miles Away, Elora Danan and Gyroscope are all bands who have

broken free from the constraints of the world's most isolated capital city and

taken their show on the road. Unfortunately for Anime Fire they have neither

the chops nor the songs to compete with their local comrades, because this EP

falls short on all fronts.  

Firstly (and I need to get this out of the way), the

production is absolutely terrible. I'm not sure if this is what Anime Fire were

trying to achieve (or maybe the engineer knocked off a bottle of Jack before

tracking the thing) but the six songs on offer sound awful. The cymbals are way

too loud, the guitars sound like they're dropping in and out and the vocals are

nowhere near high enough in the mix. I'm all for experimentation, but releasing

a poorly recorded EP doesn't qualify as progressive in my book. 

As for the songs themselves some parts show some promise but

overall everything's a bit of a mess. There's some cool guitar work on display

but the sound quality makes it difficult to pick particular riffs apart (or

enjoy the EP at all actually). 

Anime Fire's claim to fame is their use of electronics

within their metal meets hardcore sound, but the synth element of the band

isn't as integrated as someone like Enter Shikari, so it just sounds like

samples are being used when the guys ran out of parts for a song. As for the

vocals, the singer sounds like a cross between that clown from Atreyu and the

guy from Korn... seriously.

When it comes to reviewing Australian

bands I usually do my best to find something positive about the release

and focus on that, but I really struggled with Anime Fire. One thing

I did enjoy was the packaging, but if the artwork is the most impressive

thing about  an EP then I think the band may be in a bit of trouble.  

Fingers crossed that Anime Fire's

songs sound better in the live surrounding.

1. Venom
2. A Dangerous State Of

   Mind

3. Machine Of War
4. Remedy
5. Where The Wolves Fear

   To Tread

6. Altered Beast