Introducing: The Fires Below

London band The Fires Below have concocted a delicious sound that fuses metal fury and punk rock energy with stoner groove and technical djent, and they describe as “fierce, energetic and groove.”

The Fires Below started out during the pandemic back in 2021. Smithy (vocals and guitar) had previously been in a band with Del (drums), who’d also previously been in a band Si (bass), and they completed the lineup with Sam (guitar), who they met on an online music form. They used the lockdown as an opportunity to write music and then wasted no time in getting into the rehearsal room when restrictions were lifted.

On the sound they’ve crafted since, the band told us: “We have a colossal heavy sound and intense musical energy that will ignite that little mosh demon within your soul! Merging irresistible hooks and thundering guitars, bass and drums, The Fires Below will melt your brain and leave you wanting more.”

We chatted to the band around the release of their second EP Thorns back in June. The EP begins in style with a big stoner riff opening up Worth, which continues into an opening verse led by gruff vocals. There’s a little lull with a laid-back lick, which gradually builds up and drops back into the big chunky riff. Check it out in the video here:

Too Far To Reach features a really cool riff midway through, followed by the powerful No Man’s Land, which has a fun little guitar solo. But if big stoner riffs are your thing, you’ll love Plastic Utopia, which packs a punch from the off with chunky opening guitars. The EP closes out with the highly enjoyable title track Thorns, which has a bit of a Fu Manchu feeling about it with a cool darting riff and engaging vocals.

On the EP, the band told us: “With more experience, we’ve pushed ourselves creatively, resulting in five heavy songs we hope your readers will love! We learned a lot from recording our first EP, Masquerade. A deeper understanding of the production process helped with preparation, and figuring out as much as possible before even entering the studio was important. So we were quite well-rehearsed and had decent demos before the first snare was hit in the studio.

“That said, we also allowed ourselves plenty of time to experiment with tones and a few other ideas along the way. Also, a year on from our last recording we probably have a better sense now of how to play more to our strengths in terms of songwriting and knowing what kind of riffs and vocals fit best together.”

A personal favourite song is Vigilant, the final track on their debut EP Masquerade. It opens up with a driving riff and drums that continue under gruff vocals then pick up pace in the lively chorus “So cut to the chase, Keep a straight face, There’s a time and place, The devil’s in the detail.” Check it out in a stream here:

The Fires Below draw on a wide range of musical influences, but believe their music will appeal to fans of the likes of Queens Of The Stone Age, Deftones, Mastodon or Meshuggah. And they tell us: “In terms of songwriting, the themes of our songs tend to focus on the injustices of the world, the messed-up nature of society and our ultimate self-destruction, all the fun, feel-good topics!”

There’s plenty more to come from this exciting and diverse band, as they tell us: “The Fires Below has plenty of work-in-progress tracks in our back pockets, so there should be no shortage of new songs in the near future!”

You can follow The Fires Below on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and check out their music on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube.