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Where do I even start with this? Fire-Toolz is the project of Angel Marcloid and it is absolutely perplexing, at least in the case of this new record I am upset because I see something that is not there. It tosses you into a musical whirlwind of unlikely genre fusions and jarring switch-ups that I'm still trying to comprehend even after listening to this thing three times a day for the past week. On the sweeter side of things, Fire-Toolz immerses the listener into heavenly vaporwave, dream pop, a little bit of smooth jazz รก la Kenny G, and some light guitar prog. However, here's the kicker (and it's a pretty big one), Fire-Toolz sours all of these good vibes with her shrill screams, and will often interject with these glitchy, dystopian, industrial interludes that really harsh the mellow. I can tell you right now, the inconsistency in sound direction as well as the dichotomous nature of the instrumentals versus the vocals is not going to be the cup of tea for a super majority of folks. For me though, I think the sweet and sour is actually really well balanced, but I also have a strong appreciation for risk and innovation. I can tell you that I have never heard anything like this before and for that, Fire-Toolz scores major points.
This album starts off strong with It Is Happening Again (Thank You, Council of Saturn) with its mash-up of drum and bass beats, and jazzy vaporwave aesthetics. It draws comparisons to Sega Dreamcast soundtracks and even one of my favourite artists to recently emerge on the electronic scene, Hakushi Hasegawa. Really though, this brief intro lulls you into a false sense of security as the beat is replaced with heavy, punching kicks and snares, and we are introduced to Marcloid's harsh vocals. Her vocal characteristics match pretty closely to those of a deathcore vocalist given how 'boomy' they sound, but you can hear some digital manipulations that make them sound even more hellish. There's certainly some bit crushing going on, but the pitch of those vocals also changes on a line by line basis. And that's pretty much how the track rides out the rest of its time; one sweet, beautiful melody after another battling with her insane harsh vocals. The cognitive dissonance is real, and rather than turning away from it in disgusted horror, I dive in further with morbid curiosity.
The following track, Mantra-ing & Golgotha: Double-Bind (Prequel), has a similar flavour (although with a slightly more muted colour palette), but Marcloid demonstrates that her vocals are just as eclectic as her instrumentals. Her screams take on a distinctly more black metal tone; all distortion and boosted treble, and surprisingly, also comes through with some pretty competent clean singing as well. In addition to that though, this track has some pretty nifty time and tempo changes, some noodly synth lines, and some pretty tasteful saxophone. Marcloid continues to impress on I Couldn't Have Been BoRn At ThE wRoNg TiMe Because I Was Never Even Born LOL!, possibly my favourite part of this crazy journey. Vocally, it reads like a post-hardcore, emo tune as she swaps between her harsh screams and clean vocals that have a bit more of an energetic edge to them. The instrumental is very atmospheric with a pretty busy drum beat, and we also get some more tasteful saxophone. It's an incredible track in my opinion.
In the back half of the record, we get some more head-scratchers in the tracklist. The Great Allower is a totally wild, unpredictable, and frankly scary piece of mathcore. The pacing is awkward, we get sour panic chords, unflattering saxophone squawks; essentially everything is assembled in a way to really make the listener uncomfortable. I would say it is pretty comparable to the intensity and confusion that a band like Frontierer can conjure. We then move right into Gleam Beam which dials all the way into heavenly dream pop territory. We get some very atmospheric synth pads that are later joined by a crisp clean guitar that is submerged in a sea of chorus and reverb. Again, in an effort to subvert her audience, she performs these black metal vocals that are buried pretty deep in the mix, just barely emerging from the song's darkest depths. I can say it is a hell of a lot more enjoyable than Deafheaven's dreamier attempts on their most recent record. And lastly, I loved Everything & Everywhere Is a Divine Mirror for having all sorts of dynamic, echoing instrumentation, as well as more of that 'Jekyll & Hyde' vocal performance from Marcloid.
These tracks which do make up a bulk of the album are truly impressive on a technical level and stupefying on a sonic level. However, in between these more 'focused' tracks, Marcloid has embedded quite a few interludes and the results are a little mixed. Soaked: Another Name For Everything is a fairly decent, multi-phased detour that begins with a harmonious guitar passage before being swallowed into a glitchy, dystopia, and later spit out into another distant, dreamy passage. But this track is kind of an exception. Other pockets on the record can feel a little more aimless and meandering. I feel especially lost and somewhat disengaged when I reach Inlet/Paraklesis and A Thin Place right at the center of the record. I also think the last two songs on the record don't really end things on a strong note. There's a moment on Above All Else I Want to See where some chugging detuned guitars tease a potential heavy passage to come, but then it just tapers off into something else which was a little disappointing. And forgive me, but even after listening to nothing but this record for the better part of the week, I fail to really recall anything of note on Novaturient Wave - Form Collapse. Even with these slight criticisms, I still really enjoy listening to this album. It's a total trip that still shocks and confounds even after multiple listens. I think it is also commendable to mention that Angel Marcloid is responsible for almost all of the performances you hear as well as the mixing and mastering; a pretty amazing technical feat. I'm not sure I can truly recommend it to other people, but I know for sure that I will continue to revisit this throughout the year.