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[Review] The Safety Fire ‘Grind The Ocean’

Published

14 years ago

on

thesafetyfiregrindtheoceancover

Hailing from Britain, The Safety Fire are a progressive metal band that adds in dashes of tech as well as jazz. They made a large name for themselves with their EP Sections, as well as heavy touring throughout Europe. Now, they’ve finally released their debut full-length album Grind The Ocean. Does it match up to the hype or does it fall flat?

I’m going to try something a little different for this review. This album left me polarized and I want to focus on that feeling. So what I’m going to do is talk about what I feel the album got right and what it got wrong.
What ‘Grind The Ocean’ got right:
1) The bass – Bassist Lori Peri gets a lot of opportunities to jump out from the background and take the spotlight and, wow, some of those moments are fantastic. Without resorting to outrageous overplaying or pushy, in-your-face tones, Peri weaves intricate melodies and passages that are a joy to listen to.
2) The screams – Singer Sean McWeeney has a voice that you will either love or hate for the simple fact that he sounds so unique. While there are times that the mix and EQ done to his voice made it a bit grating to listen to, I have to admire and respect a voice that stands out from the crowd. 
3) The band – At the end of the day, these guys know how to play. The members work very well at playing off of each other. Anyone who says otherwise should seriously have their ears checked out.
4) The diversity – Okay, this one is going to be hard because it’s also on my “got wrong” list. But what I can that is right about the diversity is that the members obviously have a great deal of influences and inspiration from a vast amount of sources. This helps them create a varied, dynamic listening experience with a great many highs and lows. 
What ‘Grind The Ocean’ got wrong:
1) The songs – Now, there is nothing wrong with the songs themselves. What I had a problem with is that I found it very difficult to tell one song from another, even after multiple spins. It doesn’t feel like a collection of complimenting songs but rather one gigantic song broken up into several tracks. For some albums this works to an advantage. Not here.
2) The mix – Something about this mix just really sounded harsh and cold. I could hear each instrument without any difficulty but the final product ended up giving me a rather solid headache. I would love to see their next album have a sense of warmth about it.
3) The diversity – Yup, I said I’d be back here. While I appreciate the scope that The Safety Fire aimed for, it ended up feeling like the overreached and weren’t certain how to get back. There were times when it felt like the mellow/jazzy sections were placed in for the simple fact that they could be instead of offering something to the song.
The Final Word: The Safety Fire have an ambitious but flawed record with Grind The Ocean. It’ll be interesting to see what their next album brings to the table.
Got any thoughts/questions/concerns for Jonny B.? Shoot him a message on Twitter!
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Music

‘The Vampire Lestat: One Night Only Live’ Concert Event to Make Streaming Debut Next Month

Published

2 weeks ago

on

July 14, 2026

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The Vampire Lestat: One Night Only Live

AMC has announced that The Vampire Lestat: One Night Only LIVE, the standing-room-only performance celebrating AMC’s premiere of its newly-released The Vampire Lestat at New York City’s iconic Beacon Theatre last month, will debut on streaming.

The Vampire Lestat: One Night Only LIVE begins streaming on AMC+ on August 23.

Ahead of its streaming premiere, fans can preview the concert event, featuring original songs from series composer Daniel Hart and performed by Sam Reid, in Hall H at Comic Con International on July 24. 

Our own Daniel Kurland attended the special event, highlighting how electric the Immortal Vampire is on stage: “It’s clear in this season of television that Reid was born to be a rock star, but it’s surreal to see him effortlessly command the stage — and the audience — at every step of the concert. He recites Shakespeare monologues and bitches out Armand between songs, all while the audience screams in support. For the duration of this concert, Reid is Lestat, and he’s given thousands of fans a memory that’s as immortal as any vampire.”

Based on Anne Rice‘s The Vampire Chronicles book series, The Vampire Lestat is the rock and roll-centric third season of AMC’s “Interview with the Vampire” created by showrunner Rolin Jones.

The Vampire Lestat goes on an electric multi-city tour while being haunted by “muses” from his wild and rebellious past. As his band’s popularity and star power rises, so does Lestat’s influence over vampires and humans alike, leaving others to contend with Lestat’s power in the face of the Great Conversion, an unnatural surge in the vampire population.

Jacob Anderson, Assad Zaman, Eric Bogosian, Delainey Hayles and Jennifer Ehle star with Reid. Executive producers include Jones, Mark Johnson, Hannah Moscovitch, the late Anne Rice, and her son Christopher Rice.

The series finale airs this Sunday, July 19, on AMC and AMC+.

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