FER DE LANCE – Fires On The Mountainside

Admittedly, Fer de Lance is a better name than Bothrops asper, although both refer to the same deadly species of pit viper. But Fires on the Mountainside is every bit as impressive an epic metal album as the snake is lethal.

Mighty Warriors from the Windy City

Fer De Lance is, to some extent, an offshoot of Professor Emeritus, also hailing from Chicago. Singer MP Papai and bassist Rüsty played in that band, and former Fer De Lance drummer Pat Gloeckle performed with both groups. True to their origins, there are many similarities between the two outfits—but with Fires on the Mountainside, it’s clear who wins the musical contest. At least for now.

Clichés Galore—and Glorious

Let’s sum up the band and lyrical themes: battles, warriors, swords, ravens—basically everything that makes epic metal, well, epic. None of this is new or particularly original. The connoisseur will immediately think of Manowar, Bathory, Manilla Road, and, digging deeper into the underground, Virgin Steele, Brocas Helm, and Dark Forest—and they’d be right. Add a touch of Rotting Christ, the underrated Greek band influential far beyond its commercial success, and you’ve got all the ingredients for Fires on the Mountainside. And yet, the result is more than the sum of its parts. It truly transports the listener to the old, forgotten lands of fantasy tales, like those spun by Robert E. Howard, Karl Edward Wagner, or Michael Moorcock.

Into Battle, Into Battle We Ride

It takes some cojones grandes to open your second album with a nearly thirteen-minute title track—but Fer De Lance knows what a monster of a song they have on their hands and deliver this over-the-top epic with humorless bravado. Two minutes in, all wimps and posers will have left the hall, and the fist-raising feast continues for another relentless 46 minutes. You’ll feel menace, hope, wrath, and courage as the title track unfolds, then move on to the shorter but no less epic “Ravens Fly (Dreams of Daidalos),” which dips into power metal. “Death Thrives (Where Walls Divide)” sports black metal influences, while the folksy “Fire & Gold” and classic metal homage “The Fest of Echoes” keep things fresh. The melodic overload of “Children of the Sky and Sea” leads into the closer “Tempest Stele,” which features Spanish guitar and brings the album full circle—pure Conan-of-Hyborian-Age-style battle metal.

Cold Steel and Warming Hearthfire

Fires on the Mountainside feels like a night in a fantasy tavern, where storytellers spin yarns of old and mythical legends. There can hardly be higher praise for an album of this particular affiliation. Even though it may at times seem like these guys are overdoing it, the seven songs deliver the goods every time. It’s an album for a winter evening rather than a summer’s day, but it is—and will remain—an essential work in the epic metal genre. No small feat for a sophomore album, and one that merits praise.

If you can cross the “Bridge of Death,” enjoy “The Burning of Rome,” ride to Asa Bay, or plunge “Into Battle,” and lift “The Veils of Negative Existence,” this is a must-have.

Lineup

MP Papai – vocals, guitar
Scud – drums
J. Geist – guitar
Rüsty – bass

Tracklist

1. Fires On The Mountainside
2. Ravens Fly (Dreams Of Daidalos)
3. Death Thrives (Where Walls Divide)
4. Fire & Gold
5. The Feast Of Echoes
6. Children Of The Sky And Sea
7. Tempest Stele