Testament - 2024 European Rune Grammofon Records Label Clear Vinyl 5-track LP

Fire! have always been about finding the essence by getting to the core of the music. Their 8th
album sees the trio - for the first time on record - stripped down to the bare-bones essentials;
with no flutes, no electronics, no guests and no extras, recorded live in the studio to analogue
tape - the Steve Albini way - with the master himself at the controls in Electrical Audio in
Chicago. Thus, this album stands as a true testament to the group´s expressive power and
glowing intimacy.

Musically, Testament can be seen as an extension of their previous full length album Defeat,
released two years ago, to the month. A solitary bass figure from Johan Berthling, quickly
joined by a stout drum groove, gets it all going in a familiar fashion before Gustafsson adds
desolate cries and whispers from his baritone sax. This approach is even more honed on the
second track, with the most simplistic groove you´re likely to hear in jazz and Gustafsson
shifting between extended, lonely, tortured lines, only once abrupted by a series of short
bursts. The third track starts with loose and relatively lively drums that continue throughout,
but the mournful saxophone maintains a subdued atmosphere. Track four is a real beauty with
the trio slipping into a trance-like dream state before shifting gear halfway into its nine
minutes. The final track is the most dynamic of the lot, shifting between bursts of energy and
lyrical beauty.

Tracklisting.

1. Work Song For A Scattered Past 
2. The Dark Inside Of Cabbage 
3. Four Ways Of Dealing With One Way 
4. Running Bison. Breathing Entity. Sleeping Reality. 
5. One Testament. One Aim. One More To Go. Again.

Release date: 1st March 2024