The Fire is the fourth studio album by American rock band Senses Fail

Senses Fail

Senses Fail is an American post-hardcore band from Ridgewood, New Jersey. Formed in 2002, the line up initially consisted of vocalist Buddy Nielsen, drummer Dan Trapp, guitarists Dave Miller and Garrett Zablocki and being completed by bassist Mike Glita. The band quickly issued their debut EP, From...

 and was released on October 25, 2010 in the UK through Hassle Records and elsewhere a day later through Vagrant Records

Vagrant Records

Vagrant Records is an indie rock label based in Los Angeles, California and is home to such artists as The Hold Steady, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes, Active Child, PJ Harvey, Reptar, School of Seven Bells, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Thrice, James Vincent McMorrow, Placebo, and many...

. It is the first album by the band featuring Zach Roach on guitar, replacing Heath Saraceno.

Promotion

Recording for the album began at Salad Days Studio with Brian McTernan in June 2010 with a tentative release date later that year. Prior to its release, vocalist/lyricist Buddy Nielsen stated that the album "is a reaction and a release of a whirlwind of emotions that came from fighting for what we love and dealing with change and growth both personally and creatively". Senses Fail posted a new song online titled "Saint Anthony" on their myspace on August 26, 2010, Vagrant Records subsequently released 'The Fire' and 'New Year's Eve' on their YouTube

YouTube

YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....

 channel. In addition, the band asked fans to volunteer to be in a music video for the song "The Fire", which was filmed in New York City on October 9th and 10th, 2010. On October 18, 2010, the band released all of the tracks from "The Fire" on Myspace.

Reception

The album received a positive reception. Staff reviewer Davey Boy of Sputnikmusic

Sputnikmusic

Sputnikmusic, or simply Sputnik, is a music website offering music criticism and music news alongside features commonly associated with wiki-style websites...

gave the album four out of five stars, praising the lyrics as well as the track arrangement, concluding that "in refining the band’s sound and style so effectively, ‘The Fire’ is ultimately a resounding success which meets its objectives." Drew Beringer of AbsolutePunk.net

AbsolutePunk.net

AbsolutePunk is a website, online community, and alternative music news source founded by Jason Tate . The website mainly focuses on artists who are relatively unknown to mainstream audiences, but it has been known to feature artists who have eventually achieved crossover success, including Fall...

 was positive, commenting "Yes, there are imperfections (a recycled riff here, some flat vocals there), but overall The Fire is the essential Senses Fail record to own" and that it is "Full of aggression and just enough catchiness to please both types of fans". Allmusic also gave a positive review, stating that the album "starts with a small spark that quickly builds itself into an emotional blaze that burns steadily across all 11 tracks, taking the listener on an exceptional musical ride" and that it "shifts gears from good cop to bad cop effortlessly".

AlterthePress was more negative, saying "Whilst Senses Fail have proved to be consistent, 'The Fire' just about falls into being labelled as being 'safe,'" with a rating of three out of five. Daily Dischord.com also called that album 'safe' and that "Senses Fail have yet again shown no ambition to break out of their comfort zone".

Track listing

1. "The Fire" - 3:44
2. "Saint Anthony" - 3:15
3. "New Year's Eve" - 3:14
4. "Safe House" - 3:18
5. "Coward" - 3:30
6. "Landslide" - 3:45
7. "Headed West" - 3:12
8. "Lifeboats" - 3:32
9. "Nero" - 3:49
10. "Irish Eyes" 3:23
11. "Hold On" - 3:51

iTunes/Vinyl bonus track

1. "Ghost Town" - 3:50

Limited Edition DVD

The album will also be released with a live DVD, which was filmed at a hometown Halloween

Halloween

Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...

 show at Starland Ballroom in New Jersey. It contains over 90 minutes of live footage and interviews with the band, and was directed by Adam Rothlein. The DVD features ex-guitarist Heath Saraceno, who recently left the band.



DVD Track Listing

1. "Steven"
2. "Bonecrusher"
3. "Sick or Sane (Fifty For a Twenty)"
4. "Irony of Dying on Your Birthday"
5. "Lady in a Blue Dress"
6. "Wolves at the Door"
7. "Buried a Lie"
8. "NJ Falls Into the Atlantic"
9. "Rum is for Drinking, Not for Burning"
10. "Bloody Romance"
11. "Calling All Cars"
12. "Bite to Break Skin"
13. "Lungs Like Gallows"
14. "Family Tradition"
15. "Shark Attack"
16. "Can't Be Saved"
17. "187"

Personnel

• Buddy Nielsen – vocals
  Singing
  Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
  
  
• Garrett Zablocki – guitars
  Guitar
  The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
  
  , backing vocals
• Jason Black – bass
  Bass guitar
  The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
  
  
• Dan Trapp – drums
  Drum kit
  A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
  
  , percussion
  Percussion instrument
  A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
  
  
• Sons of Nero
  Sons of Nero
  Sons of Nero is a graphic design group that was formed in 2000 by Matthew "Portland" Hay of the metalcore group Nora. It consists of four artists who primarily design artwork and packaging for bands and musical ensembles, but also design t-shirts and websites...
  
  - artwork