This June will see the official worldwide release of Hymn of the Cosmic Man, the brand-new studio album from Belgian progressive rock quartet, Fire Down Below.
Following on from last year’s hugely successful rerelease of Viper Vixen Goddess Saint, the Ghent-based foursome are back with yet another exceptional melee of fuzzed-out stoner rock, heavy psych and grunge on Ripple Music, home to some of the finest acts in recent years to emerge from the underground.
On Hymn of the Cosmic Man, Fire Down Below trade the hot desert winds of their debut for the cold desolation of outer space. With a storyline that pitches a single soul against an unnamed threat to mankind, the band express fear, hope, defeat, surrender and courage across seven tracks, making for one truly compelling journey.
“We had this background story that guided us in the songwriting process,” explains bassist Bert Wynsberghe. “Yet we left it somewhat vague so that it wouldn’t limit us and we could still pursue ideas that were more ‘out there’. That really worked for us, we got to explore new sonic territories and we’re excited to see what reactions we might get.”
As a glowing endorsement and belief in their sheer quality, Fire Down Below’s second full-length not only plants a flag into the earth’s crust, it endeavours to propel the band into orbit. Never ones to mess with a winning combination, after the critical acclaim of their debut, Fire Down Below teamed up again with Tim De Gieter at Much Luv Studio in Belgium for recording and mixing, with Brad Boatright at Audiosiege in Portland on mastering duties.
“We were happy to be able to work with Tim again. We’d raised the bar for ourselves for the new album and we were thrilled to see that he had done the same thing for his studio work. And then of course we’re super excited that Ripple Music is releasing this album. To be part of a family with bands such as Wo Fat and Mothership is just beyond anything we had ever considered possible.”
Already, the band has garnered some truly remarkable comparisons with bands like Truckfighters, Red Fang and Soundgarden, and now with Hymn of the Cosmic Man, from the swelling, space swallowing opening of ‘Red Giant’ and ‘Ignition/Space Cruiser’, to the spectacularly progressive closer ‘Adrift In A Sea Of Stars’, we will at last see them step up, take flight and traverse the universe powered by hard rock, stellar riffs and their own, breathtaking volition.
Hymn of the Cosmic Man by Fire Down Below is released worldwide on 8th June via Ripple Music
