Capital Theatre are back with the most recent single, Fire, from the forthcoming album (which is due out in October), following on from the incredible People, which has been on constant repeat at my place. Given just how much I have been playing that, I did have some concerns that Fire may not live up to the same level, but these were soon blown away. It commences with harsh U2-type riffs, but these disappear as we concentrate on Adam’s vocals and the rhythm section, with keyboards and guitar adding touches here and there, then when it is time for the bridge we get some nice harmony vocals and just for a few bars there is more intensity and drive.
It reverts back to the simpler style for the second verse, and then the band starts to lift and change the dynamics and power structure. Paul always provides a great foundation for the band, knowing when to provide huge fills or when not to play at all, and at just past two minutes the song changes again to be just Adam and piano, but when Roy and Paul come back in, one knows it is really going to lift, which is exactly what it does. These elements of Coldplay and Muse move in and out, and when they go into the quiet section for the second time it is lifted with some beautiful cello, then slowly the guys start to push, and the song just keeps building and getting stronger. The use of contrast within the song is huge, as it emphasises the different structures and styles within it, with each person having a huge part to play.
The video is very different to the last one, in that we see very little of the band, and in fact we only see Adam’s face on a TV every so often with the others not making an appearance at all (nice to see Adam still using the make-up from People, he needs to do that more often!). This is a story video, but not quite as straight forward as Force To Fight (one of the most powerful around, check it out), but more arty, with loads of different imagery and of course plenty of flames. Whether it is in concert, on video or just with their music, Capital Theatre continue to push ever higher and overall, this is yet another stunning song.