Denfire - Rise Up ★★★☆☆

JULY 2025 

MELODIC THRASH METAL

FOR FANS OF: VIO-LENCE, MORTAL SIN, RAZOR

        THRASH-O-METER        

★★★★★★★☆☆☆ SONGWRITING

★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆ LONGEVITY

★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆ THEMES

★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆ PRODUCTION

★★★★★★★☆☆☆ MUSICIANSHIP

★★★★★★★☆☆☆ CHARACTER

★★★★★★★☆☆☆ THRASHABILITY

                SCORE:                   

★★★☆☆ GOOD SH!T

From the very first riff its obvious that Denfire isn't sporting big-label gloss. This one here is a one-man project that shoots well past the demo phase.

You know you’re in for something special when a guitarist’s solo album doesn’t sound like a glorified practice tape that escaped the garage. This is no shrine to the six strings - this is a foray into proper songcraftage.

Chronic Tenacity opens with a measured pace and the album never really blasts past the velocity of classic thrash metal - sure, its fast, but it's damned refreshing when sh!t isn't obsessed with being faster and louder than everyone else. Castigator presents Denfire at its purest with barked vocals, thoughtful song structurization and buildup. Odyssey is the sole instrumental piece and it feels like a carefully placed waypoint before the journey barrels forward. Its surprisingly coherent and purposeful, and far from being there just to beef up the album.

'Rise Up' grapples with the search for belonging in a world that never stops pressing in. There's certainly always something personal behind every topic chosen but grander themes like religion require more to cut as deep as they could. It should be noted that the vocals are spat in a way that makes it often challenging to follow the story - and with no official lyrics available online the message is left to the imagination.

Artist currently known as Denfire

The Curse of the Homegrown

The sound lacks snap and bite - there’s no way around that. Yet, this isn’t necessarily a weakness, because 'Rise Up'’s true strength lies in its sense of ideation upon the beloved basics. Just when you think you’ve got a track pinned down it plain proves you wrong.

However, after several listens and with some distance from the initial rush, the album’s recurring patterns start to surface. Chief among them is its heavy reliance on mid-tempo chugging - a motif that gradually reveals itself as a predictable crutch. Simply put: too many songs are built on way too similar foundation.

With self-released albums it’s easy to become blind to your own habits and quirks. There’s a reason producers exist - they’re not just expensive gear or studio polish. They provide perspective, point out what works and most importantly: start yawning if you start repeating yourself and the music loses its punch.

'Rise Up' is undercooked and unrefined, a proper glorification of the past when sh!t was invented on the fly and released by what stuck to the wall. This kind of authenticity here borderlines naivety and I'll be damned if that's not likable as frack.

Good sh!t