Portuguese heavy rock duo Her Name Was Fire release their new EP, the five-song Obsidian Light, this Friday, May 8. The 20-minute outing is the first new release from João Campos and Tiago Lopes since their second full-length, Decadent Movement, arrived in 2020, and seems to have come after one or the other of the two relocated to Finland? The geography isn’t exactly clear, but listening to the songs, the intention is.

From “Electrify” onward, Her Name is Fire offer crisp songwriting and, while not void of emotional expression by any means, the songs feel specifically geared to capture an audience. For being a duo, their sound is full and vocal arrangments border on lush with layering and harmony parts, and so on, and are a clear focal point as songs like “Better Days” and the centerpiece “Head on the Wall” reveal more about the fuzzy, Cave In-via-Valley of the Sun crux, the shove of “Facekicker” enacting a sweeping careen in the tradition of desert rock, but veering into a bridge with “Sticks and stones may break my bones…” repeated poppishly joined by low-mixed, layered-in screams, making a delightful contrast of impulses.

Queens of the Stone Age are relevant as an influence, but no more than Muse as the dug-in shuffle of “Better Days” reaffirms, going to ground from some of the more soaring aspects of “Electrify” or the megahook of “Facekicker,” but there remains swagger in bulk in the bassy second half. Her Name Was Fire keep hold of their momentum and guide it masterfully, and their material resonates a band-on-stage energy without giving up their depth of arrangement. This isn’t sitting-in-your-room-writing-poetry-to-yourself. It’s songs written to be performed for an audience, meant to commune with and engage that audience. Obsidian Light isn’t stylistically revolutionary, but neither is it easily pigeonholed, and the shove it fosters is its own.

If in your head you can’t hear the outreach of “Head on a Wall,” I’m not sure what to tell you, and “Electrify” lives up to the billing at the start of the EP, while still being complex enough to route the listener through a succession of changes. Of course, those being heavy bounces from one part to the next topped with rich melody and fuzz makes that process somewhat easier as well. They sound ready for whatever festival slot you’ve got, and they neither get bogged down in formulaic craft nor get caught up in forcing their own accessibility. The songs sound natural as they are for what they are, in other words, and Campos and Lopes unite the material across divergent moods through performance, which even in layers comes through with a sense of to-stage authenticity.

No idea what the band’s plans are, but they sound ready to tour and not look back, however it might actually turn out. Today it’s my pleasure to host the full stream of Obsidian Light, which you’ll find in its entirety on the player below, followed by some comment from the band and more info from the PR wire.

Please enjoy:

Her Name Was Fire on Obsidian Light:

Obsidian Light feels like us cutting through all the noise and getting back to what matters: heavy grooves, big low-end, melody, and doing this thing on our own terms. No apologies, no trying to please everyone, just making the songs hit as hard as they can. After years of distance, silence and trying to keep the fire alive across countries, this EP feels like the moment where it all locks back in.

HER NAME WAS FIRE are a heavy rock duo from Lisbon, built around baritone guitar, drums and a massive low-end sound.

Obsidian Light is the latest EP from Lisbon heavy rock duo Her Name Was Fire. Built between Lisbon and Helsinki, the record distills ten years of working as a two-piece into five songs driven by heavy grooves, massive low-end and direct, melodic hooks. Moving between slow-burning heaviness, more physical, almost dance-driven moments and occasional strange left turns, the EP captures a band coming back sharper, louder and fully on their own terms.

Tracklisting:
1. Electrify
2. Facekicker
3. Head on a Wall
4. Better Days
5. Steamed

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