CITY OF FIRE: Long-Awaited Sophomore Album Officially Released

"Trial Through Fire", the long-awaited sophomore album from CITY OF FIRE — the band featuring Burton C. Bell (FEAR FACTORY),bassist Byron Stroud (3 INCHES OF BLOOD, FEAR FACTORY, STRAPPING YOUNG LAD),guitarist Terry "Sho" Murray, and drummer Bob Wagner — has been officially released through GRB Productions Ltd.

The track listing for the CD is as follows:

01. Deliver Me
02. Follow Mantis
03. Bad Motivator
04. Prometheus Unbound
05. Olympus Mons
06. Oceanaut
07. Dichotomy Blues
08. Made Of Stars
09. Steps To Redemption
10. Enjoy The Silence

In an interview with The Sanctuary Of Rock, Bell stated about CITY OF FIRE's new CD, "The writing process is very similar to other bands. The guys had music ideas and were recorded on a demo. I would sit with Terry in the studio and just sing out ideas. I usually have some words to 'throw down' and I try to incorporate them into the song. A lot of times, I just say things that come out, like speaking in tongues.

"There is no theme, but everything we were writing about was happening in our lives, so that is why we call the album 'Trial Through Fire'.

"It was a very difficult writing process. We were all going through personal issues, and also the band was dealing with business issues.

"I am very proud of the work we have done. We 'found' our sound on this record."

He added, "The main difference [between the recording process for 'Trial Through Fire' compared to that of CITY OF FIRE's 2010 self-titled debut] was that we knew what we wanted to achieve. We knew what are strong points were with the band's music. We all had a great understanding of the band itself. Terry has a great sense of what my voice can do, so he and the guys were able to write the music that suited everyone. We were very 'cohesive' as a band. We knew everyone's strong points."

Funding for the new CITY OF FIRE CD was aided by the PledgeMusic.com project, which encourages fans to contribute funds to the recording of albums and the artists themselves to donate to charity as a part of their fundraising.

Said Burton: "That was our [manager's idea]. She found success in it with another band she has worked with. It was a fantastic idea. Not only did it generate the funds we needed, it also created a grass-roots fan base that is important for a new band. It created a personal network between the band and our new fans, and they are a very happy, as we are."

CITY OF FIRE's "Bad Motivator" video can be seen below. The clip was filmed in Toronto, Ontario, Canada with director Cody Calahan, who previously co-created, produced and directed a pilot for a television show called "The Rusty Kitchen".

Commented Burton: "The video was created through the program MuchMusic in Canada — it is Canada's MTV. Every year, they give grants to new bands to make a video. We applied and got the grant. The video was made through all Canadian videographers, directors etc. . . It was the first time I met Cody Calahan, and I look forward to working with him again. He is very ambitious and I like his creative ideas."