SINGLE REVIEW: ‘Fire In Our Eyes’ | Rain In Death Valley

Bradford based Rain In Death Valley are a trio made up of Sami Javed, Xander Kennard, and Luke Thomas; the three boys met in high school and have continued their friendship into college. Rain In Death Valley gather influences from bands such as Rise Against, Green Day and A Day To Remember; they jumble all these inspirations into one and it’s resulted in them developing their own distinctive American-punk sound. The band’s debut single, Fire In Our Eyes is out tomorrow - 29th Feb - and the lads have been working on this track since last summer, grinding at it and ensuring its perfection. 

Throughout the track Javed provides vocals that bear resemblance to Jeremy McKinnon’s (ADTR), and I bloody love that. The lads utilise prog-rock instrumentals and punk-y lyrics to create an impressive and powerful debut. The single was written about the reification of people, and how nobody thinks for themselves. We all follow trends, keep up to date with social media crazes, and often follow the crowd - RIDV think this is unhealthy, that we need minds of our own: “if [people] really think before they say and do things, they would begin to make better decisions and become better people.” I see the track as a big “FUCK YOU” to the major institutions who have destroyed aspects of our society and, despite the agressive tone, the track holds a positive message and gives listeners a bit of a wake up call - instead of fighting with each other online about the little things, society should come together. If we live for ourselves, fight for ourselves and our rights, rather than what following what everyone else is doing we can fix, or begin to, the shambles that has become our world. 

I’m excited for this track to be released; music is used as a platform to make a statement - often about politics, equality and injustices - and I think that’s exactly what this trio are doing. With this being the band’s debut, they’re only just getting started, and are only just beginning to show us what they’re made of. So far? They’re doing a great job. I’m super impressed with this single and the meaning behind it makes it all the more effective. There are plans for future gigs in place to coincide with the release of the track, so keep an eye out on their social media for any major announcements! 2020 has been an insane year for music, even in these few first months, and RIDV are jumping on that bandwagon and creating pretty cool music for us, too.