Frank Richman’s 99 Fire is just this funk sonic storm of unbridled energy, spreading rebellious fervour and fiery passion about a listener. The very first note shines with conviction that Richman doesn’t come to play by the book; he comes to blow down the metaphorical walls with the kind of track that feels combustible and electric at the same time.
99 Fire opens with a guitar riff sizzling like a live wire; no time to set the stage here. Gritty and polished, chaotic yet controlled-the very duality ofFrank Richman in his music-the drums come crashing in, as if driven by an over-caffeinated heartbeat, pounding on relentlessly as it drives this song forward. It’s a song you cannot casually listen to-it’s like it’s challenging you to take your eyes off it.
Frank Richman’s songs are a cocktail of defiance, yearning, and metaphoric brilliance. The lines sound like declarations of war against complacency. His rebellion has poetic charm as if he’s penning a manifesto in the flames of his discontent. The title of the song, 99 Fire, sounds mythical-imagistic and sort of a firestorm that borders apocalypse.
The voice is a character in this burning saga. He has a rasp to his delivery that makes him sound as though he himself had passed through the flames and comes out with a story to tell. There is urgency and emotion in his voice, always teetering between vulnerability and sheer power. He would sing with his soul on fire, pouring everything into every line. And sometimes, he would crack his voice- not in weakness but in the raw authenticity, such as when he crossed all limits.
The instrumentation in 99 Fire is no less tightly controlled anarchy than the guitar solo, smack bang in the middle of the song, which is rock nirvana: a tidal wave of notes that sounds like sparks coming off a hard-driven engine. The bassline digs into the floor like an earthquake, grounding the song even as it threatens to blow its top. And then there’s the drums-they don’t just keep time; they’re the accelerant that keeps this fire roaring.
What’s interesting, though, about 99 Fire by Frank Richman is not the ferocity, but all those little quirks that make an appearance between the wildfire. Such as the moment when the guitar sounds like flames crackling – smart, but enveloping, equal parts. Then there is that very brief break in the bridge: a fleeting silence, that is before you’re pitched headlong into the tempest.
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It’s nearly four minutes long, but 99 Fire is the sort of song that leaves you breathless and slightly sung in the best possible way. The song is testimony to the artist’s ability to balance artistry with intensity, for it’s at once enjoyable and cathartic. When the final note fades, it is with the echo of flames and a sense that you have been part of something extraordinary.
Frank Richman’s 99 Fire is a song; it is the experience, it is a passage through fire and heart. That is the type of song one just can’t help but have at full blast while cruising on an open highway with windows open. Frank Richman has somehow managed to capture a sort of raw, wild energy that’s as infectious as it is inspiring. Whether you want to spread fire to the flames of your rebellion or just lose yourself in a fiery anthem, 99 Fire lives up to the challenge at all ends.
So crank up the volume, light the match, and let Frank Richman take you into the blaze. Just don’t say you were not warned about what was waiting for you there in the blaze.
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