Holy Fire
by Foals
Metascore
76

Generally favorable reviews - based on 37 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 28 out of 37
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 37
  3. Negative: 0 out of 37
Buy Now
Buy on
  1. Mojo
    Feb 6, 2013
    60
    In all, a tad more mannered and staid than you'd expect from these former experimentalists. [Mar 2013, p.94]
    All this publication's reviews
  2. Rolling Stone
    Feb 25, 2013
    60
    Holy Fire is a collection of well-manicured tracks zoning out to a dazzling middle distance.
  3. Under The Radar
    Feb 22, 2013
    50
    It is Foals-by-the-numbers, though, and the band's apparent lack of energy renders it cold and forgettable.
  5. Slant Magazine
    Feb 11, 2013
    60
    It's a somewhat disappointing change of pace, but one that can nevertheless be appreciated by adjusting expectations; even if the band isn't pushing new boundaries, this new stance sort of fits them, coming across as a culmination of their previous material rather than a misstep.
  6. No Ripcord
    Mar 7, 2013
    50
    Through their first two releases, Foals were able to showcase their evolving sound, but with Holy Fire, their evolution stops dead in its tracks.
  7. The Observer (UK)
    Feb 19, 2013
    60
    Foals remain the antithesis of a foursquare indie rock band. And yet nothing here is quite holy enough, or quite fiery enough, to live up to the album's billing.
  8. The Independent (UK)
    Feb 8, 2013
    60
    It's a one-sided album: following the soulful “Late Night”, things plummet badly in the second half.
  9. Mixmag
    Feb 6, 2013
    60
    Even when the groove lessens, doubters are liable to be persuaded by their innate knack for epic choruses.
  10. Fact Magazine (UK)
    Feb 8, 2013
    40
    Produced by arena rock specialists Flood and Alan Moulder, Holy Fire sounds pop sound insofar as it’s smoothed off, big and accessible.

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
8.2

Universal acclaim- based on 115 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 102 out of 115
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 115
  3. Negative: 4 out of 115
  1. Dang13
    Feb 12, 2013
    10
    Highlights: "Milk Black Spiders", "Late Night", "Everytime" "Inhaler"
    An incredible album by an incredible band, Antidotes is amazing, it    Highlights: "Milk Black Spiders", "Late Night", "Everytime" "Inhaler"
    An incredible album by an incredible band, Antidotes is amazing, it has amazing songs and sounds that get stuck in your head for a while and you can listen to most of the songs any time, but it was missing something, Soul. Total life Forever answered that with an incredible amount of soul and epicness (if that exists) in the album. But Holy Fire is a combination of both, an album with songs that get stuck in your head, but also have soul and they all mean something, they all are good, it had been a while since I had heard an album with 11 perfect songs.    … Full Review »
  2. thatplayerdude
    Feb 12, 2013
    9
    I think Foals' best album to date. It just feels... complete. I'll admit I didn't found it as inspired as Antidotes (still my favouriteI think Foals' best album to date. It just feels... complete. I'll admit I didn't found it as inspired as Antidotes (still my favourite album), but they finally managed to gave form and style to their kind of music. The result is a rough, hard sound with echoing melodies, and it's gorgeous.
    Sure someone will hate this. I think it's a matter of tastes, since technically speaking, Total Life Forever is probably better than this "tripping experience", and there are no really incisive hits (Inhaler is the only exception).
    Anyway, I highly recommend to listen to it if you liked their previous albums.    … Full Review »
  3. AdrianOst077
    Jan 3, 2023
    9
    I'm always torn between Holy Fire and Total Life Forever being my favourite album as TLF holds a special place in my heart being the firstI'm always torn between Holy Fire and Total Life Forever being my favourite album as TLF holds a special place in my heart being the first album I heard by them which made me love the band, but I can't deny that the production on Holy Fire and the songs are amazing. There's not a bad song that you can find on this album, even Everytime and Out of the Woods are good but I wouldn't rate them anywhere in the 80's like the rest of the tracks. There's so many amazing songs like Prelude and Inhaler that have this voodoo creepy industrial rock vibe to it that Foals tried to achieve on this album and have experimented with in the past with tracks like The Forked Road. Inhaler and Providence bring the spiciness to the party with the upbeat tempo to get you moshing at their concert and make you lose yourself in the crowd whilst songs such as Stepson, Moon and even Bluebird bring a quiet and tender ending to the album with figures of speech taken from Greek mythology and ones that allow Yannis to show his emotions from his past. You'll find that a handful of songs are personal to Yannis more than ever so I can imagine this album is near and dear to him.
    Holy Fire brings you on a rollercoaster of emotions with every track being unique, from heaviness, to tenderness to absolutely losing it for 4 minutes then sitting back and relaxing as the album comes to a close. Holy Fire is definitely up there as one of the best Foals album they have released to this date, along with Total Life Forever.    … Full Review »
See all user reviews »