Being a Skrillex fan over the last few years has been a long journey. From promises of an album coming soon to endless teasers, the road to a substantial body of work from the legend has been filled with a roller coaster of emotions.
Today, though, that roller coaster reaches an all-time high. Today, Quest For Fire, Skrillex’s first solo album since 2014’s Recess, is here for all to enjoy. Today, bass music fans can sit back, relax, and remember why Skrillex is considered one of the best to ever do it. Since announcing the pair of albums at the turn of the new year, and since slowly dropping singles from both, the bass community has rejoiced at the return of a genius.
The definition of a legendary artist is one that can innovate within the predefined boundaries of a genre, and simultaneously break down these barriers to create new genres. Skrillex is the epitome of that definition, and all it takes to grasp this is one listen-through of Quest For Fire. From bass house (‘Leave Me Like This’ with Bobby Raps), to future bass (‘Good Space’ with Starrah), to everything in between, Skrillex displays his masterful ability to create insanely infectious hits. When exploring outside of these confines such as in ‘Tears,’ ‘RATATA,’ ‘XENA’ and ‘TOO BIZARRE (juked),’ Skrillex makes innovation look easy. Sure, elite collaborators such as Joker and Sleepnet, Mr. Oizo, Missy Elliot, and Posij helped in the process, but there’s no denying that these tracks will lay the foundation for inspiration for years to come. Oh, and how could we forget ‘Hydrate’ alongside Peekaboo, Flowdan and BEAM. That has to be be one of the biggest surprises on Quest For Fire and could easily be a Top 5 bass track of 2023.
Aside from the obvious bass-leaning nature of the album, Skrillex is able to weave in some emotional cuts, too. ‘Inhale Exhale’ with Aluna and Kito, ‘A Street I Know’ with Eli Keszler and ‘Hazel Theme’ are softer, more stripped back, tracks that beautifully change the pace of the album. ‘Kliptown Empyrean’ getting transformed into ‘Hazel Theme’ and ‘Still Here (with the ones that I came with)’ is everything one could have wanted, and more, as Porter Robinson and Bibi Bourelly join the mix to close out the album in a lighter yet still extravagant tone.
I could try to describe every track but words can’t do them justice. Personal standouts include ‘Tears,’ ‘TOO BIZARRE (juked)’ and ‘Hydrate,’ but everyone should listen to Quest For Fire from front to back, multiple times. Skrillex is back. Dive in below.
