They say good things come to those who wait, and at 13 months shy of an entire decade comes Skrillex‘s sophomore album, Quest For Fire. In this time, for many, frat parties and warehouse raves became daycare runs and open house showings. Festival slush funds became 401(k) retirement accounts. Hell, even Sonny Moore underwent a metamorphosis of his own since those simpler times. Now 35 years old and seemingly on the brighter side of the same pandemic-induced mental turmoil that most of his fellow millennials sustained, Moore isn’t the same producer who delivered Recess in the spring of 2013, nor should he be. Quest For Fire is a far cry from a follow-up to Skrillex’s rookie outing, but the album certainly stands as a reflection of just how far Moore, and perhaps all of electronic music, have come in the decade since we first heard, “To get a thousand miles from the earth, a rocket would need this much power…”
Rounding out at 15 tracks, Skrillex’s long-awaited second LP is a colorful sonic tapestry of Moore’s boundlessly imaginative production style. Previously unheard works are laced together by a strong selection of market-tested singles, with collaborators old and new working their ways into the fold—from Missy Elliot and Pete Wentz, to the long-documented complements of Four Tet, Starrah, Porter Robinson, Bibi Bourelly, and Josh Pan.
A full decade between one’s debut LP and its successor is far from common, and yet, it somehow feels quintessentially Skrillex. In this time, Moore was far from radio silent, producing different types of music each year since Recess‘ release. Now, with an evident trove of material at the ready, Quest For Fire‘s most pressing implication is that it likely serves as the precursor to another full LP under the hood, possibly due later this year. For now, fans are savoring every second of what they’ve waited so long for. And for those waiting patiently for the other shoe to drop, trust that it won’t be nearly a decade before another batch of hot new Skrillex is underway.
