From the ashes of Seeds-style, raw energy garage rock of the band Deadly Snakes and hardcore metal mash-up group Cursed comes Canada’s Quest For Fire. This combination might sound like a train wreck, but what Quest For Fire’s self-titled debut album offers is not what one might suspect. Yes, this is fuzzed out and garage-y and, yes, this is definitely metal. But both forces have met in a completely new place, where the songs stretch out consistently past the six minute mark but have room to breath and don’t ramble unnecessarily.

Whereas many backwards looking bands cling to rehashing Sabbath riffs, Quest For Fire seem more interested in the spacey Hawkwind or Deep Purple vibe on their new self-titled debut album for Tee Pee Records. At times you’ll even get Pink Floyd mixed in. This is heavy yet laid back metal played with the confidence of guys who have been kicking around for a while.

Opener “Bison Eyes” hits quick and heavy and is easily the most up-tempo song on the album. But even while playing fast, Quest For Fire comes across cool and restrained -- think “Space Trucking” rather than “Angel of Death”. There’s definitely a languid quality to their sound. A tambourine on the hat high gives indication to their garage roots as does the bass heavy fuzz out during the guitar solo.

Although it may seem like MC5 aping, the next song, “Strange Ways” makes it clear that it’s not. The track is a slow, fat, plodding blues tune with hazy harmonica filling in the empty space. There’s no revolution coming unless it can be done laying on your bed with headphones on. And “The Hawk That Hunts the Walking” follows in kind with, yes, a Sabbath-esque riff. But beneath the riff is slow, crawling keyboards that hint at Zeppelin’s “No Quarter.” Chad Ross practically yawns his vocals throughout so coolly, it conjures up images of him chewing gum the whole time.

Although there is a consistency to the band’s sound, Quest For Fire the album never gets old or stale. “I’ve Been Trying to Leave” mixes plucked acoustic guitar in with the fuzz. The decidedly un-metal titled “You’re Always Loved” takes the Pink Floyd-influence to its logical conclusion -- it barely moves. The Pink Floyd-esque precision is replaced by thick, churning guitar work by Andrew Moszynski and Chad Ross. It builds with ebbs and flows but never releases into epic nonsense. Understated is rarely a word used to describe metal, but again and again Quest For Fire chose to keep things under wraps to great effect. Album closer “Next to the Fire” -- seems the quest is over by the last track -- ratchets things back up and goes out on a flanged guitar freak out.

In the game of citing influences or alternative histories it’s always fun to imagine what other artists might sound like if their influences were a bit skewed. Quest For Fire in this case might be Mudhoney on a Deep Purple diet rather than an MC5 one. They’re not going to get you out of your seat and get you into the streets. More likely they’ll get you to nod your head while blankly looking at your shoes. But Canadian metal has never played by the rules, and in the world of stoner rock, Quest For Fire’s self-titled debut stands alone for its remarkably coherent combining of influences.