For a change I didn’t get into this band from their early days as my first introduction to Firewind was with “The Premonition” album in 2008. You may say I am slipping up, you may say I did well to avoid for them for so long, and you might even say who the fuck are Firewind anyway. I’m sure I’ve said this previously but my penchant for the modernised version of power metal that was spawned in the mid 90s has never really dulled despite plenty of people telling me how crap the bands are. If you dig far enough into power metal you quickly realise that a lot of power metal came from German speed metal and heavy metal in the 80s and early 90s, with bands like Chroming Rose, Metal Priest, Backwater, Arrow, I could go on and list a paragraph of these bands, but suffice to say today’s version of power metal has been diluted somewhat with the cheery choruses and the gimmicky imagery it seems to have taken on. All this waffle is really to state that Firewind has not resorted to said gimmicks and in fact are probably more like a heavy metal band than a power metal band if you listen to their discography, which I have on numerous occasions. Album number seven sees the band sticking to what they are exceptionally gifted at doing and that’s writing monumental metal songs.
As with all bands aiming for global stardom the album kicks off with the single called “Wall Of Sound” and immediately the vocals of Apollo are amazingly clear, with a depth of tone and charisma missing in some vocalists. His ability to make your skin goose pimple is unequalled at times. The chorus on the opener as you’d expect is massive and seems destined to be the bands set opener for the foreseeable future, but I could be wrong. Gus’s lead is exquisite, but I’d expect nothing less from the guitar genius. “Losing My Mind” is considerably slower and longer with a mournful melody that eventually is accompanied by a subtle beat change and with the sumptuous choral break the song is very infectious. The acoustic start on “The Undying Fire” shifts smoothly into ballad like vocals not too dissimilar to Tom Englund of Evergrey. The accompanying riff gives you a signal that a double kick is about to start but it doesn’t instead opting for a straight beat with yet another majestic chorus and brilliant solo.
All Firewind albums have at least one super quick tune and the first one here is “Another Dimension”, though it does drop back to safer speed limits, only for it to be increased again during the blazing guitar solo. The choral arrangement reminded me of Asia’s recent work, and I mean this in a tremendously positive light, as few bands write choruses as good as Asia. This high velocity material continues onto “Glorious” that is packed with guitar nuances and hooks that once again catchy contagion will set in. “Edge Of A Dream” has a guest appearance by Apocalyptica given away by the string arrangements obviously, and whilst not quite a ballad it is soft and close to the gentler side of someone like Edguy or Stratovarius for example. Back to power rock on “Destiny” and some groovy shit on “Long Gone Tomorrow” that has a Metallica like rhythm guitar interlaced with the lead work. This is a splendid heavy metal album which you can call power metal if you want to, but for me it has the right mix of slow material, fast speed tunes and iconic and anthem driven songs to make this one of my favourite releases this year.
8.5/10 (Martin Harris)
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