Artist: Firewind
Label: Century Media
Released: 2006
Rating: 4/5
This album is a first-class surprise for me! When I got it in my hand, I just waved it off with, “Ah, just another chirpy power-metal oompah band!” Especially judging by the typical power metal cover. There was no way, absolutely no way, I was in a hurry to stick it in the CD player. Luckily, a buddy with his insatiable curiosity talked me into it, and the result? Ta-da – (Indian) hemp! Firewind have taken another step forward. It’s a move away from the “clichéd power metal” flavored, instantly repetitive thrashing that’s getting less and less appealing these days, the kind that defined the predecessor ‘Forged By Fire’. Now the guys have shifted out of fifth gear and added some typical melodic “hard rock” elements, getting close even to the old-school heavy metal of the German “eighties” crowd, which bands like Angel Dust successfully carried on. So Firewind don’t sound on the new record like some run-of-the-mill power metal brats of the “Kladupadu” type, cheerfully singing about fearlessly skewering dragons with swords and winding up with overforced, “major-key” riffs that are utterly tasteless for metal, since the essence of metal, besides a rebellious attitude, is darkness, doom, drama, which has to be there at least a smidgen, always! And Firewind have plenty of these elements on “Allegiance”. So no headache from an overdose of sucrose on “Allegiance”, you won’t find any! Gus G., the hyperactive musician and one of the finest guitarists of the generation of young metal hopefuls, has dropped his activities with Mystic Prophecy, Nightrage and the Danes Dream Evil (though he did help out at this year’s Ozzfest as an on-call “jump-in” guitarist on stage for Arch Enemy’s sets). So now he’s concentrating his vision exclusively on his band Firewind. Well, apparently the Danes and the Greeks have always been big allies in metal! Gus G. with Dream Evil, and Firewind singer Apollo Papathanasio recently contributed the lead vocals to the new record by the Danes Evil Masquerade, “Third Act”,….
Anyway, let’s leave that aside. Firewind are breathing even more freely now! Anthemic choruses without needless epic pomp, down-to-earth, and above all a welcome ditching of the drummer’s pounding “double” bass pedal, which leads to calm and at the same time boosts the atmosphere, which suits singer Papathanasio and the melodic color of his voice especially well! His authoritative vocals literally shine on “Allegiance” in all their glory. He’s not this expressive even on the new Evil Masquerade, and never before with Firewind. Take the chorus of Ready To Strike, which shamelessly pulls toward Coverdale, that is, Whitesnake and their Children Of The Night. The motifs flow into each other tastefully, the songs are polished, and compactness and high dynamics are their trademark. Heads and tails fit together with a refined feel for composition. The instrumental middle sections are often the real atmospheric peaks of the songs. A change of rhythm, slow atmosphere-building through the graduated contrast of keyboard sounds or passing guitar-melody ornaments, then the sudden ultra explosion of Gus G.’s solos, the occasional crossfire of interplay with keyboard solo spots, which the Greeks of Firewind brought over from Scandinavia, and the always well-judged transition back to the punchy backbone of the anthemic choruses. It all sits damn convincingly. No sweeteners, just naturally crashing – “right smack in the forehead”. The album’s dynamics leap out in a surprising way in Breaking The Silence too, where there’s an excellent tempo switch through the interplay of a duet between Swedish singer Tara and Apollo. The band’s new member is the experienced drummer Mark Cross, who previously played in Metalium and Helloween, and is known for his recent drumming help for the legendary AOR/n.w.o.b.h.m. champions Saracen on the record “Vox in Excelso” (2006). So Firewind have seasoned and experienced musicians in their ranks! In short, the music has of course lost some of its edge, but at its expense the atmosphere has grown, and Firewind have found even more room to move in the new sound. The production certainly keeps the necessary, or rather demanded, aggression, and the riffs are penetratingly adrenaline-fueled, don’t worry. It’s a pleasure to listen especially to Gus G.’s soloing, which recalls the polish of the great Michael Schenker’s solos, of course in a modern metal outfit.
Headbangers who forever swear only by speed and power will, despite the noted flirtation of “Allegiance” with melodic “hard rock” elements, be rewarded with the metallic uncompromising punch of tracks such as: Till The End Of Time (guitar “picking” over the riffs in the chorus in the style of good old Helloween), Dreamchase and Allegiance, which lean most on the legacy of Firewind’s previous studio album. The novelties come with the songs ‘The Essence, Where Do We Go From Here? and Deliverance. You can feel the Whitesnake influence, heh, heh, heh,… (let me point out the song Ready To Strike once more).
Let me wrap up my confession shortly with the remark that Firewind’s new album is an absolute upgrade, a step up. Sadly, the band will never earn bigger visibility on the map of modern heavy metal with it, because “everything” (?) has already been invented, but from record to record they’re becoming a byword for quality that grabs you ever more convincingly and wraps you in its embrace, and in that spirit it rewards you with the polish of the songs, on both the technical and the atmospheric side. “Allegiance” is a testament to the band’s growth in maturity and upgrade, which has certainly not ended yet. A very, very nice piece of work.
Lineup
Apollo Papathanasio – vocals
Gus G. – guitar
Bob Katsionis – keyboards
Petros Christo – bass guitar
Mark Cross – drums
Production
Firewind & Frederik Nordstrom
Tracklist
1. Allegiance 04:41
2. Insanity 04:29
3. Falling to Pieces 04:03
4. Ready to Strike 04:35
5. Breaking the Silence 04:03
6. Deliverance 06:07
7. Till the End of Time 04:36
8. Dreamchaser 04:07
9. Before the Storm 03:42
10. The Essence 04:19
11. Where Do We Go from Here? 03:57
Album length: 48:42
