Label: AFM Records
Release date: May 15, 2020
Production: Gus G
Album length: 47.33 min
Genre: Power Metal
Rating: 10/10
Firewind are the standard-bearers of European power metal. Sure, the term “power metal” sounds worn out and burnt to a crisp these days, and the wave of generic bands hiding behind masquerade and all sorts of stage clutter, from Sabaton and Powerwolf to Alestorm, is doing the genre a big disservice. But there are still bands that, since day one of their careers, have stayed faithfully sworn to musical vision. They need no kitsch to cover up (possible) artistic weakness, and they approach everything they take on with such sincere, fierce fire that any hint of staleness or threadbare tropes evaporates in an instant.
Firewind, a band that started kicking up a storm in the dying breaths of the last millennium, decided to title their new album simply »Firewind«, even though they’ve got a dozen albums under their belt. Usually bands name an album after themselves when it’s their debut, or when something groundbreaking has happened. Either a key member of the lineup changed between the previous album and the new one, or the band took a very long time to put out a new record, like Def Leppard did, for example. As far as Firewind go, it’s the first one. The band walked through the fire of a lineup transformation.
Gus G, the band’s leader, today its only original member and an undisputed guitar hero who once played with Ozzy Osbourne too, keeps everything under control! And he does it very well and very effectively, once again. At his side are faithful bassist Petros Christodoulidis, who has played for Firewind since 2003, and drummer Johan Nunez. Additional guitarist and keyboardist Bob Katsionis is gone, but Gus G has no trouble with that in the studio. He simply handled all the keyboard arrangements himself. The most significant change Firewind went through in 2020, though, is the swap at the vocal position. Henning Basse, the band’s longtime vocalist, was replaced this year by German singer Herbie Langhans. Langhans is part of the Avantasia project, and only the best get work there. He’s a more than excellent singer with just as much of a gritty edge as his predecessor, but he also brings out an exceptional explosiveness that at its peak even flirts with moments of operatic theatricality. At times Langhans can get really aggressive, putting out bristling, gritty vocals, and then, again, he unleashes superbly clean singing and that same explosive power. In every register he takes on. He can change up his voice far more than his predecessor ever managed, so he comes across as a “chameleon.” That’s very welcome, because Langhans has become an important building block for ramping up the mood of individual songs on the album, and that’s how »Firewind« achieves its distinctly dynamic feel.
The album »Immortals«, which Firewind released in 2017, was the band’s first record in a long while to serve up plenty of fresh ideas, high-quality coherence and consistently captivating arrangements, backed by a heap of catchy, punchy phrases. You couldn’t find that kind of consistency since the band’s early days, when the debut »Between Heaven And Hell« (2002) and its follow-up »Burning Earth« (2003) came out. So it’s downright thrilling that Firewind haven’t just carried the high-creativity inspiration of their predecessor over to the new album, but are delivering a wide range of striking, hard-hitting ideas with the new release, and »Firewind« even tops its excellent predecessor.
The album is pompous, solemn, symphonic and neo-classical, yet in its distinctive, wildly varied phrasing it’s also seriously punchy and jagged. In its drama-theater and pomp it’s dark too. That’s why it speaks to you without any artistic stammering. »Firewind« is an excellent synthesis of classic Firewind and the artistic maturity of Gus and his crew, as reflected in the current moment. The tracks are one after another extremely striking, with a fully developed character, and in their high-octane voltage and theatrics, crackling with sparks of gripping atmospheres, they keep the listener in constant high tension.
In terms of songwriting, there are no outbursts of weepy pathos or sing-song, nursery-rhyme melodies on this album, nor any rehashing of phrases used in the past. Even the hard-hitting ballad Longing to Love You, with its melancholy and touch of darkness, keeps the album far enough away from pouring on the sugar. These days it’s hard to find a power metal album that resists sliding into generic territory (the newer bands) or creative exhaustion (bands formed 20-25 years ago). Firewind are one of the few bands that have dodged all of this with great skill. Direct proof of that is the new album, which is to date the manifesto of the band’s greatest artistic maturity. A new kind of resurrection, even a zenith, that began with »Immortals«.
Thanks to the genius and incredible talent of Gus G. Unlike the shredder theatrics that fill his solo albums, with Firewind Gus G puts most of his attention into arranging compact tracks, which are phenomenally seasoned with symphonic elements and keyboard arrangements. The latter amp up the album’s gripping yet dark bombast. His soloing remains poetry of its own kind, distinctly neo-classical in nature, and Gus G is once again simply untouchable. This time around, his ego is subordinate to the band format. It’s hard to pick out highlights. The songs stand on equal footing. A very important weight on the scale is of course Langhans, who with his bravura vocals upgrades the album’s fresh ideas. Gus G quite literally needed the change at the vocal position, which is why »Firewind« is the manifesto of one of the best albums in the band’s career. It rightfully carries that title. It’s the band’s step into a new era! The track Overdrive combines the best of the worlds of Toyn Martin-era Black Sabbath and Rainbow from the days when Ronnie James Dio sang in the band, with a charisma that only Gus G can breathe into a song. Enough said. »Firewind« will be hard for any other power metal album to top this year. Firewind have dropped the best power metal album of 2020 so far, and chances are it’ll stay that way!
Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Track list:
1. Welcome To The Empire
2. Devour
3. Rising Fire
4. Break Away
5. Orbitual Sunrise
6. Longing To Know You
7. Perfect Stranger
8. Overdrive
9. All My Life
10. Space Cowboy
11. Kill The Pain
Lineup:
Herbie Langhans – vocals, backing vocals
Gus G – guitar, keyboards, backing vocals
Petros Christodoulidis – bass guitar
Johan Nunez – drums
