FIREWIND
The band’s incessant string of touring for “Allegiance” all over Europe, North America and Japan alongside bands such as Dragonforce, Angra, All That Remains, Kamelot or Sonata Arctica, has not only lead to add worldwide profile and an excellent reputation as class live-act to FIREWIND but also added significant power to the band’s songwriting skills and will to continue conquering new horizons.
Guitar wizard and band-leader Gus G. (ex- Dream Evil and also live session guitarist for Arch Enemy on their 2005 Ozzfest stint) and his illustrious band-members, Apollo Papathanasio (ex-Majestic, Time Requiem) on vocals, Mark Cross (ex-Helloween, ex-Metalium) on drums, Petros Christo (ex-Breaking Silence) on bass as well as Bob Katsionis on breathtaking dual duties with keyboards and second guitar, have now returned with an phenomenally inspiring new album programmatically entitled “The Premonition”, a warning for great things to come.
Once again powerfully recorded and mixed with Fredrik Nordström (In Flames, Dimmu Borgir, etc.) at Sweden’s Studio Fredman and mastered at Peter in de Betou’s Tailor Maid Productions (Dark Tranquillity, Meshuggah, etc.), all 10 songs on “The Premonition” offer about everything that a lover of quality modern melodic metal can ask for: The furious first track “Into The Fire” marks a classic and 100% metal grand opening to an album full of highlights, including the catchy powerhouses “Head Up High”, “Remembered” and “Circle Of Life”, the album’s first single “Mercenary Man”, the semi-ballad “My Loneliness”, the melodic firework that “Angels Forgive Me” is as well as a cool version of the song “Maniac” (known from the “Flashdance” soundtrack).
FIREWIND’s ability to combine heavy riffing and classic metal structuring with immense catchiness and glorious hooklines all in an up-to-date and ever-entertaining way are outstanding and triumphantly elevate “The Premonition” to become one of the melodic metal genre’s early highlights for 2008.
THE FIREWIND HISTORY SO FAR...
There is an unstoppable force exploding out of Greece that is sure to satisfy all of the needs and desires of any fan of heavy music with its powerful, epic metal assault, melodic hooks and bombastic guitarwork. This phenomenon is better known as FIREWIND, led by the young guitar sensation Gus G. (ex-Dream Evil, Nightrage, Mystic Prophecy, Arch Enemy), who recently turned heads with his stunning “Betcha Can’t Play This” feature in Guitar World, and whose signature ESP guitar – already a best-seller in Japan, where he’s revered as a guitar hero – will be released in America in 2007.
FIREWIND developed a loyal underground fanbase with Between Heaven and Hell (2002) and Burning Earth (2003), but quickly caught the entire metal community’s attention with 2005’s Forged By Fire. The group have triumphantly returned with Allegiance, a dynamic display of traditional heavy metal with more of an emphasis on speed, technicality and catchy songwriting. This effort marks the first album with new vocalist Apollo Papathanasio (ex-Majestic, Time Requiem) and drummer Mark Cross (ex-Helloween, Metalium), whose talents had a prominent impact on the creative process. Allegiance was mixed at the famed Studio Fredman with the acclaimed Fredrik Nordstrom (Hammerfall, Arch Enemy, Opeth), and the results are breathtaking.
Gus G. further describes his thoughts on the new album’s release: “The whole approach on this album differed from the ones in the past. We wrote a bunch of songs and kept the best ones, because we simply want no filler on our albums. Bob and I co-wrote most of the material this time and did the pre-production in his studio. After that, we would send the stuff to Apollo so he could lay down his vocals. Once the whole home studio pre-production thing was done, we all went into the rehearsal room and jammed on the new material for a couple of weeks. We made adjustments, changed arrangements and added dynamics, for we wanted every note and every hit to be perfect.
“We’ve always recorded our albums in three or four different studios, but this time, we stayed with one, relocating to Gothenburg, Sweden for a month to record with Fredrik Nordstrom (my old bandmate in Dream Evil) engineering and the band co-producing. We all feel this is the best result we’ve achieved so far, and we hope you feel the same.”
Allegiance peaked on the Greek album charts at #10 and spent six weeks in the Top 20, a further testament of the group’s growing presence throughout Europe, where the group kicked off the Allegiance world tour by supporting Dragonforce on a four-week European trek. The album is a must for any fan of Dragonforce, Iced Earth, Hammerfall or anyone who claims to be a heavy metal fanatic.
Nikos Deja Vu
http://n1999k.blogspot.com
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