Firewind – “Days of Defiance”

Track List:     

1. Ark of Lies
2. World on Fire
3. Chariot
4. Embrace the Sun
5. The Departure
6. Heading for Dawn
7. Broken
8. Cold as Ice
9. Kill in the Name of Love
10. Skg
11. Losing the Faith
12. The Yearning
13. When all is Said and Done
14. Wild Rose (Bonus)
15. Ride to the Rainbows End (Bonus)
16. Breaking the Law (Judas Priest cover)

Firewind are one of the very few power metal bands that I actually listen to anymore because of the sheer talent that Gus G and the rest of the member’s posses together as a band and how it entwines. The way I view Firewind is a showcase of musical talent, Gus G’s guitar work for his age is ridiculously advanced (so it’s no wonder Ozzy Osbourne added him to his band) and Apollo is the perfect power metal singer; not too high pitched and whiney and the melodic tint to his voice.

It’s not about the band as individuals though this is about the new album. Having heard the single “World on Fire” many times I can only say if the entire album is on that level of raw power and energy then this is going to be quite possibly the best Firewind album ever made.

So I stick the album on and the opening track “Ark of Lies” slowly introduces itself with an acoustic guitar intro riff. Then it kicks in and the palm muting and power chords blare out as expected but it’s what makes Firewind who they are and I adore it. My god what a chorus, it’s so catchy and the fill riffs around it just blend right in beautifully and it’s everything that I’ve loved about Gus G’s playing for years; every fill or lick he slides into his songs blend into the rest of the music better than any other guitar work I’ve heard (maybe with the exception of Children of Bodom).

He is on a mission with this album as he’s just done an album with Ozzy Osbourne (“Scream”) and is out to prove Firewind are still capable of putting out amazing albums. The fret burning solos and technical fills are out in force, you can picture him sweating in the studio.

I must mention again the single “World on Fire”, in my opinion without a doubt the best song on the album; best chunky riffs, most catchy choruses and the song with the best heavy and melodic balance. I sit here at my desk grooving through the choruses and then full forced head banging during the breakdown and main riff.

“Chariot” is a softer song that is at a much lower tempo than the songs that precede it, “Embrace the Sun” is on the same sort of slower tempo and softer track of the album, also it has a very electronic element within that is reminiscent of older songs in their back catalogue such as “Breaking the Silence” and “Angels Forgive Me” which is good because they do only have a few songs with the heavy electronic influence some of which are the best in Firewind’s Material.

 The song “Departure” is a 44 second long keyboard Intro track for the following song “Heading for the Dawn”; In all honesty this song just seems to blend into the background and not stand out to me as much as the other songs much like “The Yearning” It’s one of the heavier songs yet still doesn’t jump out to me as much as the other songs.

On each Firewind album there is a ballard-esque track, a very soft song with little or no distortion. On “Days of Deliverance” the song “Broken” is the one presented to us. It’s got a soothing guitar line and the solo manages to be a skilful rock solo and is fairly quick towards the end yet still keeps to the theme of the song.

As well as always having an extremely soft track, there is always an Instrumental track; the most popular one being “The Fire and the Fury”, the track for this album is a track called “SKG”. This is where Gus G and Bob Katsionis get to show just how gifted they are. Keyboard and guitar solos throughout, normally I am not fond of instrumentals but I love all the ones Firewind put out because they are in normal song format just without vocals. “Losing faith” is a song that sound like it’s a heavier version of something you’d find on a sonic the hedgehog game soundtrack, it’s not a bad thing but it was an instant thought.

The last couple of songs are ones that are different; “When All is Said and Done” is a song that switches from light to heavy every few seconds, it’s a great integration of different types of songs within the album as a whole. It would be the one that I recommend if people wanted to know what to expect from the whole album. Finally “Cold as Ice” is the darkest sounding song on the album, from the acoustic guitar intro to the dark sinister sounding main body of the song it’s just got a creepy edge to it.

On the bonus edition that I’m listening to they have 2 bonus tracks and then a cover of Judas Priest classic “Breaking the Law”, an absolutely spot on phenomenal cover any Firewind and Judas Priest fan alike would be proud of.  “Ride to the Rainbows End” which is an absolute beauty, cannot actually see why this is a bonus track it’d sound perfect right after “World on Fire” as its close behind it for the heaviest track. “Wild rose” the other bonus track is a very light song that doesn’t really jump out at me like the other tracks on the album but is still beautifully written and others may love it.

This is not by a long shot the best Firewind album ever made, as it stands that title will go to “Allegiance” however the song “World on Fire” may possibly be my new favourite Firewind song of all time.

[7/10]

Avenged Sevenfold & Stone Sour @ Birmingham NIA – 28/10/2010

This gig I have been looking forward to for absolutely ages!

Avenged Sevenfold and Stone Sour, bands I've been fond of for years!
I have Seen Stone Sour 3 times previous to this and Avenged sevenfold once before.


Hellyeah [7/10] are an American super group featuring members of Mudvayne, Pantera, Damageplan and Nothingface. They play a style of hard rock that’s heavily cowboy/western influenced; I saw them play the main stage at Download festival 2010 and I was very impressed. Tonight, however, I am not as impressed as I was with them at Download. Musically spot on yet front man Chad’s vocals seem a bit off tonight and between songs he just seems to be repeating himself being a little bit cliché as a rock front man. Aside from this Vinnie Paul’s reputation absolutely sticks with him tonight, he is an absolutely fantastic drummer. The mention of Dimebag Darrell however is respected by everyone but it seems slightly irrelevant as he was never a part of Hellyeah. Then end their set with “Alcohaulin’ ass” which is the best song they played tonight and Chad’s vocals sounded much better on it than the rest that included screaming.


Avenged Sevenfold [9/10] hit the stage with some force. The intro to “Nightmare” starts playing and the crowd absolutely loses it. Unexpectedly as well as everyone was expecting Stone Sour to be on first. Their stage layout is spectacular; they have gates with A7X engraved on them, a background of a very creepy building and lots of fire. After “Nightmare” they launch straight into “Critical Acclaim” using a tape for the backing vocals as to not replace The Rev. The backdrop then changes to the Nightmare album cover as they then introduce Mike Portnoy on drums as The Rev’s replacement by giving him a drum solo that then launches into “Welcome to the family”. They play another 2 songs: “Beast and the Harlot” and “Buried alive” (In which the gates all light on fire and the pyrotechnics are insane!) before the background changes again. This time it’s of The Rev hugging the other band members, this is a very emotional moment of the show where they dedicate the song “So Far Away” to their recently deceased drummer. It changes back to their original creepy building backdrop and they blast though “Afterlife”, “God Hates Us” and “Unholy Confessions” (With Slayer intro) all of which have very explosive mosh pits with “unholy confessions” gaining Birmingham biggest circle pit of the entire tour thus far according to M Shadows! As we’ve gained this title they allow us to choose between “Almost Easy” and “Bat Country” to end the show with (a first on the tour as usually it’s always “Almost Easy”) and the crowd unanimously votes for “Bat Country”. An amazing ending to an amazing set by an amazing band.


Stone Sour [8/10] coming on last to night as a part of the alternating headline agreement had a very, very tough act to follow. The room was defiantly a bit emptier when they strode onto the stage making it perfectly clear who the majority of the crowd had come out to see. Never the less there is still a big crowd eager for them to play and they get into it. They have the imperial march playing whilst they get into position behind the sheet covering the stage with "SS" lights all over the place; it’s just magical to look at. Opening the set with a song from the new album "Mission Statement" and instantly you can tell that they are going to be fantastic as per usual. They continue through the set with “Reborn”, “Made of scars”, “Say You’ll Haunt Me” and “Get Inside” opening up the pit and making people go insane. They then really please me by playing my favourite song from their new album Audio Secrecy: “Unfinished”. They play a couple more songs from the new album, "Bitter End" & "Digital" not too many but still showcasing the album. There is nothing cliché about this band, they play their music and they really get into it on stage. Between songs Corey Taylor has a good laugh with the crowd keeping their interest and riling them up. Tonight Corey definitely shows us why he has the reputation as one of the best front men/singers in the rock and metal scene today; especially during “Bother”, being on his own with a guitar in front of 16,000 people takes some serious guts. Straight after this he plays the intro to “Through glass” as the rest of the band rejoins him on stage; this is a highlight of their set as everyone in the room knew this song and sang along, it was truly amazing. Ending the set on a heavy note they kick into “Hell & Consequences” to reignite the pits and head banging before closing the show with “30/30-150”; possibly their second most famous song behind “Through Glass”. This show continues the streak of me never seeing a bad Stone Sour show.


Purchased myself a very nice Stone Sour t-shirt and headed out of the arena very pleased with the show I’d just witnessed however I think it would have been improved if Avenged Sevenfold were on last as the crowd energy and stage show was more than what Stone Sour had, overall I’ll give the show an [8/10].

Forever Never @ Birmingham Academy 3 – 24/10/2010

Forever Never, a band I fell in love with 4 years ago after being randomly added by them on MySpace a few weeks prior to seeing them open up for Stone Sour.

So after seeing them 5 times previously when they announced the “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Metal!!” UK tour I was well up for seeing them for the 6th time.


Awake By Design [6/10] came onto the stage, a 6 piece heavy rock band with power metal-esque vocals. The bands job is to open up the show, liven up the crowd and warm them up for the other bands. The band come onto the stage and there’s a bit of messing around with awkward silence making everyone uncomfortable to make any sort of noise, then some feedback absolutely deafens us in the crowd. They then kick into it and musically they played very well and obviously knew how to handle their instruments; but as a live act, well, not so great. The lead singer defiantly seemed to be trying far too hard flinging himself around the stage every chance he got and displayed some rather cliché rock front man moves. Having said this he also left and went backstage a hell of a lot, which to me just seemed very unprofessional. As for the rest of the members; well the drummer has the look and attitude that a rock drummer needs and has a very nice style to his playing, the lead guitarist is not spectacular but he stays in the limelight and gives it his best and makes a good job of it. Now in the background, generally unnoticeable are the bassist and rhythm guitarist who do not really put much of a show on, seem to just want to stay in the background and get it over with. Joining the band on some of their songs was a very attractive young lady singing harmonies with the singer; this little addition really gave the vocals an edge which - whilst not drawing attention away from the rest of the band as she stayed at the back – did wonders for the band’s sound overall.


Sworn To Oath [9/10] came on the stage obviously down for a riot and I have to give it to them they were very persistent in getting the crowd to join in with them even though they just weren’t up for it. Never the less they never gave up and thundered through their set with their heavy pantera-esque style riffs and vocals yet not being a rip off of the band. A memorable moment was the bassist and guitarist making some very embarrassing jokes about the drummer leaving the crowd and themselves laughing so much that it took them a few moments for the moment to pass before even being able to continue with the set. The 3 piece band defiantly up the standard for the night and from what I saw when they came off stage gained a lot of new fans in the process – Including me with the £5 I paid for their debut 3 track EP “Don’t Fuck About” [Review Coming Soon].


Forever Never [9/10], the headline band. The reason I took the time to give out a giant pile of flyers to advertise the show. The 5 piece band from Essex are here touring their new 6 track covers EP “I Can’t Believe it’s Not Metal!!” [Review Coming Soon]. The band kicks straight into their set with “Never Enough”, an amazing set opener that had the majority of the crowd singing the lyrics louder than the singer. Front man Renny Carrol puts masses of energy into fronting this band and it feels completely natural, he’s not trying to imitate any other band. Between songs Renny interacts well with the crowd with humorous remarks and chants leaving pretty much the entire room smiling and laughing. A very memorable quote:

“Just because it’s a metal gig doesn’t mean you can’t smile. If Slayer tells you otherwise tell them to fuck off, and tell them I said that” – Renny Carrol.

One of the highlights of the set has to be the 4 amazing cover songs they played from the new EP, they were Shaggy’s “Boombastic”, Michael Jackson’s “Who is it?, Go West’s “We Close Our Eyes” and John Farnham’s “You’re The Voice”, very interesting covers but worked phenomenally well. They also graced us with some of their own songs including “Broken Kingdom”, “As I Lie” “Aporia”, “T.I.T.S” and “Eradicated” featuring an Interlude in which Renny really psyched up the crowd. Closing the set with the single “Empty Promises” from the second album, the band leave the stage to come out and sign autographs and chat to fans. It’s not the best show I’ve seen the band play but most of that was down to the turnout and sheer lack of enthusiasm from the crowd. Forever Never in my opinion are a criminally overlooked band and hopefully by the next time the band plays a headline tour, their popularity will grow and they come back with a much more lively crowd giving a fantastic atmosphere that will completely blow my mind.


Judging the night as a whole, I’d give the night an 8/10.

The Damned Things - Ironiclast

Track List:

1. Handbook for the Recently Deceased
2. Bad Blood
3. Friday Night (And We’re Going Down)
4. We’ve Got a Situation Here
5. Black Heart
6. A Great Reckoning
7. Little Darling
8. Ironiclast
9. Graverobber
10. The Blues Havin’ Blues

The Damned Things; if you look at them on paper you’d think “Oh God I hate to imagine what that’s going to sound like” yet in reality, you would never have predicted this outcome. Sleazy blues rock from members of Anthrax, Everytime I Die and Fall Out Boy?! Nobody saw that coming.

I love them, I really do they are the true definition of a super group and Keith Buckley proves with this he’s not just a metal vocalist he is a very versatile singer with a very distinctive style. Also Scott Ian being in this band doesn’t really seem his style but it feels like he was meant to do it!

The debut tracks I heard are “Ironiclast” and then single “We’ve Got a Situation Here” which I could not turn off for 7 days straight; it was the only song I listened to because it was so funky and catchy. Another thing about “We’ve got a situation here” it moves from groovy and melodic verse and choruses to a really heavy breakdown, it links some of the member’s to the metal background that they've come from. Yet the song “Ironiclast” is by far the heaviest song on the album and is set to be a head banging anthem at their live shows; it showcases the raw gritty metal side of Keith Buckley’s vocal range.

Then the minute the album was streaming on UltimateGuitar.co.uk I was straight on there listening to it. I was so pleased with it, It's incredibly addictive shown by the fact I listened to it front to back at least 20 times that night and I couldn’t turn it off; it was the perfect album for bouncing around to and I did just as such for hours on end.

The rest of the album encompasses the same elements as the the debut songs whilst taking a more blues rock approach, examples such as “The Handbook For The Recently Deceased” and “Friday Night” Which both have heavier elements in them (especially the exceptionally riffy bridge after the second chorus of “Friday Night”) yet still keep a melodic lighter side to them during chorus's.

There are the very melodic softer songs on the album that you can imaging thousands of people clapping along and dance to, “Bad Blood” Is one of these with a chorus that’s as infectious as a virus and then “Little Darling” is the second one that is more a song for the ladies but is still an extremely groovy song.

“Graverobber” is heavy with lots of palm muting and big dirty chord changes; it's more of a dirty rock track as opposed to the rest of the songs which can also be said for the track “Black Heart” which is in a similar style to that of “Graverobber” except that it has a lot or technical licks and fills built into it.

“The Blues havin’ Blues” is exactly what you would expect from a track with blues twice in the name; possibly the most blues orientated song on the entire album. Yet it’s not just the standard 4/4 blues song, obviously the sound that The Damned Things put out has progressed from the days where Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters dominated radio stations but takes good influence. They have distorted rock elements slotted in behind some very mellow bluesy riffs which is where coming from a background of rock and metal music will always give them a massive boost in their writing.

The last track to talk about is “A Great Reckoning” which is also bluesy like “The Blues Havin’ Blues” but this song is a very soft light hearted song to which Buckley’s vocals are the vocal equivalent to the creamy centre of a cake that everyone loves, after listening to this track it solidifies that he’s not just a metal vocalist and that his range can take him anywhere within the industry. The guitar solos match the songs absolutely perfectly (they do in every song but this one for me is just the one that shows it the best).

The album on a whole is a masterpiece that warms my heart, it truly does. I suggest this band to absolutely everyone who asks me about a good band to listen to. The guitar work is something of a piece of art and the drummer has a good sense of time and has very effective fills. I don’t need to say anymore about the vocals on the album or I’m going to be declared gay and have everyone think I’m in love with Keith Buckley.

[9/10]