'
Forged by Fire' was one of the first proper power metal albums I got into, after forages into
Blind Guardian and
Lost Horizon as an impressionable 18 year old. I was never really into stuff outside Iron Maiden and
Iced Earth at that point, I prefered harder stuff but this seemed like a great combination. I'd heard '
Tyranny' on the
Century Media website, and was very impressed.
The first thing thing that really struck me about it was it was a lot heavier than previous power metal I'd heard before. A lot of it seemed rather light in its riffs and presentation, but
Firewind don't seem to have this problem. Shredder
Gus G has obviously learned much from his stint in
Dream Evil, and he brings to the fore a solid melodic approach backed up by excellent lead riffing and lightning solos. He also proves capable of changing it up, with '
Kill to
Live' opening with
Zakk Wylde style harmonics before tearing off into an 80s Ozzy style riff and some great vocals, '
Tyranny' boasting some classic power metal riffing and catchy vocal hooks similar to bands like
Hammerfall, and the epic ballad '
Land of
Eternity', a more down tempo piece leaning towards the
Scorpions rather than
Dream Evil
Another appeal of
Firewind is that they lack the traditional wheelbarrows full of cheese that most power metal bands deliver us. '
Land of
Eternity' is a passionate ode to the homeland of vocalist Chitty Somapala, Sri Lanka and its troubles. '
Tyranny' and '
Perished in
Flames' deal with oppression and the regime of the Nazis. I am a fan of some fantasy power metal subjects; I've always been partial to the Tolkien adventures of
Blind Guardian, but there are times where I feel the genre offers the perfect background for more than dungeons and dragons.
Firewind's base in human responsibilities and inner strength provides a nice change.
Where the album reaches its peak is the tearing solo off instrumental 'Feast of the Savages', where
Gus G matches off with
Marty Friedman (ex-
Megadeth) in a deft contest of riffs. Friedman puts together some impressive work, his oriental style scales near the end are particularly awesome, but Gus's emotional soloing is more than a match. There is also some great faster tracks like '
Escape from Tomorrow' and '
Perished in
Flames', and the hard rock '
Hate World Hero' shows how the band can provide versatility in their music.
'
Forged by Fire' is a great melodic metal album that'll appeal to most power metal fans, and the album is heavy enough to tempt in some more traditional metal fans.
Gus G is a great guitarist, and is the main draw here; his shredding and soloing are top notch. But the band he assembled around this album back him up superbly, and while it may not break any new ground, it doesn't really need to. Excellent.
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