- Apr 5, 2003
- 2,668
- 2
- 38
Firewind - Allegiance
Century Media - 77629-2 - July 24th, 2006 (Europe)
By Brandon Strader
Firewind is back with their fourth full-length album, Allegiance. I've only discovered the existence of Firewind within the last few months, after I had discovered the side-project called Icewind. The mastery displayed on Allegiance is enough to make me want to check out their previous work, it's that good.
Firewind is a project from Gus G.. Some may know of him, some may not, but all you need to know is he kicks butt on guitar and has worked with some very cool bands lately, to name a few: Nightrage, Mystic Prophecy, Arch Enemy, Dream Evil, Winters Bane, etc... Sure, he's no Jari Maenpaa, but he's not bad. He offers all of his skills on Allegiance, from the shredding solos and leads, to the heavy metal riffs. Indeed, the sound of this Firewind album is like heavy metal mixed with some of the aspects of power metal. It seems like the two genres battle it out throughout Allegiance, sometimes with one dominating over the other.
The opening track, "Allegiance", really hits hard with some great guitar leads and riffs. It's a great heavy metal track, but with the musical proficiency of power metal. "Breaking The Silence" is somewhat a duet peice, featuring vocals from the main vocalist and a guest female vocalist as well. No, it's not a love duet, haha... The vocalists trade off parts, mostly in the chorus, for this power/heavy metal song. "Deliverance" is somewhat like a ballad, though it features some heavy sections in it as well. The ballad part is fantastic though, with some nice acoustic riffs, and a square wave solo near the beginning. The vocal melodies in this song are amazing! I guess Firewind must have thought so as well, as they have the melody continuing at the end after the song has finished.
There are really no bad tracks on Allegiance, every one is worth listening to and a lot of fun. Everyone is a fan of heavy metal - how could they not be? - so I must recommend Firewind's Allegiance to everyone. It's quite the enjoyable power epic.
8.5/10
UM's Review Rating Scale
Official Firewind Website
Official Century Media Website
Century Media - 77629-2 - July 24th, 2006 (Europe)
By Brandon Strader
Firewind is back with their fourth full-length album, Allegiance. I've only discovered the existence of Firewind within the last few months, after I had discovered the side-project called Icewind. The mastery displayed on Allegiance is enough to make me want to check out their previous work, it's that good.
Firewind is a project from Gus G.. Some may know of him, some may not, but all you need to know is he kicks butt on guitar and has worked with some very cool bands lately, to name a few: Nightrage, Mystic Prophecy, Arch Enemy, Dream Evil, Winters Bane, etc... Sure, he's no Jari Maenpaa, but he's not bad. He offers all of his skills on Allegiance, from the shredding solos and leads, to the heavy metal riffs. Indeed, the sound of this Firewind album is like heavy metal mixed with some of the aspects of power metal. It seems like the two genres battle it out throughout Allegiance, sometimes with one dominating over the other.
The opening track, "Allegiance", really hits hard with some great guitar leads and riffs. It's a great heavy metal track, but with the musical proficiency of power metal. "Breaking The Silence" is somewhat a duet peice, featuring vocals from the main vocalist and a guest female vocalist as well. No, it's not a love duet, haha... The vocalists trade off parts, mostly in the chorus, for this power/heavy metal song. "Deliverance" is somewhat like a ballad, though it features some heavy sections in it as well. The ballad part is fantastic though, with some nice acoustic riffs, and a square wave solo near the beginning. The vocal melodies in this song are amazing! I guess Firewind must have thought so as well, as they have the melody continuing at the end after the song has finished.
There are really no bad tracks on Allegiance, every one is worth listening to and a lot of fun. Everyone is a fan of heavy metal - how could they not be? - so I must recommend Firewind's Allegiance to everyone. It's quite the enjoyable power epic.
8.5/10
UM's Review Rating Scale
Official Firewind Website
Official Century Media Website
