Rock Music Critic

	Firewind
	Between Heaven and Hell

	Firewind is a true/power metal band featuring Greek guitar virtuoso Gus G (also of Dream Evil.) Much like Dream Evil, this band has a very 80's metal style. By this I don't mean Motley Crue or Bon Jovi, think "Trilogy" era Yngwie. So far this CD is really cool. The production is good, could be a little crisper maybe, but not bad at all. It's probably just my crappy headphones, on a nice system this probably sounds great. The guitar playing and the vocals are what really remind me of 80's metal. The riffs are very 80's style, which is just fine by me. The vocals are big and clean. No complaints. The fantasy theme is getting old in general (and I am a big fan of fantasy books/movies too!) but so what, if you can do it well, do it! Second track, "Warrior" is kicking my ass. This is a great song. Great hooks in the chorus, this is a song that I will find myself humming later on today. Pardon me while I bang my head for a bit. Relentless. I'm now on track 4, "Destination Forever", and these guys are just relentlessly kicking ass. Just moved on to track 5, "Oceans", and it finally takes things down a notch. We get some clean guitar with a melodic distorted solo over top. I think this may be an instrumental track, as it is less than 2 minutes long. This is nice, it kind of breaks things up so the fast pace doesn't get monotonous. Gives us a chance to breathe before pounding us again. "Tomorrow Can Wait" comes back in strong with a nice groove. Yeah, I like this song a lot. Damn, "Pictured Life" takes it up another notch and rocks even harder. Love the guitars on this track.. I would like to see these guys play with Falconer, that would be a good show. Speaking of Falconer, in case you haven't heard, they will be playing in Cleveland at the BW & BK 6 Pack Weekend show June 13th and 14th. Among others playing will be Candlemass, Beyond the Embrace, and Jag Panzer, so if you can make it out there, I recommend going. (Buke, Matt, you hear that? Up for the road trip?) "I Will Fight Alone", the title alone makes me want to kick somebody's ass. This is the sort of Manowar-ish kind of song that inspires fanatical devotion. I love this song. Their website says they are working on a new album, I can't wait to hear it. "Northern Sky" is another instrumental, but this one is longer and harder edged. There is some really cool guitar work on "Fire". I don't want to call "Who Am I" a ballad, but it does start off pretty. It gets heavier later on though. Summary: This disc rocks. If you are looking for a CD where you can love and get into every song, this is the disc. It's just fabulous. Reeeally dahling.
TRACKLIST: Between Heaven and Hell Warrior Words of Conflict Destination Forever Oceans Tomorrow Can Wait Pictured Life Firewind Raging I Will Fight Alone Northern Sky Fire Who Am I