FIREBIRD - Double Diamond
May 5, 2011, 13 years ago
(Metal Blade/Rise Above)
Talk about slowly and quietly building up a riff-based catalogue of above-average yet under-the-radar releases (in twenty years, lots of punters are going to be discovering this stuff and wondering why FIREBIRD never got bigger than they did), album number six from guitarist Bill Steer and his merry minstrels keeps things simple, old-school (like, ‘70s old school) and, yes, very riff-based. Opener ‘Soul Saviour’ is as perfect a replica of all that was good about the heavy side of classic rock as anyone is likely to get in the ‘10s, and ‘Ruined’ follows that up with a song that has so much forward momentum it almost races right into self-parody, but that classy guitar solo brings it right back. The intro riff to ‘A Wing & A Prayer’ is just a string of amazing licks strewn together in a song that reminds me of Saxon in more than one enjoyable way (I think Steer just mentioned “traffic,” which would be the first), but maybe that just points to the cool NWOBHM vibe that permeates the FOGHAT, SKYNYRD, ZZ TOP riffing and polished rock perfection that flows through this disc (which also reminds me of KISS when they’re good) (which does happen!). And the slow groove of ‘Arabesque’ is like the middle ground between BANG TANGO and CATHEDRAL; with apologies to Lee Dorrian, there’s nothing but cool there. 36 glorious, rocking minutes later, the album’s over, we’re refreshed and ready to take on the day. Good work, Firebird.
