FIREWIND - Between Heaven And Hell
September 17, 2002, 22 years ago
(Leviathan)
I’m really the wrong guy to be blathering on about what is a traditional power metal act (low tolerance), but beyond the piled-high lyric clichés enclosed (band name, album name and band shot… lemme peruse my checklist), this is a pretty triumphant and sweet sounding bit of pompous power. The secret ingredient is the massive guitar tone of Greek prodigy Gus G. (21 years old and counting), the man coming up with some nice lines (re: Yngwie, Scorps, Dio) but really winning the day through those huge dirty power chords. Ex-Kenziner vocalist Stephen Fredrick also adds to this sense of weight, his gritty voice recorded live and boomy, the duo rounded off by a rhythm section that is also punchy and hefty and highly cognizant of groove. And halfway through there’s a real treat, Firewind covering Scorpions’ obscure ‘Pictured Life’ like there’s no tomorrow, really grabbing the damn thing and shaking it like a pitbull. All told, there are real strengths here. If only the evidently necessary trappings of life as Metal Gods can be somehow updated, refashioned, made over…
