Let’s just jump right into the review, shall we?
Firewind’s fourth full length studio album follows the blueprint set by their first three albums in the respect that it contains driving riffs, pounding drums, atmospheric keyboards, and powerful vocals…as well as
Firewind’s fourth different lineup.
Allegiance is most notably the debut for new lead singer
Apollo Papathanasio, also of the band
Evil Masquerade, and what a debut it is. His voice is powerful enough to be heard over the powerful melody produced by the rhythm section on such songs as
”Breaking the Silence” and
”Dreamchaser”, but not quite aggressive enough to overpower softer tracks like
”Deliverance”. On many of the songs, he will use an excess of vibrato with his voice, but it won’t become annoying or repetitive, seeing as it is just his way of singing. His vocals on the album are very well done, and his voice compliments
Firewind’s brand of power metal/ hard rock much better than former vocalists
Stephen Fredrick and
Chitral Somapala. This is because of not only his voice, but his ability to add on the lyric front with the mastermind of the band,
Gus G. Many of the lyrics off of
Allegiance promote positive messages such as self health, and standing up for one’s self.
“Be yourself tonight don't stress yourself to death
Don't try to fight the time
Synchronize your health”
Firewind ~
Falling to Pieces
Lyrics written by Gus G and Apollo Papathanasio
The music on the album has progressed since
”Forged by Fire” was released in 2005; it has moved toward a more hard rock direction, however, the power metal that
Firewind fans have come to expect is still present throughout the album.
Allegiance is also the first
Firewind album to contain music and lyrics written by a member of the band other than
Gus G. The guitar riffs on the album are catchy and heavy; in short, they fit in well with the rest of
Firewind’s catalog of music. The only thing that hinders the music from the guitars is that after several listens, many of the riffs my start to sound similar. For example, the introduction riff to
”Ready to Strike” sounds like the main riff in
”Dreamchaser”, which sounds a lot like
”The Fire and the Fury” off of 2003’s,
Burning Life. This does not make the album intolerable by any means, it just may start to sound the same to some listeners after several listens. The guitar solos on the album are plentiful, fast, and well executed.
Gus G shows off his ability on this album, and steps up all aspects of his soloing, from speed to creativity; the song
”Insanity” has 4 guitar solos. For any other band, that would be ludicrous, but
Firewind and
Gus G pull it off with ease. The keyboards help to create a mysterious, and in some cases, very catchy atmosphere throughout a large majority of the album. On the album’s two singles,
”Falling to Pieces” and
”Breaking the Silence”,
Bob Katsionis, lays down extremely catchy synth lines, but for the most part he just follows the progressions of the guitar lines.
Allegiance marks not only the debut of lead singer
Apollo Papathanasio, but the debut of new drummer
Mark Cross as well.
Cross, like
Papathanasio, makes a nice debut. Throughout the album his beats suit the songs nicely, and his fills are not the most original, but are different from what you will hear most anywhere else. He also makes nice use of the double bass; as opposed to rolling on it constantly as you would hear with many other metal bands, he uses it only to accent riffs and fill out the band’s sound. The bass is mixed rather well on the album, and for a majority of the album can be heard easily without having an overpowering sound. As is the case with the keyboards, they tend to lock up with the guitars most of the time, but in doing so, create a wall of sound that fills out much of the band’s sound along with
Mark Cross’s double bass.
In conclusion,
Firewind’s fourth full length studio album
Allegiance is a great album. Everything from the music to the vocals to the production value is well done. And even though the album in itself may be groundbreaking or overly original, it is well written and most certainly worth a listen by any
Firewind fan or just someone looking for a great power metal/ hard rock album.
For this album
Firewind consisted of:
Apollo Papathanasio - Vocals
Gus G - Guitars
Bob Katsionis - Keyboards
Petros Christo - Bass
Mark Cross- Drums
Track by Track:
Allegiance: 3.5/5
Insanity: 4/5
Falling to Pieces: 3.5/5
Ready to Strike: 3/5
Breaking the Silence: 4.5/5
Deliverance: 3.5/5
Till the End of Time: 3/5
Dreamchaser: 3.5/5
Before the Storm: 2.5/5
The Essence: 3.5/5
Where Do We Go From Here: 3/5
Overall Rating: 3.5
