By: AvNatten

Posted: Jul 24, 2006

If a good dose of straight up power metal is what you crave then Firewind are here to deliver the goods. Their latest offering, "Allegiance" is a journey with all the right peaks and valleys needed and of course the superb musicianship and wonderful guitar work that Gus G. can provide. A line-up change has taken place this time around with a great new vocalist by the name of Apollo Papathanasio, who you might know from Time Requiem, Majestic and a few other bands, and a new drummer, the seminal legend Mark Cross.

Not a bad song can be found on this disc, it opens up with the title track 'Allegiance' and the listener is greeted by Apollo's wonderful voice. He has the range, power, and heartfelt emotion in his voice to carry him far, and he is an excellent choice to be the vocalist for the band, as his voice fits perfectly with Firewind's sound. 'Breaking The Silence' is a good track that offers some diversity in the fact that Apollo trades off vocals with Tara Ullaeus the wife of director Patric Ullaeus. The pairing of their voices provides a nice contrast between the powerful vocal lines that Apollo provides and a more feminine approach. 'Deliverance' starts off with a nice acoustic guitar passage with keyboards woven in. When the electric guitars kick in they provide crunchy staccato riffing, the atmosphere on this track feels majestic which is a feeling that is carried on, throughout other tracks on the album as well. Gus G.'s guitar prowess is expressed and he lays down many great riffs and amazing solos that float above Cross' drum work which provides an excellent backbone for the tracks and he even delves into some double pedal footwork.

Overall this is a very good album, although they are not breaking any new ground with this release the tracks are well crafted and have a youthful spirit and energy that drives them forward. The production is superb and lets all the instruments be heard loud as to not let even a single note be left unheard. It was recorded at JM Studio and then mixed at Studio Fredman by Fredrik Nordström. Once these songs have made their way into your mind you will be coming back again and again for repeated listenings. The future looks bright for Firewind and one can only wonder what surprises they will have up their sleeve for their next album.

Rating: 9½/10

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Distributed in Denmark and kindly supplied by EMI

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