Firewind
Days Of Defiance

I admit it: I was a power metal enthusiast in love with Rhapsody, Blind Guardian, Stratovarius, and so on. My first "metallic" approach came with the fantastic worlds evoked by these bands, with those choruses to shout at the top of your lungs, all happiness and Shannara-style lyrics. Then, as the years went by, this genre went to hell, both for me and for most metal aficionados in general. Too repetitive and lacking in solutions, too childish and at the same time overused by a multitude of clone bands of other clones.

Yet, despite this distancing from the genre, this true "repulsion," every now and then I feel the need to return to the anchorage that launched me towards the first seas of metal. That's why I decided to listen to the latest work (2010) by the Greeks Firewind, together with two other fundamental factors: the voice of singer Apollo Papathanasio (heard and appreciated with the Spiritual Beggars) and the largely positive reviews garnered by "The premonition," the previous CD.

There were indeed all the right conditions to expect work at least worthy of the fame of its predecessor. Instead, right from the explosion of the initial "The ark of lies" it becomes clear that the meat on the fire is the same as has been chewed for over 20 years now. Keyboards far too much in the foreground, "helicopter" drums, and the usual atmosphere of the most bland and overhyped power of recent times. All good intentions fall, annihilated by the extreme clash of the "already heard." The Greek band shows nothing new under the sun, and the "blonde" from the "World on Fire" video is enough to understand the current state of Firewind: the ideas have run out, now they're back to making the same music as always. "Chariot", "Broken", and the instrumental "SKG", are saved, as is the pleasing conclusion "When all is said and done". This is not enough to ensure the survival of an album that is far too "constructed" and the same as itself: it is regrettable, also because the band demonstrates good chemistry and good technical skills.

After listening to Days of Defiance and realizing that even a not yet unwelcome band like Firewind has failed, I have come to the conclusion that it is power itself that no longer offers anything new. It can no longer attract because it is fossilized always on the same coordinates, incapable of bringing to light interesting bands, while when they do appear, they are suffocated by the multitude of realities of this genre, which, although it can no longer gather consensus, continues to churn out groups in industrial quantities.

1. "The Ark Of Lies" (4:44)
2. "World On Fire" (4:38)
3. "Chariot" (4:38)
4. "Embrace The Sun" (4:05)
5. "The Departure" (0:44)
6. "Heading For The Dawn" (4:00)
7. "Broken" (3:24)
8. "Cold As Ice" (4:34)
9. "Kill In The Name Of Love" (4:27)
10. "SKG" (5:19)
11. "Losing Faith" (4:11)
12. "The Yearning" (4:53)
13. "When All Is Said And Done" (5:06)