Forged by Fire

Out of Firewind’s discography, Forged by Fire is the most legitimately interesting one to look into. Just this focus on moodier compositions amidst their Scorpions meets Stratovarius style with Malmsteen-esque shredding solos – it’s fascinating on a basic level because at the heart of it, Firewind is more about these big, anthemic choruses and uptempo power/trad (and eventually just power) riffing. Of course, that’s still present and accounted for here in Forged by Fire, but there is a clearer focus on more emotionally driven compositions that... are a little hit or miss, unfortunately.

Songs like “The Forgotten Memory”, “Hate World Hero” and “Land of Eternity” showcase this newfound moodiness, mainly manifested through Chity Somapala’s soulful vocals. Now, just to quickly address the elephant in the room – if you expect Somapala to have a cut on Stephen “I Am the Anger” Fredrick in the bellowing charismatic department, then you’re also expecting that we’ll ever get to play Half Life 3. He just can’t deliver the grittier parts with any push or power or anything good like that. That being said, Somapala does just as well, if not better in terms of the soul department. Delivering that there smooth, soulful performance gives sections like the choruses from “The Forgotten Memory” and “Hate World Hero”, as well as the totality of the ballad “Land of Eternity” that massive hook that Fredrick’s vocals did throughout much of their first two albums.

It’s those moments that help the album stand out from the pack. Other than that, “The Forgotten Memory” and “Escape from Tomorrow” have these punchy intro riffs that get your attention and keep you going either with a tasteful contrasting chorus (the former) or a booming chorus (the latter) with more hooks than a bait and tackle shop. “Tyranny” is an unapologetically upbeat song with some delectable licks, powerful trad/speed metal riffing and that peppy Ingo Schwitchtenberg percussion, and it ends up being a real fucking highlight as a result. Somapala’s vocals add another layer of goodness, especially during the chorus where he belts out these layered and happy-sounding vocals, and it really makes the song tick honestly.

But if you prefer your Gus G without any of those pesky vocals, “Feast of the Savages” has you covered with duelling solos between Gus G and Marty fucking Friedman in-between these pummelling grooves and softer segments towards the end. Let me tell you something, this is the best instrumental Firewind have done to this point. Putting together the best of “Northern Sky” and “The Fire and the Fury” while two guitar virtuosos just come in and do their own thing.

Where the album’s let down is when it doesn’t focus on what Firewind do best. I know I praised “Feast of the Savages” groove, but the other songs that focus more on a groove like “Burn in Hell” and “Perished in Flames” lack that impact. The latter literally just exists, riding on a tepid nothing groove. At least the former has a decently heavy riff and bridge, but they don’t generate that strong a groove and as such, the song just kind of goes on by after the first chorus. It’s the same with “Kill to Live” and “Beware the Beast” to a lesser extent – there’s clearly a heavier riffbase here that try to create these catchy grooves, but they lack that drive that’d make them really pop. Admittedly, “Kill to Live” has a catchy verse, although the chorus just seems slapped together and that’s what stops it short of success. But hey, at least the solos are great!

The biggest thing with Forged by Fire is that there are only a few really good songs that absolutely take advantage of the then-new singer and a heavier, more emotional take on their style. Like Burning Earth, when Forged by Fire works, it fucking works! Other than that, there are certainly moments that do the same thing, but the whole songs just lack that push to make them really stand out.

Firewind was the original conception of guitar impresario Gus G. in the late 90s, though it did not see any major releases until around the same time that Dream Evil had its debut. As Requiem99 has pointed out, there are many similarities between these two bands; however, the notion that Firewind is a Dream Evil clone is far from accurate. If you read the lyrics on this album and compare them with the Book of Heavy Metal, the bands are about as far apart as you can get.

If you open up the CD booklet and read the songwriting credits, the reason why Gus G. would quit Dream Evil become more obvious. When you have a band that you have full control over and have to juggle that with a slightly more successful band where you are one of 5 equally powerful forces, you go with the band that is your own. Gus G. is not the first artist to have chosen this path; Kai Hansen made the same choice with Iron Savior, as did Roland Grapow with Helloween. Truth be told, I like Firewind better than Dream Evil because it lacks all the unnecessary cheese and replaces it with solid, brutally honest guitar riffs and more intelligent lyrics.

The music on this album is very well done, as the former Dream Evil axe man is intent on maximizing his influences in order to create something to truly rival his former band. “Kill to Live” is a riff monster with a good balance of heavy riffs and some Zakk Wylde inspired guitar screeches. “Tyranny” is your typical mid-tempo rocker in the Hammerfall vain, the main riff being a bit similar to Kiss’ Detroit Rock City. We’ve also got some great high speed power metal in tracks such as “The Forgotten Memory”, “Escape from Tomorrow” and “Perished in Flames”.

If I had to pick the best song on this release, it would be a toss up between “Hate World Hero” and the lone ballad “Land of Eternity”. The former has a very beautiful and nostalgic clean guitar intro with a great vocal delivery on the part of Chitty Somapala (who oddly reminds me a lot of Steve Grimmet from Grim Reaper), which is followed by a rather powerful set of riffs that bear some similarity to early 80s Black Sabbath and Dio. The latter is a down tempo ballad with an extremely cliché chorus, but damned if it doesn’t shine like a diamond due to a brilliant vocal performance, I still can’t get the words out of my head.

Another added bonus to this album is the instrumental “Feast for the Savages”, which showcases Gus G. in a duel with legendary guitar shredder Marty Friedman. Although I enjoyed his work with MegaDeth, I think in terms of emotional expression through the guitar I have to give the edge to Gus. His guitar just has a ton more passion and expresses the flame of a young guitarist ready to take on the world.

In conclusion, this is solid power metal that is accessible to a wide audience. Fans of newer acts such as Hammerfall, Dream Evil, and Kamelot will like this. I also think that more traditional metal fans such as those who loved Judas Priest and Riot will find things to like on here as well. We don’t have much new ground broken here, but as was the case with Hammerfall, this is not what they are about. They are one of many bands that reminds us where metal came from, and such a task is needed to keep the movement from losing its way.