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Firewind – Allegiance Reviewer: Rich Catino If Yngwie Malmsteen , Michael Schenker , Kai Hansen, and John Sykes were donators at a sperm bank, their child's name would be Gus G! If you doubt me just listen to the lead off title track and the riff driven “Insanity” which are a guitar players wet dream. Also know for his work with Dream Evil, Nightrage and Mystic Prophecy, Gus G has left the previous projects to focus solely on his baby Firewind . This third release, as with the first three, is a fantastic bridging between the European stylings of Helloween (“Till the End of Time”), and traditional Hard Rock/Heavy Metal of the Scorpions and Dio . I hear so much Schenker in the solo for “Ready to Strike”. The first Firewind cd “Between Heaven and Hell” even contained a cover of the Scorpion's “Pictured life” which was executed effortlessly by Gus' natural ability with the guitar. New singer Apallo takes Firewind to the next level as he embraces a strong soulful tone highlighted on the first single/video “Falling to Pieces” and “The Essence”. Man this should really be on rock radio in the States. I love the way Gus has utilized the female voice in “Breaking the Silence” as it is not over powering but just serves as a nice compliment to the energy and path of the song as both the guitars and keyboards follow a linear path. Its very reminiscent of a Stratovarius arrangement. “ Dreamchaser ” is a little heavier and aggressive with a pounding double base and will appeal to you Iced Earth fans. On “Burning Earth” Gus composed an instrumental called “The Fire and the Fury” capturing his dynamic yet furious playing. For “Allegiance” he includes yet another instrumental “Before the Storm” that showcases his less aggressive technique demonstrating, as with each song, that his leads are very purposeful with direction, passion, and elegance. Its like Gus has the spirit of Steve Vai's “Passion and Warfare” in this piece. Its awesome and he truly embraces all the qualities of the many great before him. I see no reason why he shouldn't be considered a future guitar hero. Note: The projected release for the U.S. is January 23 2007 but this stuff is too good to wait that long to be reviewed for print. Someone bring these guys to the States!
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