Greek melodic metal sensations Firewind release their first DVD and after only five studio albums. Shows you how talented and popular this band has become in a short amount of time as their first album “Between Heaven and Hell” was only released in 2002. I can tell you as a fan and from a critic’s perspective they surely should have put out a live concert.

I know I was waiting for it. Firewind are fantastic. This is the band fans of 80 traditional heavy metal have been waiting for.

This is what you get from Firewind… excellent memorable hard rockin hooks sung by the voice of Apollo Papathanasio, rip roaring classic guitar riffs and blazing purposeful leads from young six string virtuoso Gus G and the equally talented Bob Katsionis switching off on rhythm guitar and keyboards (seeing him play keyboard and guitar leads at the same time is a real treat), and a tightly bound rhythm section maintained by Petros Christo on bass and Mark Cross pounding on the drums delivering ground shaking double bass (that’s if you have a sub woofer).

The main live show is a full setlist taped in Firewind’s hometown of Thessaloniki, Greece. The picture is clear as you could want it and the audio is fabulous. Really, this is one of the best sounding concerts I have heard EVER on a DVD. The audio mix is so well done that while every instrument is separated you still get a very full bottom heavy sound. The crowd is virtually invisible from the mix. Gus’ riffs and leads can be heard on the left channel with Bob on the right, and the drums travel through all five speakers. The vocals take the center channel. Awesome! I can’t say enough about how great this sounds.

The band play a lot of material from their more recent albums; eight from 2008’s “The Premonition” including singles “Head Up High” and “Mercenary Man”, and show openers/title track from 06’s “Allegiance” and “Insanity” (where you first see Bob harmonize with himself on the guitar and keyboard). Gus G and his monster rhythm section really get the crowd banging their heads for instrumental “The Fire and the Fury” (where Gus gets to show his chops) as well as for “I Am The Anger” from the album “Burning Earth” and the title track to “Between Heaven and Hell”.

The extras includes a short documentary plus some bootleg and unplugged clips.

Pick this one up I guarantee it will please.

DVD Details:
I. Main Live Show (approx. 100 min) - 'Allegiance', 'Insanity', 'Into The Fire', 'Head Up High', 'Mercenary Man', 'Angels Forgive Me', 'My Loneliness', 'Circle Of Life', 'The Silent Code', 'Life Foreclosed', 'Destination Forever', Keyboard Solo, Guitar Solo, 'The Fire And The Fury', Drum Solo / 'Dreamchaser', 'Till The End Of Time', 'Deliverance', 'Brother's Keeper', 'Between Heaven And Hell', 'I Am The Anger', 'Falling To Pieces', 'Tyranny'.

II. Extras: a) Documentary / Tales Of The Greek Road Warriors, b) Promotional Videos: 'Mercenary Man', 'Head Up High', 'Falling To Pieces', 'Breaking The Silence', c) Unplugged - MAD TV Sessions: 'My Loneliness', 'Where Do We Go From Here?', d) Live In Montreal 2008: 'Head Up High', 'The Fire And The Fury', 'Till The End Of Time'.