Search - Firewind :: Premonition

Great album after a couple of spins.

Leo Prill | Los Angeles | 04/17/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I think this is a good follow-up to "The Allegiance". Although there are only 10 tracks on this one, they are strong, well-written, and do the job. The first spin may not leave you impressed, but after a couple more times through the record, you'll really dig it.



Vocals = 5/5. Great job on the vocals by Apollo. Nice and heavy, but at the same time melodic. Again, sounds like a mix of Roy Khan and Geoff Tate.



Guitar work = 5/5. Amazing guitar work by Gus, as usual. What a talented musician.



Production = 4.5/5. Nice, clean, non-distorted.



Length of solos and songs = 4/5. As a solo junkie, I found myself wishing for a few longer solos...but this may not be an issue to others. Songs are about 4 minutes long on average.



Overall = 4.5/5. Great album that you can listen to anywhere. This band is very talented and I would love to see them Live if they ever come here to the US."

Not as good as the last album....

David Falzano | Boston, MA USA | 03/27/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Firewind is a band that I discovered sometime a year ago & they were one of the bands that got me to get into power metal more than ever in recent years. Most of their albums are great ('Burning Earth' was OK) & their last one 'Allegiance' was AWESOME, but unfortunately after coming off an excellent album such as the latter, they didn't come through this time like I hoped that they would. 'The Premonition' definitely has the sound & excellent production of 'Allegiance' but the songs are not as good. I would say there are a few cool ones but that's about it. Maybe after a few listens I will appreciate it more but it definitely could have been better. Stand out tracks are "Mercenary Man," "Angels Forgive Me," "My Loneliness," & "Life Foreclosed.""

Firewind's best, and a power metal must-have

Justin Gaines | Northern Virginia | 03/13/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"2008's The Premonition is the fourth album from Greek power metal band Firewind. Firewind, of course, is a side project of Dream Evil, Nightrage, Mystic Prophecy and now Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Gus G. The Premonition is the first Firewind album recorded by a relatively stable lineup, and the result is the band's best effort yet.



Firewind started to move beyond the power metal formula with 2006's Allegiance, and with this album the band became a leader in the genre, not a follower. The Premonition is what you get when you have a seasoned group of musicians with real chemistry and an insane amount of talent. It's completely heavy, completely powerful and full of great melodies, amazing musicianship, dynamite vocals (Apollo Papathanasio has never sounded better), pristine production and some extremely well-written songs. Everything seems to gel here. I think it helps that Gus G's solos seem more like part of the songs and not just an exercise in technicality.



I'd rank The Premonition alongside the best albums by Brainstorm, Tad Morose, Mob Rules and Symphorce as the best the melodic power metal genre has to offer. Listen to "Into the Fire," "Angels Forgive Me" and "Life Foreclosed" and you'll see what I mean. Hell, even the band's version of the Flashdance theme song "Maniac" is pretty epic, and that's saying something!



As much as I loved Allegiance, The Premonition is easily the best Firewind album, and one of the best power metal albums I've heard in a long time. If you only buy one Firewind album, this is the one to get. Hopefully Ozzy won't keep Gus so busy that he can't get the guys together for a follow-up album.



PS - I caught Firewind live in 2008 at the ProgPower USA IX festival and they were amazing."