FIREWIND: "Few Against Many"

Rating: 8/10

Label: Century Media 2012

Review by Alan Holloway

For me, Firewind are one of those bands that it’s almost impossible to dislike, as they cater for all sorts of rock music tastes, with their always entertaining mixture of melodic power metal. “Few Against Many” is their seventh album, followi9ng 2012’s excellent “Days Of Defiance”, and I’m glad to say that this is yet another instance of Greeks bearing very cool gifts indeed.

The most instant thing about Firewind is always their fluid, melodic style, where smooth, catchy tunes are bolstered by blistering guitar solos. As ever, Gus G is given free reign to throw all sorts of guitar shapes at the wall, with just about all of them sticking like bastards. Apollo Papathanasio delivers some great, higher pitched vocals throughout, in what I would call a now traditional European power metal style. The album starts off incredibly confidently, with “Wall Of Sound” a traditional Firewind sounding track, but they slow down to a more chugging, metal style with follow up “Losing My Mind”, and whilst it’s a good song, it’s lack of real fuidity makes the six and a half minute runtime stretch a bit. Thankfully, it is, for me, the only potential weak spot on a very solid album full of well paced, guitar driven kick ass rock music. Things do slow down for “Edge Of A Dream”, which features Apocalyptica, but in all honesty it’s a cracking ballad.

“Few Against Many” wisely doesn’t try to reinvent the Firewind brand. They’re not as fast and furious as the likes of Dragonforce, but sit between them and the more traditional heavy metal bands, providing speed without overkill and melody without being wimpy. Fact is, metal fans, that if you like Firewind this is yet another solid album.

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