BURNING POINT: "The Ignitor"

Rating: RRR
Label: Scarlet Records 2012
Review by Kimmo Toivonen
Pete Ahonen seems to be a one-man "metal factory" from the northern Finland, with three active bands going on at the same time. Ghost Machinery and Stargazery are the two others and Burning Point is the one that has the longest history behind it. My knowledge of his material is somewhat limited, I think I've heard one BP album, I'm more familiar with Ghost Machinery, as I've reviewed their last album and seen them live.
Frankly, the material on this album isn't that different to what I heard on the GM album. It's firmly rooted in classic eighties' metal. The BP songs don't flirt with AOR as much as GM ones do though. Solid stuff, but I prefer the slightly more melodic Ghost Machinery. That's not to say that "The Ignitor" is a bad album, far from it.
The band's influences are easy to pick out, you'll hear echoes of bands like Yngwie Malmsteen, Accept, Queensrÿche and Dio in these songs. The band does have an identity of its' own, thanks to Pete's distinctive vocals and clever songwriting.
The highlights for me were probably the first three songs, although there are really no weak songs here. The album would have needed a real stand-out track or two to gain the fourth "R", but anyway, the three "R's" it gets are stRRRong...
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