Firewind
Blender Theatre
New York City, New York
November 6, 2010
Firewind were here in the States for a quick four-date tour before Gus G hits the road again with Ozzy and they devoured the rabid audience with the dazzling display of guitar-oriented power metal. Coming on like a cross between Stratovarius and Primal Fear, Gus G and his Greek metal gods pummeled the Blender Theatre into submission. Having just released the excellent “Days of Defiance,” this tour was just a very brief taste of things to come. Gus G is a cross between Uli Jon Roth and Yngwie and is an unbelievable master of the frets, but Firewind is so much more than him. Musical virtuoso, Bob Katsionis, tore up the keys and guitar as well and is the absolute perfect complement to Gus. Vocalist, Apollo Papathansaio is a great front man whose voice is barbed wire-like and beautiful at the same time – very skillful.
The band opened with two new numbers, “The Ark of Lies” and “World on Fire,” that, to these ears, are accessible power metal that really set the tone for the evening. “Head up High,” from “The Premonition” followed suit – another face-melter. “Destination Forever”, “”Fire and Fury”, “Insanity”, “”Till the End of Time” followed before another newie, “Chariot”, drove the nails in deeper. “Mercenary Man” was great as well. “My Loneliness” was stunning with Gus G and Katsoinis sparring with each other throughout. The guitar/keyboard interplay was breathtaking. There were three encores, two of which came from “Days of Defiance” – “Departure” and “”Heading fro the Dawn”; the last being “Falling to Pieces.” Of the seventeen songs aired, five came from the new album and even though it’s only been out for a short while, the crowd greeted them as old favorites. It’s a shame that the new instrumental, “SKG”, didn’t make the set list in that it’s arguably one of the best metal instrumentals of all time! And no “Into the Fire”? A travesty!
One can only hope that after Ozzy’s tour concludes, Firewind will come back and do a proper US tour. It seems that their time has come to move to the next level.
