Debut album from the Maltese band.
This is the debut album from the Maltese band that sufficiently excited Avenue Of Allies supremo Gregor Klee to sign them for his label. Their label debut – and second release ('Thrill Me') was reviewed by me in Fireworks #39 and my assessment of it was that it contained "nicely-written, energetically-played and well-produced melodic hard rock" – indeed "a helluva good album".
Their recorded debut couldn't be as good as that, could it? Well, no – yet there is sufficient meat here to warrant more than a cursory investigation. In addition, the album as originally released has been beefed up (apologies for these metaphors if you are a vegetarian!) with the addition of two exclusive bonus tracks: a pretty decent cover of Bryan Adams' classic 'Run To You' plus a Christmas tune recorded exclusively for local radio airplay – 'Miss You This Christmas' - and now given a wider audience at just the right time of year! It's certainly better than much of the fare that overpopulates the radio airways during the festive season!
'Get Out Of My Way' opens 'Ignite' in confident style, and is a very good example of getting an album started with a hard rocking song that immediately grabs the listener's attention! If this is in places (but not vocally) redolent of Deep Purple, then 'Make Believe' has a sort of UFO vibe to it including the tasty guitar break. 'Fire Flyer' is a real scorcher (sorry!) and brilliant fare for a rock disco while 'Taste This (Rock 'n' Roll')' and 'Manhunter' are both solid if relatively unremarkable songs. 'Goin' Down', however, is a really tasty mid-paced ballad, and has another of those choice guitar breaks…It is also a little different from anything else so far recorded by the band. 'Behind Your Eyes' is another attention grabber and includes some weird effects where there might otherwise be a guitar break. 'Away For Good' is rather a plodder as is 'Home And Dry' initially, but there is a decent chorus that injects some spirit into this song. 'Conspiracy Theory' is another great up-tempo piece and features some truly fantastic playing by the band (including an un-named keyboardist!)
So, while not as consistent as 'Thrill Me', I can certainly appreciate why Fire got a deal with Avenue Of Allies Records, and the best here is certainly as hood as anything on the label debut. I now await their third album with great interest. A new rhythm section (bassist Trevor Catania and drummer Robert Spiteri) has joined the band, and hopefully they will help Fire to grow into a real force to be reckoned with in their chosen take on melodic rock mixed with more classic rock sensibilities. They certainly have a supportive label to help this become a reality.
Paul Jerome Smith
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