A Predictable-yet Shining example of Power Metal - It s power metal. A genre whose goal is to keep alive all of those old-stodgy metal stereotypes of the 1980 s, meaning swords, sorcery... and Dungeons and Dragons in your basement.In many respects the resurgence of power metal over the last 5 years or so is both a blessing and a curse.I say this as a fan, and not as a hater, but this album will not blow you away with anything you haven t heard before--especially if you re an old veteran of metal, meaning you know who Iron Maiden is. This band plays it safe, but again, the walls of Power Metal are clearly defined: Classically inspired riffs, Check. Operatic (defined as falsetto male vocals or guys with really tight pants): Check. Shredding guitar riffs: Check. Insane leads: Check. Slightly cheesy keyboards inspired by Rush and Steve Miller Band: Check. What this album isn t: Dragonforce. But, who the hell is? Actually compared to the entire genre of Power Metal, this one is by far the one I can listen to over and over again without it getting too repetitive (or cheesy. Well... THAT s relative!) If you re a fan of PM and haven t picked it up yet, BUY IT.
not bad - A yngwie cover band. He needs a singer with a distinctive voice and he needs a guitar sound all his own. All this european power metal sounds the same. This is better than most. But all the songs run together like one long song. His first two albums were much better. He gets more and more commercial and less interesting with each passing album.
A friend s advice - I picked up Firewind s Allegiance from a friend s advice and I purchased the other 4 right away. This good, fast, hard rock music at its best.
Great heavy melodic power. Definitely talented band. - I just found out about Firewind a couple of weeks ago and decided to pick up their latest release, Allegiance. I was not wrong in my choice - it turned out to be an awesome heavy metal album with really sweet hooks of power metal, 80s metal, and heavy speed metal here and there. Lots of great solos on this one, the riffs are nice and heavy, the vocals are simply superb. The lead singer reminds me of a mix of Roy Khan (Kamelot) and Geoff Tate (Queensryche), but a little heavier. The instrumental of the album is Before The Storm and is one of the most beautiful metal instrumentals I have ever heard.Overall, a very solid 4 stars, could be 5 with a few more longer tracks and solos, but still an incredible album to listen to. I highly recommend this to everyone who likes Edguy, Kamelot, Queensryche, and Iron Maiden.
I pledge Allegiance to Firewind - Allegiance is masterpiece of music and metal, seamlessly woven together in gigantic proportions.Firewind has produced a classic album in the midst of a revival of metal. I m a child of the 80 s, when metal ruled the world. I have never been so excited as bands like Dream Evil, DragonForce, Hammerfall and more bring back metal to the forefront.Firewind breathes some fresh air into the once dying beast of heavy metal. Crisp, clear and powerfully vibrant vocals, extremely intricate and heavy guitar work, bass guitars that won t stop all synchronized with awesome drumming(complete with double bass drums!)At times the vocals sounds like a blend of anything Jorn Lande has done mixed with a touch of David Coverdale of Whitesnake fame. I just can t stop listening to the song called Breaking the Silence!If you love metal, old or new, this is a must have for any true metalhead.