In celebration of Firewind’s 20th anniversary, the band completed their tour with two concerts in Greece, the second of which on October 1st at the Principal Club Theater in Gus G’s hometown will live on forever, thanks to this release.
After the self-titled “Firewind” album released in 2020 that marked the arrival of new vocalist Herbie Langhans and the return of the four-piece line-up, this souvenir comes to seal this change of era for the band. So, what unfolds before our eyes is the entire concert of that night from start to finish. In Firewind’s second official visual product, the first being “Live Premonition” from back in 2008, we see the band going back to basics with one single guitar on stage and apparently no keyboards and a great singer who delivers all the material superbly. Especially on the “early” “I Am The Anger” and “Between Heaven And Hell” his voice fits like a glove. There are six new songs here (“Welcome To The Empire”, “Devour”, “Orbitual Sunrise”, “Overdrive”, “Breakaway” and “Rising Fire”) which is a very sensibly thing, since this is the passport of the band’s new composition, which stands very well next to the older and more classic ones which are thirteen.
The shots are obviously professional, with many cameras recording all the action above and below the stage, while there is also a crane flying over the band and the audience, offering impressive results. The crowd is warm from the beginning, obviously because being a part of a live recording/videotaping is exciting, but also because this was the first time Firewind had performed in the city in 5 years, so they are particularly vocal even to Jo Nunez’s drum solo. Beyond that, the band’s performance is very good from start to finish with the sound becoming heavier with the absence of keyboards (apart from some recorded ones where needed), while Gus G without a second guitar to back him up “has more work to do”, which he carries out with ease and style, adding little phrases and improvisations here and there. After all, Firewind started as a quartet 20 years ago and without keyboards, so this format and its demands are nothing new for them.
We should note that there is nothing extra in the package, unlike “Live Premonition”, which had official video clips, some unplugged performances etc., nor is there any difference in the tracklist from the 2 CDs on the BluRay. Also, there is no song from “Forged By Fire”, the only one with Chity Somapala on vocals… I would have liked “Tyranny”, instead of the cover of “Maniac” – as enjoyable as Herbie’s dance is – but you can’t have everything in this life, can you?
Firewind deserve our respect, apart from everything else, because they support an essential format of rock and metal music, the live album. This is unfortunately something that has now been pushed aside by most bands in our time, yet it is so essential of our beloved music and was so great in the past with releases like “Unleashed In The East”, “No Sleep Til’ Hammersmith”, “Live And Dangerous”, which established the greats around the world. Because, what could be more important than a concert, the audience getting to see the artist and the band in person, engaging with all senses live right in the moment? In the same sense having a document of all that is equally important.
Highlights: the first time the roar of the crowd can be heard very loud is during “Mercenary Man”, the mobile phone lights in “Lady Of 1.000 Sorrows”, the endless solo in “Breakaway”, the smoke coming out of Gus’ guitar magnets in “The Fire And The Fury” and of course the birthday cake at the end.
