Spitfire, a very important band with a very important history. They will be mentioned for ever and ever for one truly magnificent achievement, having released one of the very few albums in Greek music that is praised by all the fans.
“First Attack” will always follow the famous fighter plane as a badge of honor, but it will always haunt them with its value and the mythology that surrounds it. Songs like Lead Me On”, “Evil Thoughts Around”, “Lady Of The Night”, “Whispers” are so special, you can’t write stuff like that on any given day. The same goes for “Taste The Fire”, “Fool Enough”, “Everlasting Love”, which were included on “Die Fighting”, but were much older. I hear you saying “but, is it possible to compare the old classic stuff with the new songs?” Obviously, that’s not fair, but it’s inevitable. “Is it just to compare the original band with the ‘90s lineup, or the current one?” No, but that’s also impossible to avoid, consciously, or even subconsciously. Memories, emotions and most importantly the life that these songs have taken in the fans’ souls cannot be compared with anything new. And that’s the case for all big bands that we love, with few exceptions. That’s why some bands don’t release a new album for decades.
24 years after their first attack and another 13 after “Die Fighting”, Spitfire are back with “Denial To Fall”. The distance from on another seems chaotic, but any new release by the band is a message of hope for them and the entire Greek metal culture. You need your heroes to be there, on the frontline. The album might not excite you from the first spins, or you might think that some stuff sound strange, but if you listen carefully enough you will discover some of Spitfire’s traditional trademarks: Longinidis’ unbent granite rhythm guitars, the swaggery solos, the melodic bridges that accompany perfectly the chorus and of course an arsenal of riffs. The sound on the album is the heaviest they’ve ever been and less hard. Whether this was intentional, or not, it surely draws a line between “then” and “now”. The most classic songs in there are probably “Wasted” and “Back To Zero”. Tassos Krokodilos’ voice is without a doubt edgier than any of his predecessors with the high range he can reach.
Surely, Spitfire are not afraid to move forward. They have nothing to prove and they will not be judged by “Denial To Fall”, but for their undying passion and their bravery to take off again and rip the skies with full throttle. Their “denial to fall”, their no surrender attitude and fighting spirit makes them even bigger in our eyes and fills us with hope that the next flight will not take that long.