AFM Records [Release date 26.02.21]
Bonfire‘s continued popularity and success confounds critics, of the genre at least, if not the band. And you could hardly describe each new album as a reinvention. They have constantly returned to their home territory – melodic hard rock – in the creation of fresh recordings. That of course is down to the influence and leadership of mainman/songwriter/guitarist, and only remaining original, Hans Ziller.
When multi octave vocalist Alexx Stahl came on board in 2016, Ziller grabbed the chance to recalibrate, to inch his way toward a more expansive sound. And so 2018′s Temple Of Lies twists and turns through AOR, Melodic Hard Rock and Metal.
2020′s Fistful Of Fire again was much more adventurous, with finely turned instrumental pieces unconventionally mixed in with the muscled up version of the band’s more traditional material.
This new double CD album, Roots, has an even more interesting blueprint, though it may not seem so at first glance. But by putting a fresh, “almost unplugged” spin on some “old” material, then splicing some innovative touches into the arrangements (plus the addition of 5 new tracks), the band can deservedly claim to have moved into relatively new territory. It’s also fair to say that Bonfire’s music has a solid sonic core, which means you can pretty well hang anything on it and it will sound good.
Indeed, across 24 tracks and 104 minutes of music, the quality holds up.
Conventional wisdom has it that the true test of a great song is how it sounds stripped down, so it’s always something of a risk. But on Roots, never has an unplugged sound filled the air so completely. The sonorous sounds of a Hammond organ and the sweet strum of an acoustic guitar are pretty much all that Stahl’s expressive vocals need. ‘When An Old Man Cries’ and ‘Without You’ are sung by a voice haunted by real life experience.
‘American Nights’ is a tip of the hat to the music’s original influences and the rough and tumble of ‘Ready For Reaction’ is now propelled by some urgent finger pickin’ and keyboard drive.
Arguably though, an emphatically emotional ‘Your Love Is Heaven To Me’ and the sublime ‘Love Don’t Lie’ are the picks, if only because there is an honest earthiness to them that’s not prevalent in most examples of the genre. ***1/2
Review by Brian McGowan
Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK
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Power Plays w/c 15 April 2024
ENMY The Ledge (FiXT)
KAROBELA Get Hard (indie)
KATH & THE KICKS Neptune (indie)
THE BEE TELLERS River Poem (Black Sand Records)
LAUREN FREEBIRD Like A Bomb (indie)
Featured Albums w/c 15 April 2024
09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003-2023
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2023
14:00-16:00 KATARINA PEJAK – Pearls On A String (Ruf Records)
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