Album review: SPIRITS OF FIRE – Embrace The Unknown

Frontiers [Release date: 18.02.22]

Classic Metal band, Spirits Of Fire release their second album, Embrace The Unknown.

The band was formed from scratch in 2017 by Chris (Savatage) Caffery, Steve (Testament) DeGiorgio, and Mark (Fates Warning) Zonder with the estimable Tim “Ripper” Owens on vocals. It was no surprise that this formidable lineup’s debut made a considerable impact on genre fans, but music critics reserved judgement, suggesting these old hands were treading water.

Owens has departed and Fabio (Rhapsody of Fire/ Angra) Lione has stepped up to the mic. Producer Roy Z has been replaced by Aldo (Secret Sphere) Lonobile. It’s a good match. As well as their shared Italian nationality, Lonobile and Lione’s respective bands aren’t a million miles away from each other in style and presentation.

And they’re on the same wavelength here. The bombastic, symphonic stuff has been sidelined in favour of meat and two veg classic heavy metal.

Caffery is the key man of course. He’s written almost all the material, and no doubt had a big say in the arrangements and the production.

His gutsy guitar crunch sets up Lione’s knockout vocal punch on opener, ‘Second Chance’. It’s a foot-on-the-monitor, pedal-to-the-metal barnstormer, with power metal overtones.

The stomping, riff heavy ‘Resurrection’ and the epic, theatrical ‘Sea Of Change’ see Lione at his best, emoting powerfully and gracefully, each approach dependent on the moment and the mood.

Caffrey’s hooky guitar wizardry lifts ‘Wildest Dreams’ up and out of a riff that’s maybe too much fat and not enough muscle, yet settles into a satisfyingly streamlined heavy metal groove on ‘Into The Mirror’, one of the album’s standout tracks.

This is not groundbreaking metal, it’s not designed to be. The band’s rolling current of high voltage noise, surrounding tough but buoyant melodies, leans heavily into classic, heavy metal traditions.

Let’s just say that Embrace The Fire will do us fine until the next album of groundbreaking metal comes along. ***1/2

Review by Brian McGowan

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THE PLAGUE What Else Can I Do (FiXT)
STAR CIRCUS Turn The Tide (indie)
DEFENCES Breathe It In (Long Branch Records)

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