Celebrating 20 years since its original release, FIREWIND debut album “Between Heaven and Hell” is remastered in 2022 including bonus tracks. This album was the first world exposure for genius guitarist Gus G. (at the time, 21 years old), who joined forces with Ex-Kenziner vocalist Stephen Fredrick and drummer Brian Harris.
Driven by Gus G. impressive guitar skills and Fredrick’s powerhouse clean vocals, the 80s-inspired songs on ”Between Heaven and Hell +4 (2022 Remaster)” kick some serious ass; heavy, catchy, melodic, head-banging time guaranteed and even the ‘power ballads’ knock you down.
From the get-go, the album makes it clear what it’s all about. The titular song rides on in with a mean hooky intro riff that grabs you by your hair and doesn’t let go. Between the smooth verse riffs and Fredrick’s booming vocals – especially during the chorus – there’s like two or three different hooks working through the song at once, and it’s so damn addicting even 20 years later, it’s insane. Brian Harris’ kinetic percussion has a real thumping presence to it that gives the song that extra kick. The soloing is technically impressive, like a flurry of notes blazing through the senses – yet the arrangement works in conjunction with the melody, adding this extra hook to proceedings.
You know what – this entire song is one giant hook with bait no fish can refuse!
Stephen “I Am the Anger” Fredrick’s vocals are especially a standout on this album. His bellowing presence adds a lot of oomph to the easy listening riffs. This gives the vocal lines, especially the ones during the choruses, a whole hell of a lot of power.
The other major standout are the solos, which just rip and tear. But what seals the deal really are the riffs. The way that Gus is able to construct these smooth, melodic tracks full of pep, with tons of catchy hooks throughout – it’s quite enamoring, even to this day. There’s plenty of crunch, yet the melodies are smooth, it’s practically laced with peanut butter.
This is present throughout just about every song on this album – be it the uptempo “Destination Forever”, the more triumphant “I will Fight Alone”, the more melancholic balladry of “Who Am I” or the more throttling “Fire”, there’s so much punch to these choruses that make them feel big and memorable, and so much crunch to the riffs that grab you.
I’d even say the instrumental, “Northern Sky”, has quite a bit of that, coupled with some more heartfelt soloing throughout that absolutely shows Gus’ range.
What really emphasizes the ’80s portion of their sound is in their then-modern re-imagining of the Scorpions song, “Pictured Life”. I know it’s from the 70s, but how many ’80s acts take influence from Scorpions’ Virgin Killer? Anyway, the already hard-hitting rhythms are given a makeover and Fredrick lights up the room with a commanding performance.
“Pictured Life” may paint a picture of their style, but the execution is vividly detailed by the rest of the songs. The riffs may say easy listening, given their penchant for smooth rhythms. However, the vocals and the solos shout power. When coupled with hard-hitting percussion, the songs are elevated to an exciting degree.
“Who Am I?” is the last track and starts with a clean intro and keyboards in the background. The clean guitar continues throughout the verse until the distortion comes kicking in the chorus, and boy is this catchy. The guitar just follows the vocals perfectly, and this line is so good that will stick into anyone’s mind for days. Next comes the only neo-classical inspired solo that you will find here, and it shows Gus influences – Blackmore / Yngwie.
The next solo sections are similar to those found in previous songs, while the keyboards come back and forth. The song with the clean guitar again, ending the album very calmly. Good idea.
Among the bonus tracks we find the original Japan Edition extra “End of an Era”, a short instrumental with atmospheric guitar swirls with the addition of electronic sounds. Then we have early takes on ‘Fire’ and ‘Destination Forever’, and it’s really interesting to see title track ”Between Heaven and Hell (Live at UrRock Festival 2021)” to hear how Firewind performs this music nowadays.
”Between Heaven and Hell” pretty much knocks it right out of the park, right from the get go and doesn’t stop. This is consistent catchy and easy-to-listen-to melodic metal / edgy hard rock, well done and entertaining.
Every instrument is cleverly used, even if the guitars are upfront (as they should be). The drumming is very tasteful, and there’s cool splashes of keyboards.
The bass is just there following the guitars – but hey, Judas Priest is known for its minimalist bass lines and they get a lot of praise, so I don’t see the problem with this. With this 2022 remaster the bass lines are much more present.
Another thing that you will notice – if you like this genre – is that there are absolutely no fillers on this album, just all killer.
Highly Recommended
01 – Between Heaven and Hell (2022 Remaster)
02 – Warrior (2022 Remaster)
03 – World of Conflict (2022 Remaster)
04 – Destination Forever (2022 Remaster)
05 – Oceans (2022 Remaster)
06 – Tomorrow Can Wait (2022 Remaster)
07 – Pictured Life [Scorpions cover] (2022 Remaster)
08 – Firewind Raging (2022 Remaster)
09 – I Will Fight Alone (2022 Remaster)
10 – Northern Sky (2022 Remaster)
11 – Fire (2022 Remaster)
12 – Who Am I (2022 Remaster)
BONUS TRACKS:
13 – End of an Era (Japanese bonus track – 2022 Remaster)
14 – Fire (Demo Version – 2022 Remaster)
15 – Destination Forever (Demo Version – 2022 Remaster)
16 – Between Heaven and Hell (Live at UrRock Festival 2021)
FIREWIND (Gus G.) – Between Heaven and Hell (2022 Remaster+4 bonus)
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