Wow, has it been ten years since Between Heaven and Hell? Back in the day, Firewind grabbed a lot of attention for being a band that dared to mix in a lot of hard rock sounds and made it work because they had so much energy, plus the undeniable prowess of guitar-man Gus G has always been able to sail them past a lot of objections. Now, seven albums in, they are clearly out of steam.
G's playing is tight, clean, and flat as a pancake, with no enthusiasm or vibrancy left anymore. The songs are all by-the-numbers collections of bland riffs and songwriting clichés, and the vocal lines are total pop garbage. Here and there a cool moment or lick will pop up, but it's like the band has no idea what they are trying to do anymore. Even one listen through this bland-a-thon without a lot of skipping is a chore, as the songs are all pretty much interchangeable, and all so very uninteresting.
