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│ METAL CLASSICS ARCHIVE │
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│ P R E S E N T S │
│ │
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│ + Spirits Of Fire - Spirits Of Fire-(KICP-1971) + │
│ │
│ │
│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Information ║ │
│╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Release Date.Mar-03-2019 Encoder......L3.98.4 -V0 --lowpas ║ │
│║ Genre........Heavy Metal Graber.......EAC ║ │
│║ Year.........2019 Khz/Bitrate..44,1/ Br ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Ripper.......anthem Songs........12 ║ │
│║ Covers.......Yes Url... n/a ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │
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│ │
│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Notes ║ │
│╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Artist : Spirits Of Fire Rating : You Decide! ║ │
│║ Album : Spirits Of Fire-(KICP-1971) Label : King ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Description : ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ When Tim ôRipperö Owens released his solo album ║ │
│║ Play My Game in 2010, the only song with any ║ │
│║ real staying power was its closer, ôThe Shadows ║ │
│║ are Alive.ö It was a dark but lovably cheesy ║ │
│║ number elevated by the writing of former ║ │
│║ Savatage/TSO guitarist Chris Caffery. The ║ │
│║ prospect of the pair working again on a full- ║ │
│║ time project brought intrigue that only grew ║ │
│║ with the recruitment of such names as producer ║ │
│║ Roy Z, drummer Mark Zonder, and bassist Steve ║ │
│║ DiGiorgio. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ On the flip side, I had some trepidation ║ │
│║ regarding how Spirits of Fire would turn out. ║ │
│║ The RipperÆs track record has not been the best ║ │
│║ lately and recent interviews focusing on his ║ │
│║ financial motivations as a career musician ║ │
│║ suggested this would just be another notch in a ║ │
│║ long line of phoned in, hired gun metal ║ │
│║ projects. To my shock and relief, Spirits of ║ │
│║ FireÆs debut album avoids such a fate thanks to ║ │
│║ some honest to gods focus. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ As one would hope from such an assembly, the ║ │
│║ musicianship is stellar. CafferyÆs guitar leads ║ │
│║ the charge, exerting sweeping chugs through a ║ │
│║ crunchy tone and flamboyant leads that are sure ║ │
│║ to trigger associations with Savatage, Judas ║ │
│║ Priest, and Yngwie Malmsteen. The rhythm section ║ │
│║ is also rock solid; you certainly wonÆt see the ║ │
│║ overt technicality or off the wall flash we all ║ │
│║ know Zonder and DiGiorgio are capable of, but ║ │
│║ the drums pack a strong punch while the bass is ║ │
│║ always felt loud and clear. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ The songwriting also demonstrates a hefty amount ║ │
│║ of effort. The melodies are varied, the pacing ║ │
│║ is energetic, and the vocal lines are the most ║ │
│║ developed that Ripper has sung in nearly a ║ │
│║ decade. The bandÆs title song serves as the ║ │
│║ albumÆs first curveball thanks to its Dio-style ║ │
│║ groove, ôA Gameö is an ambitious albeit preachy ║ │
│║ almost ballad, ôMeet Your Endö is a bouncy ║ │
│║ shuffle, and IÆm pretty sure they snuck Jon ║ │
│║ Oliva into the studio for the dead on Gutter ║ │
│║ Ballet emulation of ôNever to Return.ö ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Alas, the production threatens to diminish the ║ │
│║ albumÆs power. A degree of polish is to be ║ │
│║ expected at this caliber, but the mix is ║ │
│║ incredibly claustrophobic and excessively ║ │
│║ echoed. RipperÆs voice in particular sounds ║ │
│║ severely muffled and while the near-exclusive ║ │
│║ use of his higher register fits the material, ║ │
│║ songs like the otherwise decent ôTemple of the ║ │
│║ Soulö come out underwhelming. Beefier tones and ║ │
│║ greater emphasis on lower vocals mightÆve offset ║ │
│║ this, but IÆm just imagining how much stronger ║ │
│║ this wouldÆve been if somebody like Jim Morris ║ │
│║ or John Comprix had been involved from the get- ║ │
│║ go. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Spirits of FireÆs debut isnÆt quite the dream ║ │
│║ album that sixteen-year-old me wouldÆve clamored ║ │
│║ for, but itÆs better than expected from what ║ │
│║ seemed to be another hastily engineered ║ │
│║ Frontiers supergroup. I canÆt remember the last ║ │
│║ time I heard any of the involved musicians sound ║ │
│║ this lively. They all work well together, ║ │
│║ bursting with energy and backed by surprisingly ║ │
│║ purposeful songwriting. There are some rough ║ │
│║ edges that need ironed out, but I really hope ║ │
│║ Ripper and co. can put in the investment to make ║ │
│║ this a truly successful entity. ItÆs sure as ║ │
│║ hell more worthwhile than The Three Tremorsà ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Review written by Twisted_Psychology for ║ │
│║ www.indymetalvault.com ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Tim "Ripper" Owens - Vocals ║ │
│║ Steve DiGiorgio - Bass ║ │
│║ Chris Caffery - Guitars ║ │
│║ Mark Zonder - Drums ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Tracklist ║ │
│╚═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════ │
│ │
│ 01 - Light Speed Marching [04:31] │
│ 02 - Temple Of The Soul [06:24] │
│ 03 - All Comes Together [05:46] │
│ 04 - Spirits Of Fire [06:44] │
│ 05 - It┤s Everywhere [05:24] │
│ 06 - A Game [07:20] │
│ 07 - Stand And Fight [03:55] │
│ 08 - Meet You End [05:09] │
│ 09 - Never To Return [04:28] │
│ 10 - The Path [07:17] │
│ 11 - Alone In The Darkness [05:56] │
│ 12 - It┤s Everywhere (Acoustic Version) (Bonus [05:00] │
│ │
│ Total Length : [67:54 minn │
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│ ╔═════════════════════╗ │
│ ║ Greetings To: ║ │
│ ╚═════════════════════╝ │
│ │
│ Too all people who contributes to make this │
│ archive of good music in a exceptional conditions │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│■ ■│
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