Do you have a craving for catchy AOR-tinted power metal with sing-along choruses? If your answer's yes, then you might want to give a listen to Greek melodic metal group Firewind, which nowadays sounds pretty much like a modern-day version of Whitesnake - just give a listen to Ready to Strike with its "we're ready to strike/across the oceans/in the dead of the night" chorus ;)

Allegiance is the fourth album by this group, and with their new revamped line-up Firewind is stronger than ever before. One of the most notable changes is the new vocalist, Apollo Papathanasio. I still remember being struck by his vocal performance back when he sang in Majestic. While this group got somewhat buried in the mass of other acts in the past, they nowadays hold the keys for greater success. The material is fairly diverse, and there are even some surprising tracks like the atmospheric "Breaking the Silence" featuring Swedish-based singer/songwriter Tara, whose vibrato is a joy to listen.

The production on this record is good with one exception - I really can't stand the overly sizzly cymbals. In addition, slight background distortion leaks into the mix at times. Regardless, the sounds are otherwise really apt for the music. All in all, Firewind's Allegiance is definitely worth checking out, in case one listens to melodic hard rock and metal.

Release date: July 24th, 2006

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- MAGE (July 23rd, 2006)

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LINE-UP:
Cross, Mark: Drums Papathanasio, Apollo: Vocals G., Gus: Guitars Christo, Petros: Bass Katsionis, Bob: Keyboards with Tara: Vocals on "Breaking the Silence"
Producer:	Unavailable
Mixing by:	Nordström, Fredrik
Mastering by:	in de Betou, Peter

	TRACKLIST:
	01. Allegiance 02. Insanity 03. Falling to Pieces 04. Ready to Strike 05. Breaking the Silence (Feat. Tara) 06. Deliverance 07. Till the End of Time 08. Dreamchaser 09. Before the Storm 10. The Essence 11. Where Do We Go from Here? Length: 48:43