Gus G. is only 43 years old! This caught me off guard big time. I had to stop and process this for a bit. I’m 49 years old myself, so I’m used to all of my guitar heroes being older than me. Chris Impellitteri, Jon Schafer, Dave Murray, EVH, Jimi, Leslie West, etc… So I had to think about it a bit.
I know that pretty much every virtuoso locked themselves in their rooms at 13 and didn’t come out until they graduated high school shredding. They put in their proverbial 10,000 hours in the furious, obsessive and sponge-like crucible that’s only possible during our youth. Still, Gus G. has done so much.
At just 20 years years old Mr. Karamitroudis laid down the beefy crunchy tones on Mystic Prophecy’s Vengeance. He then proceeded to be the guitarist on 11! more full albums by the time Firewind dropped their high-water-mark album Allegiance in 2006. Yes, 12 full-length heavy metal albums in just a four-year and 11-month window! This makes no mention of the various guest appearances he made in the meantime. I suppose I can be forgiven for imagining an older human being. Someone who’s rocked my inner ears that much just seems like they should be older than me.
The man and the band have been busy since then and that brings us to Stand United, Firewind’s 10th studio album and Gus G’s 23rd (I think). I must confess that Firewind lost me a bit after Allegiance. Maybe that was a function of Allegiance sounding so good to my ears and everything else being compared to that, or maybe – I’ve often wondered – Gus G. ran out of fresh ideas after his 5-year Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride start to his career? It’s not to say the post-Allegiance output was bad, or even average, but maybe average for Firewind?
Stand United has something to say about it. But first! What in the name of Sinbreed is Herbie Langhans doing in my Firewind album? Lol! It took me two-to-three listens to get used to his unique brand of Teutonic vocals in Firewind (yes I know he was with them on the previous album, but I’ve little experience with that one.) I’m a massive fan of his work with Sinbreed and Seventh Avenue, but this is Firewind.
Salvation Day kicks things off with everything you’d expect with these vets: Melody, shredding guitar, and Herbie’s gritty vocals. The keys are present. Tasty solos. The Firewind cake mix is Betty Crocker good. It’s a good start, if not great.
Then it gets great! Stand United comes thrashing out of the gates. Double bass, ripping riffs from Gus, and great vocal hooks and melodies from Herbie. This song sets you up to expect great things. The chorus is catchy: it sounds like the Firewind from the Aughts, with an extra dose of aggression.
Destiny is Calling keeps up the pace. It’s another up-tempo rocker with some understated keys layered in for your pleasure. It’s a perfectly good song, it fits on this album, but it is a bridge of sorts to what’s next…
It’s The Power Lies Within that really gets my blood pumping. My favorite Gus G. guitar tone and work is found on Dream Evil – The Book of Heavy Metal and this song has every bit of that crunch and tone. It’s more of a mid-tempo brawler, but as Ronnie James Dio and Vivian Campbell taught us with Dio, with the right talent mid-tempo can still cave your skull in. The vocals are outstanding, especially the very hooky call-and-response style vocals. Whew!
Come Undone has absolutely the most Firewindy swirly, twirly keyboard intro ever. Awesome, lol! This song could have found its way on any number of the Firewind albums from the 00’s. The riffs are engaging and keep you at the edge of your listening “seat” while the keys keep swirling underneath.
Fallen Angel keeps up the good work as it also cleaves close to the classic Firewind sound. Gus G. is showing off in particular on this one. His solos and riffing are as good as ever. You know, I might have to revisit the prior albums. This man seems to be an unlimited font of riffage and solos. Maybe it was a “me problem” with the post-Allegiance pre-Stand United albums? Maybe it was a season in my musical journey as I was exploring other metal branches? I don’t know. I do know this album has got my attention. Before I forget I want to give a shout-out to the drummer, Johan Nunez, who helps keep the rhythm driving forward and at times is the star, like in the afore-praised song Stand United. Drummers are like NFL lineman: you only notice them if they mess up or are really good. The fact that the drumming does stand out at times is a testament to Nunez’s skill.
Chains slow things down a bit. It’s a much more chill, soulful rocker. It’s not blistering nor is it particularly… anything. It’s somewhere between a power ballad and an arena rock song. Of the original material it’s easily the least interesting song to my ears. Gus G’s solo is nice, but somehow nothing else hooks me.
Land of Chaos shows off Gus G’s guitar tone acumen again. I don’t know why some songs highlight this more than others, but this one does. The riffing and drumming are this song. The total songwriting and the vocal melodies are not super interesting, but there’s a crunch to the guitar work, nice scale runs and a fury to Nunez’s drumming that saves the day. It is a furious rocker that ends with a particularly metallic flourish.
If you cover a song there are rules! #1 – You dare not. Lol. #2 – If you dare, you must pick the right song. #3 – Make it yours, but without utterly butchering the tune. Well, Firewind broke rules #1 and #2 by covering… The Romantics’ – Talking in Your Sleep. Heh? Come again? They did an okay job of putting their spin on it, but it just isn’t a good song to metalize. Warning! Your mileage may vary. Maybe you’ll love this rendition.
Fear not, the boys end things on a high note. Days of Grace is another mid-tempo crusher with outstanding vocals. Gus G is his normal virtuoso and his solos, riffs and hooks are all in place and excellent, but it’s Herbie’s vocals that get me. They are so different from his normal delivery that I kept listening over and over to make sure they were his. He sounds soulful and sincere. It’s a great ending to a very good album.
It took me about three listens to stop thinking of this as Sinbreed with Gus G. and instead think of this as Firewind with Herbie Langhans. It is most certainly Firewind and it’s a very good representation of their talents; honed for over twenty years now. I can recommend this easily to Firewind fans, power metal fans, melodic metal fans and fans of any of the prior work these men were involved with.
Scott’s Score – 8.5/10
Pre-Order: https://firewind.bfan.link/stand-united
Stand United track listing:
01 – Salvation Day
02 – Stand United
03 – Destiny is Calling
04 – The Power Lies Within
05 – Come Undone
06 – Fallen Angel
07 – Chains
08 – Land of Chaos
09 – Talking in Your Sleep
10 – Days of Grace
FIREWIND is:
Gus G. (guitars)
Herbie Langhans (vocals)
Petros Christo (bass)
Jo Nunez (drums)
For More Info Visit:
www.firewind.gr
www.facebook.com/firewindofficial
www.instagram.com/firewindofficial
www.afm-records.de
