SPIRITS OF FIRE "Spirits Of Fire"

SPIRITS OF FIRE

"Spirits Of Fire"

If metal bands were ranked and judged like dogs at fancy dog shows, Spirits Of Fire would win "Best In Show" hands down due to their pedigree. Consider the metallic breeding of bass messiah Steve DiGiorgio, lead guitar phenom Chris Caffery, drum wizard Mark Zonder and oh yeah, a vocalist named Ripper who has sang lead for a few bands you may have heard of. With this pure of a bloodline, there's no way Spirits of Fire should fail.

I can't say that this self-titled debut doesn't have some awe-inspiring moments, but there is definitely room for improvement. The bar is set very high for this bunch and that adds some pressure as well. The band sounds much like I thought it would, a high energy alloy of Judas Priest, Iced Earth and even a little Fates Warning. The first track "Light Speed Marching" is so much like "Painkiller" era Judas Priest, you'll do a doubletake. But as it progresses, it develops more of its own identity with subtle changes in riff and tempo. I'll get right to it...Chris Caffery shreds like a motherfucker throughout the album and surely earns his guitar hero status. For years he played with the great Criss Oliva in Savatage and maybe took a back seat to him, but with the performance he unleashes here, he doesn't have to stand in anybody's shadow. There are several moments here when a ripping Caffery solo elevates a song to a higher level.

There are several notable moments here. The straight ahead rifferama of "Stand And Fight" is pure metallic joy. "It's Everywhere" and "A Game" show some progression and unexpected moments, as they start in more of a hard rock mode before becoming heavier and even thrashy, with some great Caffery leads. But there's some disappointment, too. "Meet your End" and "Never To Return" are very average and the final ballad "Alone In the Darkness" tosses a wet blanket on the album. The middle section of "The Path' is inspiring but the beginning and end sections are strictly metal ballad by the numbers territory..

Caffery's flashy guitar dominates but everybody else delivers, too. Ripper is always great...a bad note has never escaped his mouth. And a careful listen to the bass/drum interplay between DiGiorgio and Zonder reveals some gems. But there's plenty of room for growth here. If this were a debut by unknowns, it would be amazing. But Spirits of Fire can do more. And I'm sure they will, if they manage to stick together.

FRONTIERS RECORDS

SPIRITS OF FIRE