Gotthard - Firebirth
Nuclear Blast
Hard Rock
13 songs (48'52)
Release year: 2012
Nuclear Blast
Reviewed by Chris
Major event

Tragedy struck Gotthard back in 2010, when a tragic traffic accident took the life of front man and talented vocalist Steve Lee, when he was realizing one of his lifelong dream which was to ride throughout the USA on his bike. While there are worse ways of dying than when you are realizing one of your dreams, it's still hit everyone who knew him hard, as well as fans worldwide as Gotthard was selling like crazy in iTunes after Steve's passing. Having been a long time fan of the band, I remember the sorrow and sadness I felt when I heard the news. And I guess like almost anyone I just kept listening to their records exclusively for a couple of weeks. Rest in peace, Steve, may you be in a better place now and thank you for the amazing music and vocal legacy you left behind. Not long ago I heard the band decided to continue to hold the Gotthard torch and after finding a new singer, the band went on to record a new album, titled Firebirth.

So first things first, the new singer, Swiss born Nic Maeder. After now quite a few listens, I can safely say I think he is fitting very well into the band, has vocals that aren't that far off of Steve's, and definitely the right kind of singer forthe bland of Hard-Rock the band is playing. So with that I was hoping for a killer album, and I'm afraid but that's not really the case. Firebirth is an okay album (one I hope will grow with more listens), but as the first with a new singer it doesn't really make an impression (or even impact) as I hoped it would. This is not to say that Gotthard's new album is bad, no, Gotthard isn't really able to release a bad album :). But this album is, probably too safe, not hard enough, and probably doesn't take any risks and the end result is a standard album, played fantastically by fine artists but there is something missing (magic maybe ?). The song-writing and the choruses are what I think the album is lacking in. I've been used to such powerful choruses doubled by amazing vocal melodies, but in Firebirth I get the feeling I'm listening to a few great songs but also a lot of them that make little to no impact, something I'm not used with Gotthard. But maybe it's just me as the band got into the top 10 in German charts and took 1st place in their (and my) homeland of Switzerland. So maybe I'm overly critical here but that's because I love this band so much. I think Nic is a great singer but, at least for now, he's not totally up to the task to completly fill Steve's shoes. That being said for his first album with the band he shows great hope for the future and I believe the band did the right choice to choose him as their new front man. Beside Remember It's Me that I find to be a true killer, I have a difficult time to find songs that really stick and grab me and make me ache for repeats of the album. And that's the problem, I've listened to the album 6-7 times, at first 3 times in a row, and then I let a week or at least a few days between repeats, but still the album hasn't grown much. The album closer and sorrowful ballad Where Are You is dedicated to Steve and is a truly beautiful song where Nic's voice is laid very well on top of classic guitar.

Now of course it might all be about expectations. I had high hopes and hoping Gotthard would actually top their previous album, at least in the form of the music, as I didn't know much what to expect from the singer until I heard him. Nic put those fears to rest quickly and after hearing him a few minutes I knew the band had made the right choice in this matter. It's on the quality of the songs and the lack of truly killer Gotthard tracks that my problem lies. Still, the album is fun and well played, maybe a bit too bluesy (though I'm not a specialist in this, so maybe what I think is bluesy is something else). While I can't exactly put my finger on it, the spark is missing, and while the overall album is still a good one, I still feel like it's a bit of a disappointment after killer albums like Need to Believe or Lip Service. Still a good album, it's just that it feels like it never really gets off the ground and fly high like it's predecessors. That and maybe it plays it a little too safe for my taste (and for it's own good). Still, I'm extremely glad Gotthard are still with us and I'm really looking forward to see what comes next, as I believe the next album will hold the answers to the doubts I currently have with Firebirth. Still, fans of the band will for sure enjoy this album and so they should !

Killing Songs :
Remember It's Me, Tell Me, The Story's Over, S.O.S, Take It All Back, I Can & Where Are You?
Chris quoted 70 / 100
Other albums by Gotthard that we have reviewed:
Gotthard - Need To Believe reviewed by Elias and quoted 90 / 100
Gotthard - Lip Service reviewed by Danny and quoted 97 / 100
Gotthard - Human Zoo reviewed by Danny and quoted 85 / 100
Gotthard - Homerun reviewed by Chris and quoted 91 / 100
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