Fireign - 2004 Promo
Self-released
Melodic Traditional/Thrash w/ harsh vocals
4 songs (16:27)
Release year: 2004
Fireign
Reviewed by Crims
Surprise of the month

It’s not every day you come across a Metal band from St. John’s, Newfoundland Canada, but here is Fireign. Formed in 2001, Fireign features Harry Clark (vocals, bass); Trevor Leonard (lead guitar); Brian King (rhythm guitar); and Dale Parsons (drums). So here in my hands is their 2004 promotional 4-song release that follows up their debut full-length, Valley Of Unrest released in 2002. I had read many a good thing about Fireign and after listening to this promo release I can see why.

Playing a combination of Traditional Heavy Metal and Melodic Thrash with harsh vocals, Fireign do have an interesting style that I can really only pin-point into sounding a little bit like Brimstone at times. Moving seamlessly from Iron Maiden styled riffs to melodic Thrash, Fireign do a good job of keeping things interesting. The guitars really command attention here because they have a classic feel that sounds updated, and not just rehashed from the 80’s; and the leads are no different. Whether they’re harmonized or explosive, the leads are very well placed and tend to be featured prominently near the end of most tracks after the vocal assault is finished with. Usually when melodic bands like these use harsh vocals it’s a cop-out because they probably couldn’t find a strong clean vocalist, but this is not the case here. Much like on Brimstone’s one and only release, Fireign features a strong mid-range harsh style that can still be understood from a lyrical standpoint. The phrasing also seems to be well thought out and in the end the vocals do a good job of adding to the music, however, to me the guitars are the main feature of the music here.

Making everything fit together is a solid production job that compliments the guitars and rhythm section quite nicely. The mix is adequate and I liked the approach to the guitar tone and sound, which sounds very classic but not dated. Furthermore, the rhythm section keeps up with the guitars as double bass, galloping bass, and Thrash runs are used most commonly. Interesting song writing doesn’t seem to be a problem for the band either. There is a good amount of change ups with the right amount of riffs and leads per song for a band that doesn’t seem to want to get overly technical and would prefer to keep things simple and to the point.

I love listening to bands like Fireign who take an 80’s approach to many facets of their sound but who also add updated influences like harsh vocals and the odd Melodic Death touch. Especially impressive is the fact that the band is still young and as far as I know is still independent. One can only hope Fireign will have the opportunity for the major Metal label treatment for a full-length in the near future, but even if that doesn’t come to pass I think they’ll continue to make enjoyable and to the point Metal.

Killing Songs :
Battle At North Point, Out Of The Dark, Misanthropy, Killer In The Night
Crims quoted no quote
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