FIREFORCE – Annihilate the Evil (Album Review)

A hefty slab of Belgian power metal found within! Not knowing anything about Fireforce prior to receiving this album for review, I suspected its contents based on cover art. Always a lover of medieval and fantasy since my younger days, the dragon attacking a Viking warship appealed to me visually. A collection of rippingly thunderous power metal anthems await discovery within. Upon reading the included bio sheet in the press kit I found them to be classed as Combat Power Metal. I really am a little sick of all these ridiculous subgenres and classifications of metal, but that doesn’t take away from the product. Fireforce‘s Annihilate the Evil became available in early October courtesy of Limb Music.

Fireforce came to fruition in 2008 resulting from the demise of the band Double Diamond. Despite going through some lineup changes throughout their tenure as the benchmark Belgian power metal band, Fireforce has created and issued March On (2011) and Deathbringer (2014) ahead of Annihilate the Evil. Recorded in Kempten’s Prophecy & Music Factory Studios under the guidance of Christian Schmid and R.D. Liapakis (Mystic Prophecy), the album promises a heaping of old-school power metal. The wicked cover art was supplied by Uwe Jarling.

FIREFORCE – Annihilate the Evil

We get underway with album opener “The Boys From Down Under”. Not my fave cut by any means and I don’t think it’s the best choice for the introduction, personally. But what do I know? The band and record label are obviously behind the composition since it comes complete with an official video. For me, the next three tracks in succession are what sealed the deal on Annihilate the Evil. A more accessible groove can be found in “Revenge In Flames”, the kind that you find rolling in your brain days later. “Fake Hero” has an identifiable chorus that is surely a fist-pumper during live shows. The trinity of my fave three cuts culminates in “Dog Soldiers”. Another shout it out chorus drives the track forward.

But Annihilate the Evil doesn’t quit there! The next seven compositions are all meaty power metal brimming with soaring solos, double bass drumming, and high register vocals. The final track of Annihilate the Evil‘s twelve is a CD bonus cover of The Rolling Stones‘ “Gimme Shelter”. The well-known song receives the Fireforce touch sounding fresh in this incarnation.

If you consider yourself a fan of the power metal genre, then you best acquaint yourself with Fireforce! Check out the video below for “The Boys From Down Under” and pick up the album through the Amazon link if you enjoy. Me? I’m off to hunt down my copy of Deathbringer.

BUY: Annihilate the Evil