Fireborn: Reflections

Having previously made an impact under the name Dislike Silence, a rethink finds this German five-piece releasing their debut album Reflections as Fireborn and, it has to be said, with a rather striking cover. Just as hard hitting is the lead track, “Young Heart Dies�, which reveals the band’s singer Jenny Gruber to be a real powerhouse landing somewhere between that classic Doro roar and the snarl of Lzzy Hale. The song itself attacks with similar verve, even if you already have the feeling that you might just have heard it all before. Now, in the world of metal (and music in general) that’s hardly the most unusual thing, and it has to be said that the guitar pairing of Flo and Dennis riff up a storm on the likes of “Proud And Ashamed� and the more nuanced “Ferryman�. However, as you traverse the 14 songs on Reflections a couple of issues begin to come into play, the first of which being that from song to song, while nothing here is bad, very little really stands out from the crowd. That is then compounded by the second problem - namely that reaffirming that first niggle across quite so many songs lessens the impact of what is otherwise a reasonably fine album.

Whether it’s the razor-buzz guitars of “Punchline� or the slower paced “Angel In Need� you can’t quite shake off the notion that the main focal point quickly becomes Jenny’s voice, and while this young lady is a talent and then some, asking her to carry quite so many indistinct songs becomes a tall order. I can’t help but think that if this collection of classic German metal, but with a more modern tinge, had been a short, sharp six track EP that I’d have been raving about it. As it is, while a couple of songs do suggest that there’s some real talent in the Fireborn ranks, burying it quite so deeply within this many songs seriously lessens their force.

Track Listing
1. Young Heart Dies

2. As Long As I Love You

3. Angel In Need

4. The Eye Of A Hurricane

5. Deep Blue Water

6. Proud And Ashamed

7. Guide You Home

8. Pack Of Wolves

9. You Seem So Far

10. Ferryman

11. Punchline

12. Malicious Rose

13. Done With You


14. Set Off

Added: February 7th 2024
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: Fireborn online
Hits: 273
Language: english

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