Customer Reviews

Blind Fire

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Having first heard Leverage vocalist Pekka Heino plying his trade for the wonderful Emppu Vuorinen side project Brother Firetribe. And therefore decided to give Leverage a listen.

All up Leverage play a fairly non distinct but nicely accomplished hard rock that is driven along by the usual Euro combination of drums/guitars/keyboards while Pekka (not a name that travels well) croons smoothly over the top with his mid range voice that also seems to be able to wander up the register at will and with control. As such the band can and do address a few different speeds, such as the somewhat lumbering Sentenced. In terms of direct comparison with Brother Firetribe - which given that a chunk of their sales will probably come from Pekkas' association with that band is a valid thing - well let's state simply that Leverage are a somewhat more serious band, less attention given to super lush Foreigner/Journey/Styx keyboard deluges. There is less tongue in cheek preening and the production is also less ornate and the guitarists are allowed to add a few mro metallic tints to the mix. If anything what this album lacks is a certain star quality, some indefinable character to push it into the buttock kicking category.

If you enjoy straight ahead hard rock of a reliable nature that doesn't dabble into `weird' sub genres then this may be for you. If you like the two Brother Firetribe albums released thus far (as I write) then you really would do well to give this a spin. Otherwise there isn't a lot of reason to buy this album as opposed to any of a dozen other of their competitors who are all playing around the same average quality wise. But then that's not a reason NOT to buy it either... it's all gonna depend on your budget.

This is way better than the first cd!!!The first cd; 'Tides' was rather dull and way overrated. 'Blind fire' gets it right,better melody, solos,volcals,production,and most of all songwriting.I heard this cd first and was very impressed.But I saw raving reviews for the "superior" Tides ,so I couldn't wait to get it,but when I heard Tides, I was a bit dissapointed.Don't buy the hype get Blind Fire first.The sound reminds me of a Dark progressive Tyketto AOR cd,which is really cool.Like Danny Vaughn singing for Vanden Plas.Or maybe Survivor gone prog-metal. Recomended!!

I bought this one after hearing "Sentenced" on the band's myspace page. That song was good enough to make the purchase, and I was not disappointed. This is the best album I've heard in at least 2-3 years, and alot of that is due to Pekka Heino's amazing vocals. Comparisons to Jorn are apt although Pekka doesn't sound like him, just has that star quality. This is melodic heavy metal at it's finest, but that doesn't do this release justice. These guys have confidence that makes you think this is the band's 4th or 5th album, not their second. Stadium sized choruses are all over the place, and these guys are definitely proud of them. Lyrics are not an afterthought, but actually convey a story, and aren't in mangled English. Buy this cold, you won't be disappointed.

Leverage has found a balance between the primal and the progressive and wrapped it in a melodic rock package. "Sentenced" is an absolute classic! I cannot say enough about how they really have hit the nail on the head for tying these elements together. I don't want to give the wrong impression, but in comparison the closest well known band I can name that combined hard rock with keys, soaring vocals and prog elements and retained their edge was Kansas in their heyday. No, Leverage songs are not all that similar to many Kansas tunes, but Kansas knew how to remain a kick ass hard rock band and still "compose" a song (listen to "Masque" and "Leftoverture"). BTW, check out singer Pekka Heino's other band Brother Firetribe, featuring Emppu Vuorinen from Nightwish on guitar. It's lighter on the prog and heavier on the vocals, but still rocks.

Leverage, a new band from Finland, is probably best classified as melodic hard rock. Their music also incorporates some progressive metal elements. While they readily acknowledge the early Rainbow albums as an influence, they have their own style, reminiscent in places of the English band Threshold. They favor dense instrumental backgrounds, with dual guitars and prominent keyboards. The mid-range vocals are rather melodramatic, and some of the choruses sound nearly operatic. The songwriting is for the most part quite good, and significantly better than on their earlier CD, Tides. This is a solid, competent effort.

2008's Blind Fire is the second release from Finnish metal band Leverage. It's hard to classify a band like Leverage that mixes elements of progressive metal and melodic rock and has as much in common with Threshold and Vanden Plas as they do From the Inside and Brother Firetribe (which also features Pekka Heino on vocals). I guess the term "melodic metal" will have to suffice.

Leverage is essentially what Threshold would sound like if Danny Vaughn was their vocalist. Now, Leverage isn't as progressive as Threshold, and Heino isn't quite the singer Vaughn is (though he has a hell of a voice), but you get the general idea. The songs average 5 minutes in length and stick to a middle of the road, not too heavy, not over-the-top catchy style. They're very dense, very melodic, and have plenty of keyboards and some impressive vocal harmonies. This may be Heino's best performance to date.

If you're a fan of any of the bands mentioned above (or better yet, all of them), you'll want to check out Leverage, and Blind Fire is the best album to start with. It's not proggy enough for progressive metal purists, and is probably too proggy for AOR purists, but I think the mix of styles works very well, and am guessing fans of either genre will enjoy Blind Fire quite a lot.

These guys can't do any wrong. A lot of emotion and killer riffs. I just wish there were more bands like this in the USA, but I guess we are forced to accept the Jonas Bros BS. For those of you that are looking for real music......look no further than LEVERAGE.

"Blind Fire" is the second album by Finnish hard rock band "Leverage" originally issued by "Frontiers Records" in 2008. The line up is built around "Brother Firetribe" lead singer Pekka Heino featuring guitarist Tuomas Heikkinen and Torsti Spoof ("The Magnificent"), bassist Pekka Lampinen, drummer Valtteri Revonkorpi and keyboardist Marko Niskala.

Ever since their debut, "Leverage" brought to front their own brand of symphonic melodic hard rock. For that matter their musical approach is indeed simple but very effective. You can expect straightforward yet ever-present guitar parts, complemented by tasteful orchestral arrangements which, in turn, harmonize perfectly with Pekka's lead vocals.

It has to be mentioned that "Blind Fire" is written single handedly (with a few exceptions) by guitarist Heikkinen who, never the less, crafts songs in such a way that all six members shine on each and every song on the album; though perhaps the most lasting effect is delivered by Heino's stellar vocal performance. Subsequently in good "Leverage" tradition, "Blind Fire" features no short amount of standout songs, "King of the night", "Stormchild", "Hellhorn" and "Mr Universe" all highlights in the band's catalogue.

In retrospect "Leverage" would come to surpass the artistic level of "Blind Fire" with their breathtaking follow up "Circus Colossus", still "Blind Fire" proved another step up the ladder of rock recognition bringing them even closer to their ideal sound.