Premonition

Firewind | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 25, 2008)
• Original Release Date: 2008
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Century Media
• ASIN: B00140GXJW
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #12,248 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #6 in Music > World Music > Europe > Continental Europe > Greece

Editorial Reviews

There is an unstoppable force exploding out of Greece that is sure to satisfy all of the needs and desires of any fan of heavy music with its powerful, epic Metal assault, melodic hooks and bombastic guitarwork. This phenomenon is better known as Firewind, led by the young guitar sensation Gus G. (ex-Dream Evil, Nightrage, Mystic Prophecy, Arch Enemy), who recently turned heads with his stunning "Betcha Can't Play This" feature in Guitar World, and whose signature ESP guitar , already a best-seller in Japan, where he's revered as a guitar hero. Firewind developed a loyal underground fanbase with Between Heaven and Hell (2002) and Burning Earth (2003), but quickly caught the entire metal community's attention with 2005's Forged In Fire.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Firewind's best, and a power metal must-have, March 12, 2010

By 

Justin Gaines (Northern Virginia) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Premonition (Audio CD)

2008's The Premonition is the fifth album from Greek power metal band Firewind. Firewind, of course, is a side project of Dream Evil, Nightrage, Mystic Prophecy and now Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Gus G. The Premonition is the first Firewind album recorded by a relatively stable lineup, and the result is the band's best effort yet.

Firewind started to move beyond the power metal formula with 2006's Allegiance, and with this album the band became a leader in the genre, not a follower. The Premonition is what you get when you have a seasoned group of musicians with real chemistry and an insane amount of talent. It's completely heavy, completely powerful and full of great melodies, amazing musicianship, dynamite vocals (Apollo Papathanasio has never sounded better), pristine production and some extremely well-written songs. Everything seems to gel here. I think it helps that Gus G's solos seem more like part of the songs and not just an exercise in technicality.

I'd rank The Premonition alongside the best albums by Brainstorm, Tad Morose, Mob Rules and Symphorce as the best the melodic power metal genre has to offer. Listen to "Into the Fire," "Angels Forgive Me" and "Life Foreclosed" and you'll see what I mean. Hell, even the band's version of the Flashdance theme song "Maniac" is pretty epic, and that's saying something!

As much as I loved Allegiance, The Premonition is easily the best Firewind album, and one of the best power metal albums I've heard in a long time. If you only buy one Firewind album, this is the one to get. Hopefully Ozzy won't keep Gus so busy that he can't get the guys together for a follow-up album.

PS - I caught Firewind live in 2008 at the ProgPower USA IX festival and they were amazing.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great album after a couple of spins., April 17, 2008

By 

teahead (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Premonition (Audio CD)

I think this is a good follow-up to "The Allegiance". Although there are only 10 tracks on this one, they are strong, well-written, and do the job. The first spin may not leave you impressed, but after a couple more times through the record, you'll really dig it.

Vocals = 5/5. Great job on the vocals by Apollo. Nice and heavy, but at the same time melodic. Again, sounds like a mix of Roy Khan and Geoff Tate.

Guitar work = 5/5. Amazing guitar work by Gus, as usual. What a talented musician.

Production = 4.5/5. Nice, clean, non-distorted.

Length of solos and songs = 4/5. As a solo junkie, I found myself wishing for a few longer solos...but this may not be an issue to others. Songs are about 4 minutes long on average.

Overall = 4.5/5. Great album that you can listen to anywhere. This band is very talented and I would love to see them Live if they ever come here to the US.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not as good as the last album...., March 26, 2008

By 

David Falzano (Boston, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Premonition (Audio CD)

Firewind is a band that I discovered sometime a year ago & they were one of the bands that got me to get into power metal more than ever in recent years. Most of their albums are great ('Burning Earth' was OK) & their last one 'Allegiance' was AWESOME, but unfortunately after coming off an excellent album such as the latter, they didn't come through this time like I hoped that they would. 'The Premonition' definitely has the sound & excellent production of 'Allegiance' but the songs are not as good. I would say there are a few cool ones but that's about it. Maybe after a few listens I will appreciate it more but it definitely could have been better. Stand out tracks are "Mercenary Man," "Angels Forgive Me," "My Loneliness," & "Life Foreclosed."