SAFFIRE – From Ashes To Fire (2013)
The guys from Gottenburg, Sweden based band SAFFIRE used to play commercial rock and covers at their home town during the last decade when they decided to reach back their roots of ’70s and ’80s influences.
After many years developing a style they were ready to debut on CD with “From Ashes To Fire”.
Saffire’s musical delivery is quite interesting, blending classic Hard Rock and Progressive with a modern approach. The music is built over strong guitar riffs mixed with old-school influenced vocals, shrilling guitar solos and some occasional ’80s Scandi-sounding keyboards.
The songs are well-crafted and varied depending upon a solid rock groove, melodies, and hooks in both lyrics and arrangements to propel them. Several good examples of this come with “Magnolia”, “Freedom Call” and “The Betrayer’s Fate”. The latter two also shows the fine keyboard placement occurring in all the songs.
While the Hard Rock vibe is ever present, Saffire offers a lot more than that. Sure there is the occasional cowbell, the too-present tambourine, straight riffs, Hammond organ at places, but there is also a sense of something more.
For instance, the group easily blurs the line between hard rock and metal with heavier numbers like “Kingdom of the Blind” and “Paralyzed”. But their edge is never oppressive or too heavy, always relying on good melodies to move them.
The first time I heard “A Symphony Unheard” immediately thought it sounded a lot like early Styx, especially the verses. This, though, is where the Progressive side of the band seems to emerge, as well with “Modus Vivendi”, more late seventies oriented. “End Of The World” then mix Hard with a bluesy vibe and some Savatage attitude. The guys are not afraid to experiment with styles and this is a good thing.
The two ballads are quite solid; “What If” in a very modern style featuring a melodious solo, while the midtempo “She Remains a Mystery” is the opposite, a Rainbow inspired tune, calm and with and open instrumentation.
Saffire presents themselves to the hard rock community with a strong debut combining many types of genres.
This does not meaning they jump between them from song to song, they blend all together and the result is cohesive and interesting for the most part. During some tracks the pace changes several times with clever switching between keyboards and guitars supported by a groovy rhythm section. Singer Tobbe Jansson provides smooth vocals in the classic way which mid-range fits well all the material on offer.
Despite the varied influences, the music in “From Ashes To Fire” sounds really homogeneous altogether, well produced and always interesting.
Very good debut.
01. Magnolia
02. Kingdom of the Blind
03. Freedom Call
04. End of the World
05. What If
06. A Symphony Unheard
07. Paralyzed
08. Modus Vivendi
09. The Betrayer’s Fate
10. She Remains a Mystery
11. Say Goodbye
12. The Redemption
13. Stormy Waters
Tobbe Jansson – Vocals
Victor Olsson – Guitars
Dino Zuzic – Keyboards
Magnus Carlsson – Bass
Anton Roos – Drums
BUY IT !
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