Brother Firetribe is an AOR band from Finland was founded in 2002 and includes in its ranks Emppu Vuorinen, guitarist of symphonic metal titans Nightwish . If you’re not familiar with the music of Brother Firetribe, the sound is far removed from the operatic metal style of Nightwish and instead is influenced by the 80’s AOR arena rock of bands like Journey, Sammy Hagar era Van Halen, and Bon Jovi. The music is a combination of hook laden melodic rock with huge anthemic choruses.
The band is set to release its fourth album titled Sunbound on March 23, 2017 through Spinefarm Records. After several spins of the album, the music reminds me of the feel good rock of the 1980’s. In fact, listening to tracks such the hard rocking Help Is On The Way, Night Ranger-esque Indelible Heroes, and the inspirational Big City Dream, to this reviewers ears it sounds like the long lost soundtrack to one of Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky films and performed by Survivor. One could almost picture a sweaty training montage of Rocky Balboa and Apollo Creed while listening to the pulsing beat of anthemic lead single Taste of A Champion.
But the question comes down to, is it good? The answer to that is yes, if your musical tastes are rooted in the era of Steve Perry, The Cold War, Aquanet hairspray, and shoulder pad enhanced clothing. This is not a knock on Brother Firetribe at all. The musical talent and catchiness of the songs on Sunbound is undeniable. Does it work throughout the entire album? Not always, the cheese factor can be pretty high but it is an enjoyable and fun listen for the most part. Fans of Brother Firetribe will undoubtedly love this release and for listeners who are new to the band but enjoy melodic AOR, Brother Firetribe may be your new favorite band.
Brother Firetribe is :
Pekka Ansio Heino– lead vocals | Tomi Nikulainen– keyboards| Emppu Vuorinen– guitar | | Jason Flinck – bass& harmony vocals | Hannes Pirilä – drums
No Comments