Brother Firetribe- Diamond in the Firepit

It has been five years since the release of Brother Firetribe’s last album “Heart Full of Fire”, but now finally, the new opus from singer Pekka Heino Ansio from LEVERAGE fame and NIGHTWISH’s guitar maestro Emppu Vuorinen is complete.
The long wait has been caused by the members being heavily involved in other projects, so much so that people were beginning to wonder if “Diamond in the Firepit” would ever see the light of day.
If the mention of the name Emppu means you’re expecting symphonic metal then think again – this is very different from Nightwish and is actually melodic rock, certainly bordering on AOR and is very easy on the ears.
This new album isn’t much different from the first two, and why should it be, the band has moved on, though not by much, just enough in the right direction for me, let’s just say the band have grown. However I feel this is certainly a better release than their 2nd Album, it is more polished, more fluid and ultimately more rewarding.
“For better or for worse” is the first single and contains some great guitar work, from the guitar lead intro through to the heavier riffs in the main part of the song, this is a masterclass in Melodic/Aor songwriting, Mix in the soaring keyboards and strong vocals and this is a superb track.
“Desperately” by the very nature of the track title should be a ballad, and it is, the vocals are sung a little deeper, leaving the backing vocals to tie in with the track, another song that can be added to the list marked “Great AOR ballads”.
“Edge Of Forever“ just oozes class from every pore while “Hanging by a Thread” has so many layered backing vocals, you think there’s a choir in there somewhere.
It is very hard to find a weak track on this release, as they are all great, so I will pick a song that really stood out for me on this. “Winner takes it all” this is as near a perfect AOR track as you can get.
This is an absolutely superb album and one that all AOR/Melodic rock fans should definitely hear. I hope the Nightwish connection will encourage more people to check this band out, I also hope they do so with an open mind, as this is an outstanding record.

01. Intro
02. Love’s Not Enough
03. Far Away from Love
04. For Better or for Worse
05. Desperately
06. Edge Of Forever
07. Hanging by a Thread
08. Trail of Tears
09. Winner Takes It All
10. Tired of Dreaming
11. Reality Bites
12. Close To the Bone

www.facebook.com/brotherfiretribeofficial
Brother Firetribe are…
Vocals – Pekka Ansio Heino
Guitars – Emppu Vuorinen
Keyboards – Tomi Nikulainen
Bass/Backing vocals – Jason Flinck
Drums – Kalle Torniainen