Saffire
From Ashes to Fire
Inner Wound Recordings
2013
Saffire is a swedish rock/metal band that took shape in 2006 and made a name for themselves as a powerful live band pretty quickly. After the release of three demos it was time to make a full length album; its name is “From Ashes to Fire”.
In the band’s opinion, “From Ashes to Fire” features 13 songs that are perfect for any Rainbow, Dio or Whitesnake fan. I on the other hand think they unjustly limit themselves too much. It is more than clear that the album was mixed at Studio Fredman (At The Gates, In Flames, Hammerfall) and mastered by Jens Bogren (Symphony X, Opeth, Kreator). Therefore, the sound is not as old-fashioned as Dio, Whitesnake and so on. At some points it actually kinda reminded me of bands like Corrosion of Conformity (the introduction of “End of the World” for example) and/or Hinder. And that is where my problem with the album lies.
I think that the clash of the heavy rock 90s-00s sound with the 80’s metal one, was not a successful one. Please don’t get me wrong. I absolutely enjoyed the album (I’ve actually heard it 3 times already and will probably listen to it many times again) because I’m a child of the 90s and a fan of good 80’s metal. I mean, what’s not to like? Hinder-like guitar riffs mixed with old-school Judas Priest influenced vocals, shrilling guitar solos ala Randy Roads and the occasional 80s Europe-sounding keyboards. I appreciate the effort and it could have produced a really interesting result, but the changes between the two genres were a bit abrupt most of the times.
In the band’s opinion, “From Ashes to Fire” features 13 songs that are perfect for any Rainbow, Dio or Whitesnake fan. I on the other hand think they unjustly limit themselves too much. It is more than clear that the album was mixed at Studio Fredman (At The Gates, In Flames, Hammerfall) and mastered by Jens Bogren (Symphony X, Opeth, Kreator). Therefore, the sound is not as old-fashioned as Dio, Whitesnake and so on. At some points it actually kinda reminded me of bands like Corrosion of Conformity (the introduction of “End of the World” for example) and/or Hinder. And that is where my problem with the album lies.
I think that the clash of the heavy rock 90s-00s sound with the 80’s metal one, was not a successful one. Please don’t get me wrong. I absolutely enjoyed the album (I’ve actually heard it 3 times already and will probably listen to it many times again) because I’m a child of the 90s and a fan of good 80’s metal. I mean, what’s not to like? Hinder-like guitar riffs mixed with old-school Judas Priest influenced vocals, shrilling guitar solos ala Randy Roads and the occasional 80s Europe-sounding keyboards. I appreciate the effort and it could have produced a really interesting result, but the changes between the two genres were a bit abrupt most of the times.
In conclusion, I found real potential in Saffire and I think that “From Ashes to Fire” is a well-made album with some really good songs (I have singled out “Kingdom of the Blind”, “What If” and “A Symphony Unheard”). I truly believe that if they keep up the work, they will find a way to combine all the types of music they so clearly love. It is obvious that they have the knowledge, the skills and the energy to do so. I’m already looking forward to their next album.