Firewind's fourth album also has their third vocalist, this time Time Requiem's (he's also had moments with other acts) Apostolos Papathanasio, as well as new drummer Mark Cross (also with various bands in the past, including Helloween). Even by heavy metal standards, this had been an unsteady line-up, but Gus G wanted to finally stabilise things, and he saw that getting it more Greek might be a way to establish that (Cross is English, but was living in Greece at the time), and he was to be quite successful in that regard, except for the drummer's chair, which still kept finding new sittees.
The immediate result is their best album to date. Firewind has, so far, impressed me, without holding me in awe, and while
Allegiance is not earth-shatteringly amazing, it's certainly really good at what it does - that being strong power metal of the mid-tempo, occasionally fast style. "Ready To Strike", "Breaking The Silence" (with additional, female vocals from Tara Teresa, a singer I'm not familiar with), "Dreamchaser" and the concluding "Where Do We Go From Here?" are highlights, but the whole endeavour has a life and power that makes this most enjoyable.
***1/2
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