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BONFIRE “Higher Ground”
BONFIRE “Higher Ground”
By Colonel Angus
BONFIREwas one of those bands that I would see constantly in Kerrang! and Metal Hammer magazine. Back in the 80s before the internet, those metal rags were my lifeline to all sorts of new music. By 1986, I had moved onto heavier music and my ears were being pummeled with the likes of METALLICA, SLAYER, and other thrash bands. When I finally got around to checking out BONFIRE, they were a little too lightweight for my tastes at the times. I did hear a number of their albums throughout the 80s and 90s but admittedly, I didn’t really sit down and listen to them. They were always in the background while doing something else so to be fair, I really didn’t give them much of a chance.
Now that I have been your humble scribe for Wormwood Chronicles for quite a number of years, these bands get my full and uninterrupted attention. As I sit here and write this review after multiple spins of “Higher Ground”, I find myself disappointed that I didn’t give these German rockers more of a fair listen. While there is nothing earth-shattering unique about the band, they are more than capable of writing some damn catchy material.
They starts the album off with a short instrumental “Nostradamus” before they launch into a solid piece of metal called ‘I Will Rise”. The band get things going with this fist pumping metal workout. The guitar work from Hans Ziller and Frank Pane capture the best of metal and melodic hard rock riffing and over the top leads. They walk the line between too little and too much so well that it makes the song both heavy and accessible. The title track starts off with a riff that will bring you back to “Balls To the Wall” (ACCEPT classic) but they morph the track into a catchy, melodic hard rocker with an infectious chorus.
“I Die Tonight” has a bit of keyboards in the beginning that reminds me of EUROPE (the band) and even the acapella intro gives me that vibe as well. As with the previous tune, the chorus is extremely catchy and will be stuck in your head for days. Just as I got ready for another melodic rock song, the guys throw in a heavy track that has the band chugging along like a runaway train. “Lost All Control” really has BONFIRE firing on all cylinders with some heavy drumming courtesy of relative newcomer Fabio Alessandrini and some out of control (pun intended) from the aforementioned guitar duo.
Things slow down just a touch from the ballid-ish song “When Love Comes Down”. You might be fooled into thinking this a full on power ballad but there are some heavier sections that raise this tune from power ballad territory. The guitar work towards the end is simply beautiful. That short mellow diversion is broken with another cool melodic hard rock piece that goes back and forth with some mellower sections and heavier parts. This one also has a great catchy chorus that is probably my favorite on “Higher Ground”.
The record takes a decidedly harder turn with “Come Hell or High Water”. In this instance, the section right before the chorus is the mellowest part with the verses and chorus reminding me of Tony Martin era BLACK SABBATH. As I write this, the song is playing and I have been hitting the repeat button multiple times as I can’t seem to get enough of this track. Even though the whole disk is great, I would buy “Higher Ground” just for this song. The guys speed up for “Jealousy” with its chugging verses and infectious chorus. At the beginning of this review, I mentioned that BONFIRE know how to write a great tune and “Jealousy” is a prime example of this.
The album ends with a new songsand reworked slightly older song. “Spinnin’ in the Black” is another quality piece of melodic metal and “Rock’n’Roll Survivor (2024 Version)” ends “Higher Ground” in fine fashion. The latter track is odd as it is only four years old but it does have Dyan Mair on vocals replacing Alexx Stahl. I had to go and research the 2020 version and I have to say that I like the version on “Higher Ground” slightly better. While it doesn’t make much sense to me to re-record a song that is relatively new, at least they made it better.
So there you have it fellow readers. BONFIRE’s “Higher Ground” is a great disk that is worthy of your attention. I’m a bit disappointed in myself in not giving these guys a fair shake but in my defense, there is so much music out there that it is hard to devote my time to every release. Thankfully, sometimes fate has a way of making me take hold and really listen. And in this case, I’m glad I got the chance to really “listen” to a BONFIRE record because it is one I would regret missing. 2025 is already starting off great and BONFIRE’s “Higher Ground” is in the running for my top 10 list for this year.
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