Firewind

Firewind

Firewind is a Greek power metal band that was originally created as a way for guitarist Gus G. to market his demo album Nocturnal Symphony in 1998. They became a full band over three years later when they recorded Between Heaven and Hell. The band line-up changed between each album until the final change after their fifth, Allegiance. They have recorded two albums with this current line-up, featuring lead vocalist Apollo Papathanasio.

Early history

The band began in 1998 when the young Greek Gus G. decided to record a demo with some close musician friends in the United States. The project was entitled Firewind, and was used as a showcase for Gus' guitar skills in an attempt to earn a professional recording deal. The demo attracted the attention of Leviathan Records, but activity was put on hold when Gus was hired by Nightrage, Dream Evil, and Mystic Prophecy.

Stephen Fredrick era

After the release of his other bands' debut albums, Gus' attention returned to the Firewind project. Only he remained from the original formation - Leviathan owner David T. Chastain brought in vocalist Stephen Fredrick and drummer Brian Harris (both formerly of Kenziner), while Gus enlisted the help of bassist Konstantine. This line-up recorded the debut album Between Heaven and Hell.

In 2003, new changes were instituted as drummer Stian Kristoffersen and bassist Petros Christo joined the band. Harris and Konstantine had been replaced as Gus was looking for a more permanent rhythm section that was prepared to tour. This lineup recorded Burning Earth and went on a tour of Japan with Rob Rock, but without vocalist Fredrick, who was not prepared to go on the road (despite prior guarantees to the contrary). At their October 2007 show at ProgPower USA, the band briefly reunited with Fredrick for a few songs off their first two albums.

Forged by Fire

Fredrick's replacement on the Burning the Earth Tour, singer Chitral "Chity" Somapala, was given the job full-time. Fellow touring member Bob Katsionis was also hired permanently to play keyboards. Firewind got a worldwide deal with Century Media by the end of that year.

A few months after Forged By Fire was released, Chitral left due to personal and musical differences with the rest of the band. When his replacement, Apollo Papathanasio (of Time Requiem), was found, it was also announced that Kristoffersen would be leaving, to be replaced by British drummer Mark Cross. The reason for the split was that Gus wanted to have a set of Greek-based musicians willing to make Firewind their number one priority (probably to end the virtual revolving door of members) and Stian's main band was the Norwegian outfit Pagan's Mind. Gus also left his roles in Dream Evil, Mystic Prophecy and Nightrage.

Allegiance and The Premonition

Between 2004 and 2006, the band recorded Allegiance, which was released in July 2006. From November to December 2006, they toured the UK supporting DragonForce with All That Remains.

Firewind accomplished their 2006/2007 world tour in Copenhagen at the Scandinavian Prog Power festival on November 10. The band went around the globe almost twice being on three continents including Asia, Africa, North America and Europe and played nearly 100 shows. The band went to Sweden to record The Premonition, which was released in 2008.

In November 2008, the band released their first DVD, Live Premonition, containing footage of their entire concert at their home town in Greece on January 12 of that year.

Current schedule

The band has been touring with Stratovarius in the UK from May 15, 2009 to May 20, 2009. During this tour, they added 2 new songs to their setlist: "Losing Faith" and "Days of No Trust". These songs have not yet been confirmed to appear on a future album release.

At the end of September, Firewind began work on their sixth studio album. Although the album's title and track listing have not yet been revealed, the band confirmed that they have written 12 vocal and two instrumental songs.

On 13 January Firewind announced that they were parting ways with drummer Mark Cross, with Michael Ehre (Uli Jon Roth, Metalium, Kee Marcello) playing at the live Mexico shows. But those shows where cancelled 28 January

Lineup

Year	Band					Recordings
	Vocalist	Guitarist	Bassist	Keyboardist/Guitarist	Drummer
1998	Brandon Pender	Gus G.	N/A	Gus G.	Matt Scurfield	Nocturnal Symphony
2001-03	Stephen Fredrick		Konstantine		Brice Harris	Between Heaven and Hell
2003			Petros Christodoylidis		Stian Lindas Kristoffersen	Burning Earth
2004-05	Chitral Somapala			Babis Katsionis		Forged by Fire
2006-09	Apollo Papathanasio				Mark Cross	Allegiance
						The Premonition
2010					TBA	TBA

Discography

Date of Release	Title	Label	Producer
June 24, 2002	Between Heaven and Hell	Leviathan/Massacre Records	David T. Chastain
November 17, 2003	Burning Earth	Leviathan Records	David T. Chastain
January 24, 2005	Forged by Fire	Century Media	Gus G.
July 24, 2006	Allegiance	Century Media	Gus G.
March 25, 2008	The Premonition	Century Media	Fredrik Nordström
Early 2010	TBA	Century Media	Unknown

Live albums

• 2008 Live Premonition

Singles

• 2006: "Falling to Pieces" Greece #11
• 2007: "Breaking the Silence" (Guest vocals by Tara Teresa) Greece #16
• 2008: "Mercenary Man" Greece #5

Music videos

• 2003: "I Am the Anger"
• 2004: "The Fire and The Fury"
• 2005: "Tyranny"
• 2006: "Falling to Pieces"
• 2007: "Breaking the Silence"
• 2008: "Mercenary Man"
• 2008: "Head Up High"

DVDs

• 2008: "Live Premonition"

External links

• Firewind's official Website
• Firewind's Official MySpace Page
• Firewind's Drummer Michael Ehre official Website