Review - Gus G.- I Am The Fire (Century Media Records)

For some people Gus G is Firewind so why bring out a solo effort at all. It's been a couple of years since Few Against Many so why no new album. Others will be curious to see what this actually sounds like. Is it Firewind with different vocalists. Well mostly no. People expecting this to sound like his main band will be sorely disappointed. If anything this is a hard rock album. Tracks like opener My Will Be Done and Blame It On Me sound like something off a Cinderella or Black N Blue album. The title track is more modern sounding. Long Way Down and Just Can't Let Go are great big ballads. Eyes Wide Open sounds like something Glenn Hughes was involved in. Summer Days is Journey. There are two instrumentals, both fast and in your face but they feel a little out of place on this. These are the tracks that could be off a Firewind album. It's as if he had to put something like these on there.

   It's well written and the performances are superb. Gus's playing is incredible and shows a lot more flexibility here then many may have thought he could achieve. He lets the strength of the songs shine through and it's not a wankfest like an Yngwie album where the singing gets in the way of him going off. As an album though it just doesn't flow because of all the guest vocalists. Sure the singers he has roped in fit the style of the song like Mats Leven on the opening track or Jeff Scott Soto on Summer Days. Albums like this tend not to work as people inevitably pick their favorite tracks based on who's singing what. Iommi's first solo album suffered because of this and the same with Jake E. Lee's recent Red Dragon Cartel release. Remember how strong Iommi's follow up Fused was, that's because Glenn Hughes sang on all of it. A solid release but I would love to hear just one vocalist next time.

 http://www.gusgofficial.com/

GUS G. appears on Fuse.tv's "Metalhead to Head"; announces "Ask Me Anything" chat on Mar. 31 via Reddit.com

GUS G. appears on Fuse.tv's "Metalhead to Head"; announces "Ask Me Anything" chat on Mar. 31 via Reddit.com        OZZY OSBOURNE guitarist and FIREWIND mastermind GUS G. recently completely an exclusive interview for Fuse.tv's series "Metalhead to Head". Joined by Mark Heylmun (SUICIDE SILENCE), GUS G. discusses trying out for OZZY OSBOURNE's band while showing off some signature guitar licks. To watch the video, head over to Fuse.tv now: http://www.fuse.tv/videos/2014/03/metalhead-to-head-mark-heylmun-gus-g On Mar. 31, GUS G. will take part in an "Ask Me Anything" chat on Reddit.com. Fans are welcome to submit questions from 9PM CET//12PM PST//3PM EST to 10:30PM CET//1:30PM PST//4:30PM EST. GUS G. comments: "Wanna know why and how I created my debut solo album? Wanna know how I got the gig with OZZY OSBOURNE? Funny tour stories? Wanna talk about cats? Tattoos? Guitars? Gear and playing tips? Heavy Metal? Action heroes? Guitar heroes? Join me on Reddit on March 31st and Ask Me Anything." GUS G. recently released his solo debut, I Am The Fire, worldwide via Century Media Records. To purchase the album, please visit iTunes for a digital copy or CM Distro for a variety of physical formats. For a preview of I Am The Fire, be sure to check out the following videos: --"My Will Be Done (feat. Mats Leven of CANDLEMASS, ex-YNGWIE MALMSTEEN/THERION)" music video --"I Am The Fire (Feat. DEVOUR THE DAY)" music video --I Am The Fire EPK  --I Am The Fire track-by-track  GUS G. handles all guitar, bass and keyboards on I Am The Fire, and is joined by a roster of friends and guests that helped bring his vision to fruition: drummers Jeff Friedl (A PERFECT CIRCLE, PUSCIFER, DEVO) and Daniel Erlandsson (ARCH ENEMY), bassists David Ellefson (MEGADETH), Billy Sheehan (MR. BIG, DAVID LEE ROTH) and Marty O'Brien (TOMMY LEE, WE ARE THE FALLEN), and vocalists Mats Leven (CANDLEMASS, ex-YNGWIE MALMSTEEN/THERION), Blake Allison (DEVOUR THE DAY), Michael Starr (STEEL PANTHER), Alexia Rodriguez (EYES SET TO KILL), Tom S. Englund (EVERGREY), Jacob Bunton (ADLER) and Jeff Scott Soto (TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA, ex-JOURNEY). I Am The Fire was mixed by Jay Ruston (ANTHRAX, STONE SOUR, STEEL PANTHER) and was recorded between Los Angeles and GUS G.'s home country of Greece through the latter half of 2013. The album showcases a well-balanced mix of active rock, classic hard rock, traditional metal and guitar-driven instrumentals, taking listeners on a diverse journey through GUS G.'s soulful playing. I Am The Fire track-listing 1. My Will Be Done (feat. Mats Levén) 2. Blame It On Me (feat. Mats Levén) 3. I Am The Fire (feat. DEVOUR THE DAY) 4. Vengeance (feat. David Ellefson) 5. Long Way Down (feat. Alexia Rodriguez) 6. Just Can't Let Go (feat. Jacob Bunton) 7. Terrified (feat. Billy Sheehan) 8. Eyes Wide Open (feat. Mats Levén) 9. Redemption (feat. Michael Starr) 10. Summer Days (feat. Jeff Scott Soto) 11. Dreamkeeper (feat. Tom S. Englund) 12. End Of The Line (feat. Mats Levén) GUS G. w/ Marty Friedman / "Guitar Universe 2" Co-Headline Tour: May 1 - Tampere (Finland) - Klubi May 2 - Helsinki (Finland) - Nosturi May 3 - Stockholm (Sweden) - Stockholm Rocks Festival May 5 - Gothenburg (Sweden) - Trädgårn  May 7 - Malmö (Sweden) - KB  May 9 - Krakow (Poland) - Lizzard King  May 10 - Warsaw (Poland) - Progresja  May 12 - Munich (Germany) - Backstage May 14 - Hannover (Germany) - Musikzentrum May 15 - Essen (Germany) - Turock May 16 - Zoetermeer (The Netherlands) - De Boerderij May 17 - Hasselt (Belgium) - MuziekoDroom     May 18 - Uden (The Netherlands) - De Pul May 20 - Savigny Le Temple (France) - L' Impreinte May 21 - London (UK) - O2 Islington Academy May 22 - Nuneaton (UK) - Queens Hall GUS G. online: http://www.gusgofficial.com https://www.facebook.com/officialgusg https://twitter.com/gusgofficial http://www.youtube.com/firetv