FireballMinistry

28.01.2006

It Flies Again

Sundown

The Broken

In The End

Hellspeak

Two Tears

Under The Thunder

Spill The Demons

Rising From The Deep

Save The Saved

James A. Rota II - guitars/vocals

Emily J. Burton - guitars/backing vocals

Johny Chow - bass

John Oreshnick - drums

FIREBALL MINISTRY: "Their Rock is not our Rock"

fireball ministry for Europe/Liquor and Poker Music for the US

release date 30.01.2006

In 2005 the group entered Dave Grohl’s Studio 606 West, with Mike Terry (Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Ash, Halford) engineering and again with Raskulinecz producing. Additional recordings took place at the late Elliott Smith’s New Monkey Studios.

preview - review by Marco "Norman Knight" Signore____

Born and dedicated to the flame of the old and powerful Rock’n’Roll.

Fireball Ministry are an American combo born and dedicated to the flame of the old and powerful Rock’n’Roll.

And the four rockers mean it. James A: Rota II and Emily J. Burton, both guitarists, join John Chow on bass and John Oreshnick on drums to create the good ol’ rock’n’roll sound.

I am not a great fan of the “biker-type” rock, but this album is well conceived and follows the canonical guidelines that one may expect from this genre. This “Their Rock is not our Rock” is the fourth full length of this band, and fulfills well enough the promises for the fans of this kind of music.

Since the opener, “It Flies Again”, this album sounds hard enough to appease most of the old hard rock’n’roll aficionados. Scratching, deep voice, good overdriven/distorted guitars, and a driving bass’n’drums combo without any special technical trick make the choice of this band quite clear.

“Sundown” and “The Broken” also are easily listened – please forgive my stupid idea, but one can even imagine to be on his powerful chopper rumbling along an US Highway, all black dressed, hair to the wind… the typical biker songs.

With “In the End” the music changes little, with a nice refrain and good vocal lines.

“Hellspeak” is instead more evocative, with an eerie intro, and slow beat with distorted guitars that frame the voice of James A. Rota II with good counterpoints by the voice of Emily Burton. If I had to choose a song from this album, well, this is it.

“Two Tears” is also an interesting song, with great driving rhythm and a very “American” vocal line. Again, this song won’t disappoint the fans of this band. Good ideas in the guitar riffs make this song another of the most interesting tracks of this full length – and my second best after “Hellspeak”. Especially nice is the refrain with chord changes.

“Under the Thunder” returns in the standards of the hard rock music. Powerful drumming, short and venomous riffs of guitars, and the good bass work create a sort of warmarch, quite good to listen even for untrained ears like mine.

We have “Spill the Demons” in the line of “Two Tears”. This time the voice is more angry and growling as the mid tempo of the drums rolls on with the guitars and the bass. Good one as well.

The album comes close to the end with “Rising from the Deep”, another typical hard rock song without any special note about it.

The last track of the album is called “Save the Saved”, and begins with a riff strongly reminiscent of Rush’s “Bastille Day”. Driving, powerful, and quite nice to the ears, this is in my opinion the third best song of the album – I would easily see it in a movie or videogame soundtrack.

All in all this album is exactly what appears: pure hard rock. All the guitars, bass and drums are exactly where you expect them, all the vocal lines are exactly what you imagine they will be. A perfect soundtrack for the easy-listening evening out on your car or – why not? Your bike!

Fireball Ministry keep their promises in carrying on the torch of the rock’n’roll, and if you are a diehard fan of this genre, then what are you waiting for? This is the album you must listen to!

But I also suggest this album to those who don’t follow this genre, because for metallers Fireball Ministry may represent a fresh change of pace, strongly suggested.

rating: 7/10

Marco Signore

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