Here's a life-music related equation I like using from time to time. It's quite simple actually: Music is a feeling (apart from other things) and life's full of feelings. Therefore life is full of music and how can one live a life without any music? So we've got people who actually breathe in the name of music hence it's what's their life is all about. Yup, I'm talking about musicians.
Randy Ellefson (nope, nothing to do with bass player David Ellefson) is a guitarist from the U.S. of A. and The Firebard is his debut solo release (no, this is not a demo) though Randy's no youngster as some of you might presume. A talented kid back then (when exactly I don't know) who was unfortunate enough to suffer tendonitis when he was just in the 9th grade... One may wonder what sort of loss could this possibly be for the music world. After all he was a child back then. Well, taking for granted what Ellefson's playing on The Firebard and the fact that he's gone through a lot of physiotherapy throughout his entire life (obviously) is plain proof of what music can really miss sometimes.
10 tracks of instrumental guitar Rock are found on this album. Legends is the opening track and it's got joyful Rock riffs, dream-conceived bridges and a tempo which will certainly not let you rest much! Weekend Warrior moves quite a lot in that same Rock pattern as the opening track. Then we have Accolade which makes me remember the holiday I was on a month and a half ago. A really colorful ballad, not melancholic, not at all (though it made those memories come in mind, hah). Into The Act is really my favorite track off this album. It's an awesome Heavy Metal conception for a song with lots of crunching riffs and dual leads in it. Chimes Of Passion is a mid-tempo track with an intense nostalgic feeling lying behind Ellefson's chords. Still At Large has got one hell of a rhythm, angry and fast paced it manages to deliver directly into your brain's core. Motif Operandi is also a song I'd suggest to all the Hard Rockers/Heavy Metal-heads. After all these tracks it's time for a slight slowdown and A Far Cry will do the job. Really slow rhythm, well not my style anyway. One track before the end, we've got Epic which is a six layered guitar song (six layered guitars...wow) all strong and heavy. The final track's called Journeys and it sure states a fact, the fact that this review was overall one pleasant musical journey for me.
You see, I'm not a die-hard instrumental kind of guy so before I started listening to this album I was really skeptical about it. It turned out to be one great instrumental release from a person who deserves to be recognized (not by just me). I admire his skills but most of all I admire his courage after he had suffered that arm injury in such a young age...Because life is about courage too and so is music.
P.S. Nice cover artwork done by...who else...Mattias Noren!