"Live Fire" represents a slight departure from the usual material that WONDERWORLD produces. A collection a material they used to play with fellow bandmate Ken Hensley - famously being a driving force in URIAH HEEP until leaving the group in 1980 - it serves as a tribute to a man who passed on too soon. The story of WONDERWORLD is intrinsically tied to Ken Hensley as guitarist Ken Ignwersen and drummer Tom Fossheim had been playing with Hensley in his live band LIVE FIRE for years before they met vocalist and bassist Roberto Tiranti when Hensley recorded an album in Spain in March 2013. In just a few hours, the guys hit it off on both a musical and personal level making the writing process very easy and fun. Hensley himself encouraged them to create a trio based on the strong musical partnership the three had together. Within a year they recorded and released their first self-titled album in October 2014. They followed it up with the numerically based "II" in 2016 with a third album coming in 2018, again, simply titled "III".

Unfortunately, on November 4^th, 2020, KEN HENSLEY & LIVE FIRE lost their bandmate, friend and mentor Ken Hensley to what has only been reported as a short illness at the age of 75. Seeing as to how there would not be a WONDERWORLD without Hensley - having brought the band together - while they were hit with the sad news, they soon decided to make an album to honor him. This new album, aptly titled "Live Fire", is a collection of songs they used to play live with Hensley throughout the years. The album consists of 12 tracks - 6 URIAH HEEP tracks, 5 from Hensley's solo albums and an instrumental opening track to the album. There is, obviously a guest keyboard playing on a majority of the album but even Hensley's own crisp voice is delicately placed in parts of the album as well making for a haunting and inviting listen.

It goes without saying that this is a quality release based on the fact that WONDERWORLD's members have been playing the songs on "Live Fire" for years already and have perfected their performance in that time. After you are treated to the instrumental and ambient title track full of synths and slow PINK FLOYD-like guitar leads, you're launched into an easy highlight from Hensley's solo career "Ready To Die" that, while seemingly simply composed around a groovy guitar riff, display all the grandiosity and epic proginess that the man was known for. It's a fairly even split going back and forth between the earlier Heep classics with "Sunrise" and "Easy Livin'" and then going back to a solo cut with the sinister and brooding "The Curse". While Tiranti does a wonderful job on the vocal department, the real treat comes from the surprise duet between himself and the late Hensley on "The Longest Night" through some studio tinkering, possibly from an alternate take not used on the original album. This album serves as an excellent tribute to the long career of a great musician and a sendoff to the friend that brought WONDERWORLD together.