(Metal Heaven) Total Time: 46:03
I guess you can justify my thinking that these guys are Queensryche fans – “Empyre” and with a Y is too much of a temptation not to think something like this. I was wrong though, but let’s take things from the beginning: BURNING POINT were founded in 1999 in Oulu, Finland. They have released 4 albums so far and their line up has been through some changes with the most recent being the coming of Pasi Hintula in keyboards (ex-Kalmah, ex-Eternal Tears Of Sorrow).
“Empyre” is a return to the roots as they say and we have to agree with them. Although the intro with the “Godfather Theme” doesn’t reveal it, a little bit of power metal embedded in a lot of classic heavy metal is the recipe. And they damn know how to make it work. The sound and the aesthetic of this album (let alone some similar effects in the instruments) is reviving Judas Priest’s “Defenders Of The Faith”. I mean in songs like “Manic-Merry-Go-Round” and “Fool’s Parade” I could bet that Rob Halford is singing in the chorus and that’s only a compliment to the vocalist Pete Ahonen. You know how it goes… tight songs with classic-to-the-bone riffs, melodies that stand out, rhythms that make heads roll… that’s 80’s heavy metal and that’s what this gang is delivering here. Of course the sound is modern, but the recipe still works. The production was made by the band, the bassist (his name is Jukka Jokikokko and trust me, this sounds damn funny in Greek) did the engineering in HelGate Studios while the mastering was made in the Finvox ones.
It was hard for me to resist to this album (not that I tried much). It contains some choruses and some parts that grasp the essential meaning of heavy metal. BURNING POINT are not a supergroup and probably they will never become one. But if you want to spend some quality time with good old heavy metal in current terms, you can trust them. Mind also that “Empyre” comes with a second cd full of covers and guests: Running Wild's "Gods of Iron" (feat. Majk Moti, ex- Running Wild), The Rods’ "Nuclear Skies" (feat. David "Rock" Feinstein), Q5's "Let Go" (feat. Jonathan K). An additional cover song from one of the biggest artist in Finland, Kirka, "I'll Be Yours" from Kirka's album R.O.C.K. (1986) features vocals by Taage (Kilpi & ex-Altaria) and lead guitars by ex-Kirka guitarist Riku Kukkonen can be found on the regular edition of “Empyre” (my promo cd doesn’t contain it). The cover artist, Felipe Machado Franco, is also known from his artwork to bands like Iced Earth, Blaze Bayley, Axel Rudi Pell etc. This is a whole empire!
