Recoffination

When the time came for the Metal Reviews Team to rifle through some of our recent promos for review, I once again let my pick be based on the way a band's name sounded. This was enough of a reason for me to give the promo a listen. In this case it was Hellfire. With a name like Hellfire, I figured the music had to be something in the vein of death metal, black metal, power metal, speed metal or thrash metal. After listening to a few of the songs, I was already brainstorming some comparisons to other bands I'm familiar with. Hellfire's music can be best described as classic 80's thrash/power metal. The music reminds me of old Attacker, Powermad, Scanner, Dyslesia, Ceti, Metallica, Overkill, etc. Hellfire hail from Warsaw, Poland and have been around since 1999. Because of numerous line up changes. They have not been able to release material on CD until now. "Recoffination" is the band's first album and it's self financed. The album was recorded at DBX-studios under the direction of Jack Mielnicki. The recording is pretty good for something not backed by a record label. The guitars really stand out in the mix as do the vocals. There are plenty of killer guitar riffs and blistering leads. As for the vocals, they sound like Tony Moore (ex-Riot) meets Fabio Lione (Rhapsody). The singer has the ability release some air raid screams and hit the high notes, emphasizing a throttle on the last word of any lyrical phrase. There is also a good balance of speedy double bass drum kicks and thrashy power metal drumming. I feel the drums could have been a little heavier in the recording and the mix. Overall the music is energetic and will have your head banging and feet clanging in no time! Hellfire's "Recoffination" is a fine effort considering it's their first release. This band has potential and if they can keep a steady line up they will surely make a name for themselves. I was going nuts trying to find more information on this band and was able to find the link to their website: www.hellfireband.com. It's in English as well as what I think is Polish.