FIREAXE (USA)

Brian Voth has raised the bar for indy bands. His first CD release is a testimony to the dedication of one man to his art. A gorgeous 12 page color booklet accompanies this disc, with even the disc having a color label. All of this is done by Brian, along with all of the music writing and production. "The Rack" has an unusual sort of spoken word intro, which is followed by some fairly jamming fast stuff. It took me a little while to get used to the vocals. Once I did, I really came to appreciate this disc a lot. Brian has always been an exemplary songwriter. Fireaxe is very heartfelt, passionate music. If you can handle high register clean vocals, you really have to hear this band. A complex conceptual album, you really get your money's worth with this album. As always, the guitar work is great, and the arrangements well thought out. By all means, read my Icepick review of Fireaxe in EF#2. I'm actually coming to like this disc as much as the last release. --Jason