
Choose Your Own Adventure
Album Review
by Rowan Blair Colver
Sheffield based funky prog rockers Firegarden explode onto the scene with their new album, Choose Your Own Adventure. A long serving group in the Steel City, with scores of shows under their belt, the new work of art culminates this experience, progression, the trials and tests of these last ten or so years. The much awaited release of this record has been preceded by a massive run up of live dates, promotions and ever growing numbers of fans. These guys work for it and it shows, it's a spectacle for the ears.
Track by track, this album runs excellently. Like a crafted sculpture, the silence is chipped at, fathomed and brought into discord as musicians of what I would call virtuoso calibur fuse their motives and intents to produce awesome sounds and grooves. L.A. Is an opener that snaps us into gear, forming a passion for the power of go, we are sat up and instructed to listen. Title track Choose Your Own Adventure has an opening peel that reminds me of The Angel and the Gambler by Iron Maiden, albeit for a bar or two. The irony is, if this is a gamble, then the odds are great. Nothing to lose and everything to gain, these guys are having a great time and this energy seeps from the notes.
Splendid riffs and solos create that magic of heavy metal that cannot be found anywhere else yet beneath the macho and the double timings lays something rather special. There's more going on than testosterone and haircuts. With a deep edge that almost feels like mysticism, keyboard melodies that play with all we understand about rock n roll, a vocalist that actually feels the words, we result in this marvellous fusion. Hey Sexy sums it all up really well. This is track phwour.
Never takes us right into that motorway feel, the music builds and sweeps with its deceptive pretty melodies and tinkling on the heart strings, its not long before the open road lures us in and with epic skills on the guitar and drum combination, the music changes gear and accelerates in sensation. Grabbing hold of us like a naughty school child caught looking out the window, we're given some pencils and told to drum on the table.
Four blokes from the North of England with a passion for making people feel great, getting your foot tapping and generally having a good time; Jake Mann, Ashley Tuck, Andy Gotteri and Chris Heald make Firegarden and it's lit up like a bonfire. Great album!
You can find Choose Your Own Adventure on bandcamp, follow Firegarden on Facebook and also visit Firegarden online.