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Burning Point - Salvation By Fire

Burning Point - Salvation By Fire
Released: 2001
Label: Limb Music Products
Cat. No.: LMP 0110-35 CD
Total Time: 50:43

Reviewed by: Gary Carson, November 2002
You can hardly go wrong with Finland when it comes to metal - power, progressive, death, doom, gothic, extreme - they seriously have it all. And now another one rears it un-ugly head with Burning Point's Salvation By Fire.

Coming from the same town as Sentenced (the northern Finnish city of Oulu) you'd expect these guys to play some sort of suicidal metal but Burning Point play a mix of power and melodic metal with a bit of traditional metal thrown in for good measure. Salvation By Fire (with an exceptional cover - although most of LMP's bands have a high aesthetic quotient) features mid to up-tempo tracks rampant with over the top soloing by the twin guitars of Pete Ahonen (who also handles the vocals) and Jukka Kyrö. In fact, it is Pete's handling of the vocals that is the disc's weakest point. There doesn't seem to be a lot of variety or range in his lower key, Rob Rock-like vocals and whilst there is little accent in his voice, he comes across as strong and resonant. His shortcomings can be heard during the verses (an example is the opening track "Under The Dying Sun") while the choruses, having a lot of power, become slightly repetitive after 11 tracks. His guitar work, along with Kyrö's, creates a menagerie of twin guitar sounds ("Signs Of Danger" and "Fall Of The Kingdom"). For those interested, the band are also joined by Eternal Tears of Sorrow keyboardist Pasi Hiltula whose work is more subtle than on some metal releases.

The biggest impact this CD has, apart from the front cover, are the catchy songs contained within. Subsequent listens has raised the bar on this disc as my first listen wouldn't have rated them overly highly. For a comparison, there aren't that many, although their sound is still familiar. Their melodies are similar to that of fellow Finnish band Myon (who released Heaven's Garden through Noise Records), especially on tracks such as "The One" and "Higher," although Burning Point are not as weak and they are significantly heavier in all departments.

Burning Point's Salvation By Fire is an average slice of metal in a market far too overcrowded. If this was released a few years ago, it may have been given a higher score but today only the strong survive.

PPO Rating: 4/10

[This review originally appeared at the ProgPower Online review site -ed.]

More about Salvation By Fire:

Track Listing: The Burning Point (0:58) / Under The Dying Sun (4:32) / Lake Of Fire (5:50) / Fall Of Thy Kingdom (4:25) / Higher (4:10) / Black Star (4:57) / Stealer Of Light (4:59) / The One (3:36) / Signs Of Danger (4:33) / Salvation By Fire (7:37)

Musicians:
Pete Ahonen - vocals, lead, acoustic, rhythm guitars
Jukka Kyrö - rhythm, lead, acoustic guitars
Toni "Jöpe" Kansanoja - bass, additional backing vocals
Jari Kaiponen – drums

Guest:

Pasi Hiltula – keyboards

Discography

Salvation By Fire (2001)
Feeding The Flames (2003)

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© Copyright 2004 ProgressiveWorld.net/Gary Carson

	Burning Point - Salvation By Fire
	Released: 2001 Label: Limb Music Products Cat. No.: LMP 0110-35 CD Total Time: 50:43
	Reviewed by: Gary Carson, November 2002 You can hardly go wrong with Finland when it comes to metal - power, progressive, death, doom, gothic, extreme - they seriously have it all. And now another one rears it un-ugly head with Burning Point's Salvation By Fire. Coming from the same town as Sentenced (the northern Finnish city of Oulu) you'd expect these guys to play some sort of suicidal metal but Burning Point play a mix of power and melodic metal with a bit of traditional metal thrown in for good measure. Salvation By Fire (with an exceptional cover - although most of LMP's bands have a high aesthetic quotient) features mid to up-tempo tracks rampant with over the top soloing by the twin guitars of Pete Ahonen (who also handles the vocals) and Jukka Kyrö. In fact, it is Pete's handling of the vocals that is the disc's weakest point. There doesn't seem to be a lot of variety or range in his lower key, Rob Rock-like vocals and whilst there is little accent in his voice, he comes across as strong and resonant. His shortcomings can be heard during the verses (an example is the opening track "Under The Dying Sun") while the choruses, having a lot of power, become slightly repetitive after 11 tracks. His guitar work, along with Kyrö's, creates a menagerie of twin guitar sounds ("Signs Of Danger" and "Fall Of The Kingdom"). For those interested, the band are also joined by Eternal Tears of Sorrow keyboardist Pasi Hiltula whose work is more subtle than on some metal releases. The biggest impact this CD has, apart from the front cover, are the catchy songs contained within. Subsequent listens has raised the bar on this disc as my first listen wouldn't have rated them overly highly. For a comparison, there aren't that many, although their sound is still familiar. Their melodies are similar to that of fellow Finnish band Myon (who released Heaven's Garden through Noise Records), especially on tracks such as "The One" and "Higher," although Burning Point are not as weak and they are significantly heavier in all departments. Burning Point's Salvation By Fire is an average slice of metal in a market far too overcrowded. If this was released a few years ago, it may have been given a higher score but today only the strong survive. PPO Rating: 4/10 [This review originally appeared at the ProgPower Online review site -ed.] More about Salvation By Fire: Track Listing: The Burning Point (0:58) / Under The Dying Sun (4:32) / Lake Of Fire (5:50) / Fall Of Thy Kingdom (4:25) / Higher (4:10) / Black Star (4:57) / Stealer Of Light (4:59) / The One (3:36) / Signs Of Danger (4:33) / Salvation By Fire (7:37) Musicians: Pete Ahonen - vocals, lead, acoustic, rhythm guitars Jukka Kyrö - rhythm, lead, acoustic guitars Toni "Jöpe" Kansanoja - bass, additional backing vocals Jari Kaiponen – drums Guest: Pasi Hiltula – keyboards Discography Salvation By Fire (2001) Feeding The Flames (2003)
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