HARD ROCK AT ITS FINEST
DARRYL MUNRO | VANCOUVER (CANADA) | 08/02/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"If you have not heard of BONFIRE before i suggest you do yourself a favour and pick up this cd it is a must have cd for anyone into BON JOVI,DOKKEN,WHITESNAKE i play it all the time great to party to."
It really rocks!
DMITRI KAZUTO | St. Petersburg, Russia | 04/24/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"A very enjoyable effort by Bonfire. Could be their best! For those who did not yet forget good old heavy metal, highly recommended!"
Two Different Styles
Justin Gaines | Northern Virginia | 03/17/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I was a bit thrown by Bonfire's Southern (by way of Germany) fried 1998 album Rebel Soul. The Southern rock approach was a bit different coming from a long running German melodic rock band, but it was a decent album, so I didn't complain too much.
With their 1999 follow up, Fuel to the Flames, Bonfire again draws on the American South for inspiration. Songs like "Daytona Nights" and "Rebel Pride" sound like leftovers from the Rebel Soul sessions, and the band's cover of the Lynyrd Skynyrd anthem "Sweet Home Alabama" pretty much speaks for itself. Throw in "Proud of My Country", a country-style ode to the homeland and the album is well on its way to being a repeat of Rebel Soul.
That all changes once you get past the first five songs. The last nine tracks are vintage Bonfire - melodic, catchy as hell, rock anthems that bring to mind the early days of Fireworks and Don't Touch the Light. It's almost like listening to a separate album. I think that if the band had released the first 5 tracks as a separate EP, or even "shuffled" them throughout the album a bit, the different styles wouldn't have been so noticeable. Bonfire took that approach with their 2001 follow-up album Strike Ten, which featured a few Southern-style tracks mixed with the traditional rockers.
If you're a Bonfire fan, you're definitely going to want to own this album. I'm not crazy about the whole Dixie thing they had going on at the time, and found the mid-album style shift a bit jarring, but the last nine tracks are good enough to put a smile back on my face."
Track Listings (14) - Disc #1