Widow – On Fire
Widow counts King Diamond, Crimson Glory, Warlord, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, and Yngwie Malmsteen among their influences, and many of these are audible. I also don’t listen to a lot of that music much these days, so I might not be the best person to review this. That said, Widow’s On Fire strikes me as more of a retread than as a development of that sound – I suppose at best one could argue that it’s a re-imagining of those classic bands in a slightly more modern context, though I don’t hear much that’s new. While Maiden incorporated a twin guitar sound very much like that of Thin Lizzy, they also brought to their music a heavier sound, a punkier (and later more operatic) vocal approach, and a different attitude, all of which made Maiden’s use of that style unique and important in the musical development of the genre. Widow doesn’t do anything like this On Fire, they just sound like a cross between Maiden and In Flames, though Widow has both a male singer (whom I don’t much enjoy) and a female singer (whose voice I like). I point out the twin guitar sound because that’s the most consistently Maidenesque quality of Widow – not just the lines themselves (in 3rds and 6ths), but also because the harmonic backdrop and musical pacing seems almost identical in spots. My friend, Metal Maniacs (and sometime Worm Gear) reviewer S. Craig Zahler, and I sometimes argue about my intolerance for certain chord progressions in music, many of which appear regularly it seems in Power Metal. Sometimes I wish I wasn’t bored by things that are extremely straightforward, but I am. Widow uses many of these chord progressions, and it’s hard for me to get around that. Nonetheless, people who enjoy lots of Power Metal may like this, as it’s competently performed and recorded, with a rich sound and confident delivery. [note: I doubt Zahler would like this much either, though largely because of the voices – the male voice has a -core quality, and Zahler has consistently expressed his general disdain for female singers in heavy metal, with rare exceptions. – Jeff Herriot
CRUZ DEL SUR MUSIC
Worm Gear 