Fire Action: Finnish Metallers Back On Duty...

With three albums – Rock Brigade (2016), Fahrenhater (2018) and 9112 (2020) – to their name, Fire Action are anything but newcomers and have long established themselves as an integral part of the Finnish metal scene. However, their international career will undoubtedly gain even more momentum with their upcoming album release Until The Heat Dies and their contract with renowned German metal label, Steamhammer/SPV. There are a number of arguments that support this view, the most important one being that the quartet surrounding guitarist Juri Vuortama and vocalist Pete Ahonen has taken a real quantum leap in musical terms. Eleven traditional yet diverse metal songs, from the grooving opener Storm Of Memories to the anthemic finale Midnight Avenue, emphasise the group’s impressive development on Until The Heat Dies, which Vuortama could hardly describe more aptly: “It’s riffs, riffs and riffs, with awesome melodies on top!”, he comments on the dozen or so new songs. The album will be available from 29 November and Fire Action will also bring out a couple of new singles in the shape of No Drone Zone (plus video) on 18 October 2024 and Survive (also supported by a video) on 15 November 2024.

There are good reasons for the Scandinavian band’s obvious musical progress, the arrival of Pete Ahonen three years ago being particularly important as he is the ideal frontman to present Fire Action’s melodic vocals. Ahonen was a founding member of metal acts Burning Point and Stargazery and is now supported by an accomplished guitarist and creative source in Vuortama, who showcases his charismatic voice perfectly. The new Fire Action material is driven by a powerful rhythm section consisting of former ARG bassist Jarkko Poussu and drummer Samuli Häkkilä, a self-confessed Iron Maiden fan whose style has a close affinity to that of Maiden drummer Nicko McBrain. Another significant factor in the outstanding quality of Until The Heat Dies was the enlistment of sound engineer Panu Pentikäinen, who produced the recording at Helsinki’s Pulu Studio.

However, it’s not only the Fire Action musicians and their close collaboration with their producer that have resulted in this brilliant result, but also the band’s own material, which is as catchy as it is intelligently arranged. There is a number of perfect combinations of gritty hooks and haunting melodies, such as Midnight Avenue and Storm Of Memories, but also the rather unexpected arrangement of Survive, as well as a number of tracks featuring dystopian lyrics and challenging content, such as Until The Heat Dies and No Drone Zone or the enigmatic Curse The Day.

Last but not least, let’s not forget to mention the outstanding cover artwork featuring the programmatic translation of the album title. Vuortama: “The title Until The Heat Dies was inspired by a book by Australian mystery novel and thriller writer Michael Robotham, and the cover artwork reflects his enigmatic style: Something dangerous is obviously going on, but who can figure out what it is? And who is manoeuvring those zombie fire engines away from the destroyed city?” Presumably these two questions are the only ones that this extremely accomplished album will be unable to answer …