Divinefire formed in the springtime of 2004 with the collaboration of Finnish composer and drummer, Jani Stefanovic, and vocalist Christian Rivel (Narnia). Jani Stefanovic has been playing and touring with the bands Am I Blood, Sins of Omission and Renascent. Narnia and Veni Domine are two considerable influences for Jani, so it was a natural step to contact these two prominent bands to fulfill his musical vision. Jani had many ideas and songs that he presented to Christian Rivel, and the rest was history. Melodies and songs exploded from the duo, and within a month they had written all the material for their debut album. They excitedly commenced the recording sessions for the album in April 2004.
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Line-up: Jani Stefanovic - Guitars,
Keyboards, Drums & Programming Guest players: Pontus Norgren -
Lead Guitars on 3, 4, 5, 7 |
"Divinefire combines the heaviness from the more aggressive styles of metal with the melodies from the symphonic style of rock, while also blending in beautiful vocal harmonies." That is the way the band describes themselves on their website. And I can agree with this statement. The core is European power metal. But they also mix in vocal elements from more extreme genres, and also song structures from more melodic genres. If you look at the members of the band, you will find the bass-player from Harmony, vocalist from Narnia, and guitar-player from Renascent. And if you know your metal, you'll know that a mix of those 3 bands will equate in the descriptions above. The result is excellent. Fact is, I had no expectations at all when I put on this CD. But I was soon blown away by it's content. The riffs are fast and powerful, only interrupted by screaming solos. Christians vocals are more aggressive then we are used to from him. And the lyrics are proudly proclaiming their faith in the risen Christ! The album also delivers a guest-list longer than most, with members and ex-members from Talisman, Great King Rat, Brazen Abbot, Candlemass, Veni Domine, Saviour Machine & Crimson Moonlight. This is a CD I want to recommend to all lovers of powerful metal. Definitely a contender for a place amongst my top 20 releases for 2005.
Killer tracks: The World's On Fire, Never Surrender, Out Of The Darkness, Live My Life For You
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Line-up: Jani Stefanovic - Drums, Guitars, Growls,
Keyboards & Programming
Guest players: Plec - 2nd Guitar solo on 3, Outro on 6, 1st Guitar solo on 7 Mikko Härkin - Lead Keyboards on 6,9, Keyboard duel on 7 Maria Rådsten - Lead Vocals on 10 |
The most productive singer in metal these days is without a doubt Christian Rivel. And the same year Divinefire debuts with the excellent 'Glory Thy Name', they return with the follow up release as well. 'Hero' is everything we got from the band on the first CD, and a little bit more too. Expect a powerful metal hybrid that touches just about any subgenre you can imagine. This is blistering power metal, combined with symphonic extreme metal and melodies even Europe would be proud of!! Sounds weird? Well, it totally works, making Divinefire one of the most exciting bands out there today. 'Hero' is such a strong album, I can only hope that they can come up with equally great material in the future. "Cryptic Passages" is a bonus track for this European release. "The Show Must Go On" is of course a Queen cover.
Killer tracks: Secret Weapon, Divinefire, Hero, Open Your Eyes
INTO A NEW DIMENSION (2006) RIVEL
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Line-up: Jani Stefanovic - Drums, Guitars, Growls,
Keyboards & Programming
Guest players: Thomas
Vikström - Backing Viocals Pontus Norgren - Lead Guitar |
Talk about a productive band! This is their 3rd release in just a little over 1 year!! And to make things even more impressive, the quality of the material is still as good as ever! 'Into A New Dimension' is yet another killer effort from Divinefire. They truly are one of the more exciting bands of today, delivering their mix of extreme metal and power metal. The music is also very keyboard laden, creating an almost symphonic wall of sound. On this effort the band have toned down the use of the growls, and focus more on a more aggressive Christian. With the growing popularity of MySpace, the band also got some recognition for their video for "Facing The Liar". I'm so impressed with what this band have come up with, and continue to come up with, I'm almost lost for words. So don't take my word for it only, check them out for yourself! 'Into A New dimension' might be Divinefire's best CD so far. "Free Like An Eagle" is a bonus track for the European version of this record. It was also featured on the Japanese version of their debut album.
Killer tracks: All of them
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Line-up: Jani Stefanovic - Drums,
Rhythm Guitars,
Keyboards & Programming
Guest players: Mats Levén - Backing Vocals Carl Johan Grimmark - Guitar Solos & Acoustic Guitars |
And so another musical chapter ends. Christian, now back as Liljegren, is taking a break from the professional singer career, and has not only put Divinefire to rest, but also left Narnia! And as a thank you to all the fans, Divinefire decided to record one last album, simply using material already written, or finishing stuff in the making. The result is yet another impressive album from this Evangelical band. Again we're talking bombastic heavy metal, with elements spanning from melodic hard rock through extreme black/death metal. And as usual, I'm blown away by the whole package! This just works for me! The blending of the extreme and symphonic music with the melodic voice, intercepted with some growls here and there, this time provided by Christian's little brother, and former Sanctifica main man, Hubertus Liljegren. 'Farewell' might be the bands most streamlined effort. But I think that is mostly due to how tight this band has become over time. The lyrics are also great. They are unashamedly proclaiming their faith, and offer hope for everyone who want to hear, without getting overtly preachy. They just do what comes natural to them. And I for one love it, and I'm truly going to mss this awesome band! "You'll Never Walk Alone", "Grow And Follow" and "King Of Kings" are just 3 of my favorites on this album. But in truth I could list them all.
Killer tracks: All of them!
Andreas Olsson guest appearances:
Veni Domine - 'Tongues'
Related artists:
Narnia, Renascent, Modest Attraction, Wisdom Call, Harmony, Audiovision, Flagship, Rob Rock
GLORY THY NAME (2005) RIVEL
HERO (2005) RIVEL
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