Faith And Fire

Comments: Mike Flyntz and Tony Moore (both ex-RIOT) teaming up with Danny Miranda (Blue Oyster Cult) and Tony Micelli (Rainbow, Meat Loaf) to record a true melodic metal record, sounds good, or what?! Indeed, it does! The high profiled names guarantee quality, and it also comes to life in their songs.

FAITH AND FIRE deliver their first strike. The all star cast, consisting of members from a wide range of metal and rock was shooting up thanks to the presence of Moore and Flyntz, who both stood for the quality marking the revival of Riot in the late eighties. Thundersteel and the Privilege of Power still stand tall after all those years.

It is certainly a record that grows on you. The opening "Ready" goes full shred and hard hitting, the title track with its Riot influences and melody lines. Mega melodic rockers like the classical rocker "Faith and Faire", "Vilanelle" and "Everything" with its catchy hooks and chorus, or the upbeat "Fallen" which could easily be featured on "Thundersteel," where "Avenue Z" combines the typical Riot sounds with more melodic rock of the now-era. "Breathe" is a melodic ballad with heartfelt soaring vocals and an intimate setting. Flyntz' solo is ripping and emotional.

"Ashes" and "Angel" are also great ballads with more energy that reveals more of its greatness with every spin.

Accelerator is powerful and brought with class and dignity. Not yet the classic many hoped for, but it has a lot to offer for fans of great melodic metal with awesome guitar work and great hammer tracks. The album grows on you with every spin, but stays a bit on the safe side as well. For fans of Riot; this is a must! It certainly is better than Army of One, and bears the mark of the RIOT all over. - HARDROCKHAVEN.NET 2006

A few facts to start the review off

1. Mike Flyntz is the guitarist in Riot who is not Mark Reale.

2. Tony Moore was the vocalist on two Riot albums, namely Thundersteel and Privilege of Power

3. Bassist Danny Miranda is currently the touring bassist with Queen and Paul Rodgers.

4. Drummer John Miceli has played with Meatloaf

5. Accelerator is a cracking album.

What started life as a proposed solo album by current Riot Guitarist Mike Flyntz has grown somewhat in the three years it took to record and evolved into the band we have now. This time has not been wasted as Faith & Fire have produced an excellent collection of hard rocking tunes mixed with some excellent ballads, to quote Flytnz. "it’s heavy guitars, solos, and melodic vocals". Couldn't have put it better myself.

Opener 'Ready' shows that Flytnz is now slouch in the riff writing stakes and, coupled with some clever lyrics that take a dig at the George W, the album kicks off in fine style. Also on the heavy side are the likes of Fallen, which sounds like it could have been written for Riot but is certainly a riff heavy monster. Couple these two with album closer 'America', which is a mad heavy metal dash and you have the heavier side of Faith & Fire.

But these are no one trick ponies.... 'Breathe' and 'Angel' are both exquisite ballads, the former reminiscent in places of Joe Satriani's 'Always With Me, Always With You', whilst the later, although acoustic based, is no less compellling. Alo on the agenda of 'Accelerator' is a nod in a more progressive direction. 'Avenue Z' is built around a clever riff and interesting time changes with a very Bruce Dickenson style vocals and the title track itself most definitely has prog leanings.

And then there's Ashes, a totally stunning track that builds from simple beings to an almost Yngwie Malmsteen feel towards the end, with thought provoking and compelling lyrics courtesy of Moore that deal with the events and aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.

Overall Accelerator proves to be a varied roller coaster of a ride that shows that Flyntz has been hiding hiss light under a bushel when it comes to delivering those mighty riffs. Cpupled with Moore's powerful voice and the unique writing style of Miranda you get an album that sounds both fresh and interesting which, whilst good on first listen, reveals more and more of itself on repeated plays. Easily as good as Riot's recent 'Army Of One' opus and a labour of lover for the quartet that has paid of in spades. - hardrockhouse.com

Faith And Fire, formed by vocalist Tony Moore and guitarist Mike Flyntz (Riot), have gathered a fine group of musicians for this still unknown hard rock group. The other slots are filled by drummer John Miceli (Rainbow, Meat Loaf) and bassist Danny Miranda, who's currently touring with Queen and has shared spotlight with Miceli in Blue Oyster Cult. The band surely promises a lot with its line-up and the album cover is an eyecatcher too.

The band plays with heavy guitars and the vocals reach the needed heights. Faith And Fire rely on the traditional rock style, flavoured with southern rock and groove, and are a very stable band who know how to rock. Moore's vocals are very traditional 70's style, matching the likes of Tommy Shaw or even Geddy Lee, which already puts a certain mark on them. The 70's featured heartwarming bands that played with a feeling that not many bands can match up today. This feeling is shown in the ballads "Ashes", "Breathe" and "Angel" with weaping guitars and touching vocals, and present a Styx/Boston/BOC or any other 60's-70's dinosaur band approach from the band. Yet there's a hint of futuristic sound in the music. Compared to something closer to this day is Damn Yankees, eventhough "Accelerator" is not as easylistening at first and not the same type of earcandy as the other Yankees.

The more shallow tracks are "Radio Superstar" and "Fallen", which are lean rockers, but lack the highest climax in their light outpour. The anthem-like "America" ends the album in jamming rock style. There's nothing to whine much about this riff-packed hypnotical album, maybe a little about the production side, so furthermore you can only blame the band for being so darn stable and playing it so safe. New York's and America's new promise for classic rock? Who knows, but Faith And Fire stir up all the elements needed to make it in this genre. Take a few spins on "Accelerator" and after a while it'll do miracles. - ROCKUNITED.COM

The name may not mean much to you but the band members certainly will as they include Riot's Mike Flyntz and Tony Moore (he sang on Riot's classic 'Thundersteel' album) plus bass player Danny Miranda, ex-Blue Oyster Cult now part of Queen's touring band.

This album reminds me so much of latter day Blue Oyster Cult, with Moore's vocals at times sounding like BOC's Buck Dharma on the quieter tunes such as the lighters aloft ballad 'Angel'. 'Ready' sets the standard perfectly - hard rocking riffs, powerful vocals plus anti-Bush lyrics.

Very Riot in sound but with more emphasis on the harmonies, both guitars and vocals (something that prevails throughout the whole album). 'Radio Superstar' and the title track could easily gain airplay on rock radio, as both possess strong choruses and again great guitar parts.

Don't let this little gem getaway as it is a must have for fans of Riot, BOC and lovers of well crafted hard rock/classic metal. - GETREADYTOROCK.com

Comments: Two parts Riot and two parts other Metal, the new (since 2000, anyway) band called Faith and Fire have released their debut CD, Accelerator. Singer Tony Moore and guitarist Mike Flyntz are the ex-Riot members, while the rest of the band is made up of bassist Danny Miranda and drummer John Miceli. It is somewhat surprising that a band with this much legacy and weight are not signed to a label, but that definitely isn't stopping them from selling a commendable amount of CDs. In fact, CD Baby can't even keep Accelerator in stock, which just goes to show you fans know good music when they hear it.

The CD begins with a song called "Ready," which is right around 10 times better than any other song on the release. That's not to say the rest of the CD isn't high quality, because it is, but "Ready" is one of those songs that could easily win an award for "Song of the Year." The opening riff is dark and gloomy, and once Moore lets loose with his vocal cords, you are already sucked in. Now, ol' George W. is a less than popular American president these days, but rarely has a band completely dissected his mindset this cerebrally. "Like my father before, fuck the poor. All we need is war, so get ready. I'm a drunken fool, I slept through school, now I make the rules and I'm ready." Lyrically, it gets even better, with lines like, "I can't believe this happened to such a mediocre man," and the damning, "My daddy says if I try to think, we're gonna fuck the master plan." If you like lyrics that make you think, this is one of the best songs of the year. Couple that with the anthemic rhythms, the wicked vocals from Moore and Flyntz's guitar prowess, and this is just an incredible composition.

Already showing versatility by the second track, the band writes a haunting and heavily melodic slower song, called "Villanelle." It has a Howe-era Bad Company chugging rhythm, and Moore's vocals during the chorus are rich and spectacular. They steal a line from poet Dylan Thomas, about "raging against the dying of the light," and thank him by apologizing to him in the liner notes, which is pretty dang funny. It's a weird problem to have, but quite honestly, if the rest of the CD was as strong as the first two tracks, this would easily find itself in any reviewers Top 10 for 2007.

So where do things go wrong? Well, "wrong" is way too strong of a description, since it's impossible to find anything wrong on this album. But songs like "Radio Superstar" don't measure up to what they did earlier on the CD. It's a fast song, but has awkward melodies and a jarring rhythm to the vocals. Basically, when Moore sings excessively fast, it doesn't work quite as well.

The track, "Faith and Fire," takes the iffy road of writing a song about the name of the band. This always seems an oddly narcissistic musical endeavor.

Things get back on track with "Fallen," a soaring Metal anthem. Flyntz rages on the guitar, playing with rich tones and shining on the intricate leads. Moore nails everything as he does 99 percent of the time, and they pull you in with their quirky and interesting lyrics again, with lines like, "Your God's a cop-killer bullet, he's a suicide pill, and if Hell don't getcha, baby Heaven will." And if you want to send a strong message to those listening to your music, write a line like, "The Devil's never far behind. When I come again in glory, your sorry ass is mine."

While most of the CD is heavy, they do ballads with aplomb as well. The soft "Ashes" is a good track, but "Angel" is even better. The keys are simple yet effective, and the song keeps building up to one massively melodic chorus. While it's a bit cheesy, most ballads are, and the sing-along factor is almost as high as on "Ready."

In the end, you may be able to accuse Faith and Fire of blowing their metaphoric wad too early on the CD, but that doesn't mean songs like "Ready" and "Villanelle" won't completely kick your ass all over the place. Accelerator should be a welcome addition to anyone who knows good Metal when they hear it, except maybe George W., but then again, he probably doesn't listen to good music anyway. - HARDROCKHAVEN.NET 2007

A bit of metal history here: Faith And Fire is a new band formed by former Riot singer Tony Moore (from the band’s Thundersteel and The Privilege Of Power) with current Riot guitarist Mike Flyntz and former Blue Oyster Cult/Queen bassist Danny Miranda.
So what happens when you put these guys in a room and tell ‘em to write an album without boundaries? You get a killer record. Of course Moore’s vocals are stellar and haven’t diminished one iota since those unfathomable Riot albums, and there are plenty of Riot-worthy moments. The stop-start chugging riff propelling “Everything” through the speakers is a joy to witness, and there are several moments worthy of the original band’s strongest moments. So yeah, if you dug those albums or were a Riot fan in any capacity, Faith And Fire deserves a place in your collection. Pick it up at http://www.cdbaby.com/-cd/faithandfire.
- HARDERBEAT.com (Dale Lammers)