Fierce
Where the Flames Prey

July 2007
Released: 2007, Self-released
Rating: 3.0/5
Reviewer: Luxi Lahtinen

Is Finland becoming the next Mecca for old school speed/thrash metal? Well, probably not, but one thing is already certain: Many new speed/thrash metal acts have been rising out from the fertile Finnish soil during the last 3-4 years or so, like mushrooms after the rain. Bands like Nailgunner, Axegressor, WhereVictimsLie, Malicious Death, Jumalation, etc - are just the tip of the iceberg, so talk about some sort of a strong invasion of Finnish speed/thrash metal.



Fierce, this fivesome from the capital area of Finland, Helsinki, was founded in summer 2004 by the band´s guitarists. The band´s line-up was completed by the rest of the members by the late 2005. The band´s first demo, titled MOSHER, paid mostly tribute to two Finnish speed/thrash metal legends, namely Stone and Airdash – and it was pretty well received amongst the circles of speed/thrash metal maniacs.



WHERE THE FLAMES PREY, Fierce´s latest 5-song effort, takes its strongest influences from the ´80s Bay Area´s direction this time. Testament, Exodus and especially Slayer (you just need to hear “Bloodshed” to agree about Slayer´s impact on Fierce´s sound) seem to be those particular three bands that are actually the ones that have given their hardest boots to Fierce´s 2nd demo (or EP). Fierce can really sound impressive with their 5 aggressive and heavy old school thrash metal cuts; the playing is thoroughly pleasingly tight, and the guys´ sense for the ´80s period of thrash is sincerely admirable. Fierce riffs, blistering solos, etc. seem to find their right place in their song structures relatively effortlessly - and it´s already certain the band´s ´80s-tinged thrash metal will surely make good company to many thrash lovers around the world. Especially this EP´s title track, “Where the Flames Prey” is an exceptionally kick-ass song in which all these somewhat trademark´ish thrash metal elements are put in the melting pot and in an effective way indeed. My only complaint, however is, the vocal parts on the demo that I cannot cope with that well. I honestly think Matti lacks of a bit of power and aggression in his voice, but let´s hope that will come later.



Fierce are good (but not great) at what they do on WHERE THE FLAMES PREY. There´s never enough old school thrash around these days, so let´s all welcome Fierce and give them our sincere support by giving a listen to them, ok?