HUMAN FIRE REVIEWS:

Psychic Rebel Publishing - Museum of Rock

For those of you that missed the melodic hard rock of bands like Journey, The Promise is a band that you need to hear.  'Let's Talk about Love' is a great hard rock song with excellent vocals and lead guitar.  'Kiss Me and Kill Me' is a heavier song with great lyrics and more awesome lead guitar work.  'Arms of a Stranger' builds slowly before an excellent riff comes in and takes the song off to new heights.  'Looking Glass' has a great interesting rhythm and vocals that are fun to sing along with.  The Promise are another band that played at the Ultrasound 2000 convention and sounded just as good, or maybe better, than they even do on their studio albums.  This is a band that still has fun with its music and it shows.
Daryl Banks

Rockheads (Denmark)

The Promise are really rocking through on their latest effort "Human Fire". Never has the band and the production been such tight, and sound so good. This Cd has what it takes to be one of the best recordings out of the U.K. last year. And with a great singer and band together, what more do you need to make this cd something worthwhile. Rock on mates!!!
80%

BURRN! (Japan)

I was unexpectedly fascinated by this album, to which I had a listen without any expectations. First of all, the first-rate melodies, the beautiful harmony, and the ensemble with a feel of speed! Although they feature two lead guitarists, the vocals are delicate and thus their music does not sound loud and the modest keyboards add a feel of spaciousness. Their music could be defined as "American melodic rock which was stubbornly preserved for more than ten years in Scotland and sublimated." But the very British feel of shadiness touches your heart.  This album contains a wide variety of songs: Tracks 1 and 2 which are hard and catchy enough for good openers; Track 4 with a refreshing feel; Track 5 which rocks spiritedly; Track 8 with a shady and atmospheric feel; Track 9 which is most likely to make the whole audience get up on their feet; Track 10 with a dramatic, prog feel.... so, you cannot stop listening till the end. Moreover, every track is coloured with exciting guitar works. Steeping myself in happiness of having found a secret treasure, I cannot help wishing the band wider recognition with this second album of theirs.
Yuki Wada, Kanagawa Prefecture

Raging Heart (UK)

Now then, now then, here's the deal - you read (or should have) last time's studio report, and my initial reactions on this CD whilst still in the mixing stage.  Thusly, you'll know just how very cool this album is already, and shouldn't actually need this post mortem on the finished product, but here goes anyroad.

The CD opens with cicadas (crickets) and a hint of exotic instrumentation, then the infectious riffology of "Let's Talk About Love" tears your speaker cloth early, and it's obvious that this band are quality.  You can smell it like the leather of a new jacket..  Ian Benzie's vocals are so polished you could shave in them!  "Kiss Me & Kill Me" follows with an almost Nightrangerish geetar sound that's a pleasure to hear courtesy of Gareth & Nods.  Oh yeah, and a chorus you'll still be singing next year.   "Hold On To Love" is the 'two' part of 'the old one two' and whilst you're reeling from the impact, there's "There Goes My Heart" which, played on a big enough PA, could glean tears from Mount Rushmore.  "When Love Takes a Hand" is up next, and apart from the increased axe histrionics, you'd be forgiven for thinking this was Survivor, in terms of the feel and quality of the thing.  Next is "Hole in My Heart" which is a slight oddity - a massively powerful Y & T like riff leading into a Tygers Of Pan Tang ish frontice piece, before the chorus with its unfamiliar vocal signature - odd but damn good!  "Let The Night Go On Forever" is practically West Coast in approach, but the guitar is complete with balls of steel, and five years ago, this would have kept many a Canadian balladeer off the top spot!  "Only A Woman" is hot on its tail, with a great spangly keyboard sound and a hook made from melted down battleships, leaving the weighty "Looking Glass" to haul to through summer rock territory (with an added slice of guitar, natch!) The practically epic "Arms Of A Stranger" (no, not that one, the one with the Jovi keyboard line), is left till the end to consolidate everything the CD is about, HUGE being the operative word.

The Promise have been a very well kept secret.  Now, the cat is outta the bag, and its bigger than the Beast of Bodmin on steroids.  This band are going to destroy their doubters at The Gods '99.  Be there and witness the event for yourself.  Massive

Lee Brimilow

Young Guitar (Japan)

These days, hard-pop albums of the past are being reissued as CDs one after another. But this is a NEW album. This one, filled with melodic hard rock tunes, follows their debut album "The Promise," released in 1995. Its simple sound production hallucinates you to think they are from the 80's. The lyricism produced by the twin guitars and the feel of transparency (or clearness) created by the keyboards are very impressive. Their melody structure featuring the vocals has no unnecessary parts. Like albums of such bands as Thin Lizzy, which I heard had influenced them, their latest album has a wide variety of songs. Recommended especially to those who like Ark Angel or Sugar Creek.

Kyosuke Tsuchiya

BURRN! (Japan)

The second album of a Scottish five-piece band after four years' silence.   Cheerful and lively, but their "damp" rock music is their strongest appeal. The keyboard player supports their pop (or catchy) side with brilliant arrangements, but no matter how they try to play pop, they cannot be pop enough, probably because they are British. Those who admires British hard rock, especially such
bands as early SHY, will feel relieved with this album. Usually this kind of music does not move me; some of the tracks, however, did fascinate me. Melodic rock tune "Kiss Me and Kill Me" is a masterpiece. Their music is no heavy or no metallic, but its quality is very high.

78/100 - Taka Okuno

Thanks to Yuki Wada for the translation of the above Japanese reviews

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