FIREWIND Announces Four Special North American Headlining Shows

Greek melodic metallers FIREWIND, led by current OZZY OSBOURNE guitarist Gus G., will celebrate the release of their new album, "Days Of Defiance", with a limited number of special North American headlining shows. The trek, which kicks off on November 4 and runs through November 7, will feature POWERGLOVE and THE ABSENCE in the support slots.

Commented Gus G.: "We are very happy to announce four special album release shows in North America this fall in support of our new record, 'Days of Defiance'.

"It's been awhile since FIREWIND played North America, as our last tour was spring/summer 2008.

“This is a very special run for us, as it will be the first time we'll play the new songs live. It also might be awhile until we come back for a full North American run, so we REALLY hope to see many of you come out to these shows. We'll be sure to rock you to the ground and that's a promise!"

FIREWIND with POWERGLOVE, THE ABSENCE:

Nov. 04 - Volume 11 - Raleigh, NC
Nov. 05 - Jaxx - West Springfield, VA
Nov. 06 - The Gramercy - New York, NY
Nov. 07 - Les Foufounes Electriques - Montreal, QC, Canada

"Days Of Defiance" will be released on October 26 (one day earlier internationally) via Century Media Records. The CD's striking cover artwork was designed by the band's longtime partner in all design matters, Gustavo Sazes, and can be viewed below.

Commented Gus: "I'm very excited and cannot wait for our fans to listen to our new album! We feel we've captured great performances and took our songwriting to the next level on this one. There's tons of cool guitar on there and I believe Bob [Katsionis] has finally managed to reach warp-speed with his keyboard solos! Even more seriously, I highly recommend that you listen to this album at a very loud volume.

"As for the artwork, it was once again done by our visual wizard and webmaster extraordinaire, Gustavo Sazes. This time we asked Gustavo to come up with a great landscape scenery, with a more traditional approach and even get the 'pencil' style of artwork on there, but also combine it with more modern stuff. So, he gave us that… with a slight futuristic, sci-fi element and I think the end result is stunning!"

"Days of Defiance" track listing

01. The Ark Of Lies
02. World On Fire
03. Chariot
04. Embrace The Sun
05. The Departure
06. Heading For The Dawn
07. Broken
08. Cold As Ice
09. Kill In The Name Of Love
10. SKG
11. Losing Faith
12. The Yearning
13. When All Is Said And Done
14. Riding On The Wind (iTunes exclusive)

"Days Of Defiance" is described in a press release as "a truly ambitious and dynamic opus featuring some of the most brilliant guitar playing the genre has seen in many years."

The "World On Fire" single was made available for purchase on digital platforms starting on August 17.

Commented Gus G.: "Usually when we write an album we let the music come to us and go with the flow. Maybe that's why our albums have variety and you can hear everything from super-heavy songs to speed-metal shredding to rock anthems and ballads. 'Days Of Defiance' wasn't much different in the making, but this time we recorded almost all of it in our home studios, which allowed us to be more relaxed. That's why I feel the new album features the best performances by all of us. One of our main goals, though, was to get a bit more of an 'unpolished' sound and be more raw. I think we achieved it and that gives an extra heaviness to the overall sound."

FIREWIND's 2010 lineup (from left to right in photo below):

Michael Ehre - Drums
Petros Christo - Bass
Apollo Papathanasio - Vocals
Gus G. - Guitar
Bob Katsionis - Keyboards

"The Premonition", the latest album from FIREWIND, was released on vinyl on March 8 via Century Media Records. The band's first-ever vinyl release contains one bonus track.

FIREWIND recently parted ways with drummer Mark Cross (ex-HELLOWEEN, METALIUM) due to personal differences.