Burning Point: 4CD (2001-2009) [2015 Reissue, Bonus Tracks]

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Burning Point: 4CD (2001-2009) [2015 Reissue, Bonus Tracks]

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BURNING POINT was founded in the Fall of 1999 in Oulu, Finland. After the recordings of only one promotional CD, the band managed to get a record deal with a well-known German based metal label, Limb Music (LMP), who released the albums "Salvation By Fire" (2001) and "Feeding The Flames" (2003). Despite massive legal problems which ended up in fights through lawyers and the loss of their record deal, the band managed to get live slots on some big festivals such as Tuska Metal Festival and Sweden Rock. In 2004 the band took a new, fifth member to the band. Jussi Ontero was chosen to take over the keyboards and the the band went straight to the studio to record the single "To Hell And Back" which was released only in Finland and Sweden by Poison Arrow Records. Between the late 2004 and early 2006, two members of the original line-up went their own ways. Jukka (guitars) continued his own band NNS and Jöpe (bass) joined Catamenia. In 2005 BURNING POINT recorded another promotional CD. It was brought to the attention of Metal Heaven in Germany and they offered the band a record deal. Spring 2006 the remaining members, Pete, Jussi & Jari started to record the new album. In the middle of the sessions they asked one of their long-time friends, Pekka Kolivuori to step in and fill the 2nd guitarists place. The line-up was completed by the new bassist, Jukka Jokikokko (who also did the engineering of the album in the HelGate studios) at the end of 2006. "Burned Down The Enemy" (2007) marked the end of an era but also the beginning of something new. The band played extensively nationally after the release of the album, but they also made a quick visit to Romania's Maximum Rock Festival. In the spring of 2008 BURNING POINT started the recordings of a new album, "Empyre" at the HelGate studios. The band's line-up also changed as Jari stepped out of the band to focus on his other band and Jussi took over the drums. Pasi Hiltula (ex-Kalmah, ex-Eternal Tears of Sorrow), who also played on the first two albums, was chosen to be the new keyboardist. Between the recording sessions the band also did few chosen gigs like supporting ex-Skid Row vocalist Sebastian Bach. Empyre was without a doubt "back to the roots" album and you'll definitively hear a strong "80's vibe" on the album. Naturally the cover songs and the guests, which are inlcuded on the Limited Edition, just prove the point. Running Wild's "Gods of Iron" (feat. Majk Moti, ex- Running Wild), The Rod's "Nuclear Skies" (feat. David "Rock" Feinstein), Q5's "Let Go" (feat. Jonathan K) and a cover song from one of the biggest artist in Finland, Kirka, "I'll Be Yours" from Kirka's album R.O.C.K. (1986) features vocals by Taage (Kilpi & ex-Altaria) and lead guitars by ex-Kirka guitarist Riku Kukkonen. The "top notch" production on the album is from the band's own hands and the great mastering was done by Minerva Pappi at the famous Finnvox Studios. The cover artist, Felipe Machado Franco, is also known from his artwork to bands like Iced Earth, Blaze Bayley, Axel Rudi Pell etc. 2 singles from the the album, Kirka cover "I'll be Yours" and "Manic Merry-Go-Round" was chosen to the playlist of one biggest radio-stations in Finland, SBS-Radios and they were in heavy rotation throughout the nation for a long time. Between '09-'10 they did a mini-tour in Finland and Sweden with Cryonic Temple (SWE) and Tragedian (DE) as well as few club and festival gigs like a performance in Qstock Festivals. Spring 2010 the band decided to leave from their current label, due to the lack of promotion etc. The band also part ways with the keyboardist Pasi Hiltula and decided to continue as a 4-piece band. They started to write the new material and late 2011 the new promo-cd "Sparks from The Ignitor" was sent to the labels. Scarlet Records (ITA) was chosen to be their new label and the new album, The Ignitor, was released world wide in June 2012.
In Asia it was released (with bonus tracks) by Spiritual Beast Records.

Album was mastered at the Tico Tico Studios ( Sonata Arctica, Sentenced etc) by Ahti Kortelainen and the amazing artwork was once again from the hands of Felipe Machado Franco!

At the time of The Ignitor tour, Jarkko Väisänen played live shows on keyboards with the band as a hired gun. The guys came to a conclusion that maybe he would like to join the band as a solid member. New Years Eve 2013 Burning Point played another memorable live show in their hometown Oulu, Finland at Club Teatria. After show party was the perfect time to raise the question to Jarkko. The look on his face was unforgettable, the Iceman showed a sign of melting but only for a breaf moment. Now the guys had another top notch player with great personality in the band.
It was in the end of 2013 when Nitte and Pete kept in touch with each other on a musical basis. At the same time the guys were thinking about doing something different with or to the band. It didn't take long for everyone to realize that she would be the perfect vocalist for the band. Not only because of her tremendous voice but also personality. It has always been Burning Point's main priorities to have good chemistry within the group and that can be heard and seen on albums and live shows. If you ever get the chance to tour with the group, you'll know.

The next album became to take shape at Helgate and Reindeer Horns Studios. All the songs had been done and it seemed that this album would take way too long to get finished. There was a sign of frustration in the air and clock was ticking towards lead vocal recording sessions. At the same time bassist Jukka Jokikokko had some personal, non band related issues and Pete asked Sammy Nyman to play demo bass tracks so that things would be ready for Nitte to come and record vocals. It was a sad moment for everyone when Jukka declared his decision that he would leave the band. There was no drama involved, a man has to do what a man has to do.

Sammy states: "It was an odd situation for me to go and play demo tracks to BP's next album. I've known the band for years and I've done a few gigs with the guys as a crew member and some hanging out with the band backstage. I've always looked up to their music and mr. Jokikokko has always been one of my favourite bass players." Little did he know when Pete gave him a call and asked him to join the ranks. Another cool and active guy in the band, this will be the perfect line-up for the future endeavors of the band.

The new album took it's final shape in the winter 2014/2015. Now it was time to "hunt" for a record label. It's very common that nowadays demos don't get that much recognition, the band had a killer album in their hands and everyone knew that this it. Sort of a It's now or never- situation. The album was sent to various labels and feedback was very encouraging. Mastermind Pete had his contact to a certain major German label, and that happened to be AFM Records, one of the biggest ones in the industry. Luckily he knew Timo Hoffman, one of the booker guys in the company. Timo had been following the band for years and as he heard the new album, the deal started to happen. After signing it, first lyric video was made from "Find Your Soul", a very good representer of the new Burning Point. The new album will be released June 12th (EU), July 7th (US) and August (Jap). In addition AFM will re-issue the first four BURNING POINT albums "Salvation By Fire" (2001), "Feeding The Flames" (2013), "Burned Down The Enemy"(2007) and "Empyre" (2009), all scheduled for a August release and about to include numerous bonus tracks.

Year 2015 will be a full blast from the Burning Point -camp!!! .As this is being written, the summer festival tour is just around the corner and a Finnish club tour is in the making for fall and winter 2015

~ burning-point.com

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Burning Point: 4CD (2001-2009) [2015 Reissue, Bonus Tracks]

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Burning Point: 4CD (2001-2009) [2015 Reissue, Bonus Tracks]

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Finland's Burning Point add their names to the growing list of Metal bands coming from one of the great markets of the genre. With the bands debut offering 'Salvation by Fire' they seem poised to make their mark on the metal community and a lot of noise. The band is signed with Limb Music and released in late 2001.

The Music
Burning Point are very typical of what you would expect from the Finnish Metal scene. Aggressive, melodic music with a lot of grit. The band embrace a style in which is straight forward. You might wonder if they sound like other acts from the scene. Well, yes and no. The band has the raw ability to pull off what the others are doing, but seem to feel at ease in playing their music more traditional. Tracks that I personally like include 'Under the dying Sun', the gritty 'Lake of Fire', 'Black Star' which has a tempo similar to Dio-era Black Sabbath, the quick 'Stealer of Light', and the awesome album closer and title track 'Salvation by Fire' which embraces several tempos. Once again there is a hidden bonus track. This track is a gem. Love the groove. Make sure you don't miss it on the album.

Overall
I am amazed at the quality as well as quantity of acts coming out of Finland. What makes the scene great is the variety of styles in the scene as well. As mentioned, Burning Point are a bit more traditional in their approach, but are very good as well at what they deliver. This is a pretty damn good debut effort and should be a worthy addition to any metal collection.

~ rockindude.homestead.com

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Burning Point: 4CD (2001-2009) [2015 Reissue, Bonus Tracks]

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Jeez, here we go again. Finnish power metal. You know I’m a sucker for this stuff. I picked up FEEDING THE FLAMES as a total impulse buy at the local shop. Figuring that I couldn’t go very wrong with a Limb music release by a bunch of Finnish guys with a cover as cool as this, I took it home.

Wow, am I glad I picked this one up. This is more than your typical Finnish power metal album. Burning Point combines consideraable doses of both the speedy Euro power metal and ripping traditional metal that really stands out from other bands.

FEEDING THE FLAMES, the sophomore album by Burning Point, is quite an album in all respects. Whether the band is blazing full away in a melodic speed metal frenzy, or scaling back to a ballad that still has plenty of power, this is just a kick-ass release.

“Into the Fire” blows the album wide apart in a mere 3 minutes of high-energy speed metal. I mean, holy fuck. The speed is unreal, and the powerful chords behind the lead make a full, rich sound. Absolutely incredible. Moving along to “Blackened the Sun” (WTF?), we’ve got a strong traditional metal crunchy song sounding very much like Lost Horizon’s amazing debut. The solos here aren’t very long, but they’re focused. Throughout the album, the axework draws from both the traditional metal style as well as the neoclassical school. Speaking of Lost Horizon, I gotta mention the vocal power of Pete Ahonen. Ok, he’s not as mind-blowing as Daniel Heiman, Ahonen’s delivery really makes Burning Point stand out. His voice is strong and clean, but he is strongest around the mid-range with his emotional delivery. What’s even cooler is that not only is Pete holding down the vocals, but also the Changing gears a bit, we move to three slower to mid-paced songs, including the ultra-catchy “Voices from the Past,” and the slow “I Am the Silent One,” with a beautiful solo and a moving rhythm. After the symphonic intro to “Stray Bullet,” breaks away much like the first track on the album. No keyboard washes here; the synths are used as backing, and sparingly at that. The bass work on here is monstrous and thundering; in addition, we have some of the tightest rhythm/lead pairings on the album. I get a strong sense of early Hammerfall, or newer Gamma Ray on this one. The next song up is a cover, titled “Night Games.” I wasn’t able to find out who performed the original, but it is credited to Ed Hamilton. In any case, this is an interesting song, with a poppy-80s-ish sound to it. It’s catchy as hell, and the middle solo really stands out. As we near the last third of the album, FEEDING THE FLAMES is still holding strong to the consistency with which it started. Closing out are “All the Madness,” a semi-ballad in the late Savatage style (especially the chorus), and the album’s masterpiece, “Feeding the Flames.” This one track sums up everything about Burning Point’s music in one 8-minute track. Plenty of time and style changes keep this one interesting, including a surprisingly big epic choir that could have come straight from Rhapsody.

FEEDING THE FLAMES is not only well-written and masterfully-performed, but it also has the necessary elements to make it a fun and thoroughly enjoyable listen. I can highly recommend this one to all fans of traditional, neoclassical, and power metal.

by NightOfTheRealm, metal-archives.com

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Burning Point: 4CD (2001-2009) [2015 Reissue, Bonus Tracks]

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The latest opus from Burning Point, this power metal band from Finland, is pretty much on par with their previous releases, while not being original in the least, the band can deliver some strong power metal songs in each of their albums.

Burning Point blend of Power Metal is, for the lack of a better word : unoriginal. Still they manage to write some good and enjoyable songs but do not expect this band to reinvent the wheel. My main complaint with the band is that most of their material sounds the same. I do not know how many albums I've missed from the last one I reviewed back in 2003, but I can tell you that I see very little difference in the material from this album. The album starts with quite a great song, probably one of the best of the album called Parasite. The song kicks in with a fast neo-classical guitar piece that you can find later on after choruses again, in the typical melodic power metal handbook :). The second track Heart Of Gold, reminds me of and Iced Earth's ballad / mid-tempo (like Melancholy or Watching Over Me but MUCH less powerful), maybe its the way its being sang (and the acoustic type guitar), and in the end this song, that has a calm and soft verse ends up having a stronger chorus part. The album has a few other good songs, like To Hell And Back & Hell Awaits (both very fast speed metal song), but the rest of the songs don't really stand out, and while not bad songs per say, they aren't thrilling either. My advice to Burning Point would be to concentrate their efforts on fast paced songs as its what they do best ! If the album contained 10 songs like To Hell and Back and Hell Awaits, then it would be much more interesting and I guess less boring at times. The problem with the mid-tempos and not so fast songs, is that they don't help carry a sense of speed and excitement, and in the end I find myself waiting for the fast tracks when I listen to Burning Point ! The album ends on a nice long epic piece bearing the name of the album, its a great song but I wouldn't have put it as the last track. I would typically have positioned this one right after the good opener song, to keep a good pace. But then again many bands keep a long epic song for the end and it kind of became a trend in Power Metal, so well, here we go again with the Power Metal textbook recipe.

In my opinion Burning Point never really took off since their debut and they keep delivering medium albums that have some great songs in them, and some not so great / fillers and a couple of plain boring songs. The problem is that maybe Burning Point is trying to deliver too much varied material for their own good. When Edguy delivers 4 speed metal songs, 3 mid-tempos, 1 ballad, and 2 joke songs, it works cause they know how to make each of these songs a masterpiece, and none are ever boring. With Burning Point, their strong suit in my opinion, is the fast paced song, and I would suggest they make an album containing 70-80% of those, and less mid-tempos and ballads. I think the result would be a much more attractive CD to many Power Metal fans. In the end I'm sure die hard fans of Burning Point will love this album, but if you don't know them yet, my advice is listen before you buy it, maybe you'll like it better than I do.

by Chris, metalreviews.com

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Burning Point: 4CD (2001-2009) [2015 Reissue, Bonus Tracks]

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After my first listen through the new Burning Point release 'Empyre,' there was something about this Finnish Metal band flailing in the waters of my long-term memory that I could not rescue even with the longest mental rope. Then I reread my review of their previous work, 'Burning Down The Enemy,' and it all came back to me. It also explained why the memory was struggling for air in those deep waters: I had a measured degree of ambivalence towards last release. I could not decide whether I was fond of it or not. Unfortunately, with 'Empyre' after one listen I was struggling in that same watery abyss once more. Truly, first impressions are a bitch.

Thankfully, I gave 'Empyre' a second go around and can say unequivocally that I liked it. Burning Point is neither reinventing the heavy metal wheel or themselves on this work. Essentially, they have found their forte, and like it or not, with very little or no improvisations they are working their groove. Generally, 'Empyre' is an uneven listen of mostly melodic heavy metal with a hybrid mix of power metal here and there. Actually, the best pieces on the disc are when they follow that hybrid mix and those most excellent choices are on the latter half. 'Walls Of Stone' through 'Only The Wrong Will Survive' show Burning Point at their most heavy, most melodic best. 'Sacrifice' is the true masterpiece with its infectious acoustic guitar foundation. Outside of these, the singular most influential accomplishment is the metal ballad, 'Was It Me;' it's heavy, melodic and endearing.

With their previous work, I was indifferent towards Burning Point. Yet, their latest release 'Empyre' shows the band at their melodic heavy metal best. This work is hardly perfect; it's uneven at times. But overall its an mature and entertaining offering from Burning Point. Recommended!

by Craig Hartranft, dangerdog.com