BONFIRE
“Higher Ground”
Album Review by Iron Mathew

10/10

Bonfire are a hard rock band from Germany formed around the same time as fellow German legends Accept and Scorpions – these three bands the first ones to light the path for generation after generation of rock (and metal) bands to emerge from the country that has become renowned as a hotbed for hard rock (and heavy metal) bands! Across the bands glittering fifty year career, Bonfire – founded by guitarist Hans Ziller, has released twenty four studio albums, numerous singles, E.P.s, live and compilation albums, as well as tour the world alongside many of rock and metals luminary bands, bands such as Judas Priest and ZZ Top to name just two! The bands most recent release ‘Higher Ground’, emerged in 2025…

…melding the very best of what hard rock and heavy metal has to offer, ‘Higher Ground’ a glorious mix of rock and metal featuring eleven songs across a red hot forty six sizzling minutes – the one and a half minute tension fuelled, crescendo building instrumental ‘Nostradamus’ setting one hell of an anticipation level as the album thunders into life with ‘I Will Rise’, the anticipation well worth the minute’s wait! ‘I Will Rise’ is a thunderous rampage of old school rock and metal from an era when everything and everyone was cast under the “heavy metal” banner – even Def Leppard, Kiss and Whitesnake! Bonfire proudly straddle the border between rock and metal, keeping one foot firmly rooted to the ground on either side – as do such legendary British bands Demon, Lionheart and Praying Mantis.

The title song ‘Higher Ground’ maintains the albums head turning start, Bonfire shuddering the ground with an almighty anthemic foot stomp that becomes a magnificent melodic hard rocker across the chorus break – the guitars buzzing like it’s 1985 and not 2025! Yes readers, I’m referring to the iconic NWOBHM guitar sound that was immensely prevalent during the eighties rock and metal evolution, ‘Higher Ground’ (the song) oozing it in abundance! The energy across the albums opening brace has been incredible, the band from Bavaria doubling it for ‘I Died Tonight’, the bands blend of rock and metal engulfing a worldwide audience just like darkness engulfs the sky after the sun sets! The oomph here is the stuff of arena rock, the band infecting every listener with a feel good factor to stretch everyone’s smiles from ear to ear – ‘Lost All Control’ entering the fray with a rougher texture than everything heard so far! And more pace too, lots more – Bonfire adopting the iconic “metal gallop” to send every mosh pit around the world into overdrive, the heads of every mosher rocking back and forth at an extreme rate of knots!

The intensity of ‘Higher Ground’ (the album) so far has been spot on, holding everyone’s attentions in a vice like grip, a much mellower feel descending upon the album in the shape of ‘When Love Comes Down’, Bonfire striding straight into balladry with this one! Every ounce of power is reined in by the band, ‘When Love Comes Down’ breaking out in to a punchy power ballad as the one minute mark passes by – the band both majestic and elegant as every listener everywhere raises lighters high in the air! Returning the iconic NWOBHM guitar tone to the fore, ‘Falling’ shudders the ground a hell of a lot more than earlier, every “gas station, residence, warehouse, farmhouse, henhouse, outhouse and doghouse in the area” smashed to smithereens by the bands immense power driven blend of rock and metal! And the recent rougher texture makes a comeback via ‘Come Hell Or High Water’, hitting hard with a nineties hard rock roar, Bonfire delivering a multitude of musical styles to please a wide range of listeners, fans and followers. From the younger to the older and every age in-between – there’s definitely something within ‘Higher Ground’ (the album) to tickle your fancy!

The band plant one “foot on the monitor” to adopt the metal gallop once more as ‘Jealousy’ storms outta the gate with more energy than ever, the band keeping the intensity at phenomenal heights as all the head bangers around the world exercise their neck muscles more vigorously than at any other time up to this point – Bonfire marching on with total aplomb as ‘Spinnin’ In The Black’ comes alive with a Metallica sounding guitar riff! A very early Metallica riff I grant you, but a Metallica riff nonetheless! But by the time ‘Spinnin’ In The Black’ reaches the ten second mark, Bonfire’s regular rock and metal sound returns to the fore, the band pounding the ground so hard I can feel the tremors from here! And I’m over seven hundred miles away in the UK! The album is brought to a close with ‘Rock ‘N’ Roll Survivor’, a re-worked and re-written version of 2020’s ‘Rock ‘N’ Roll Survivors’ – the newer version a much beefier one with the new lyrics just as poignant as the original’s are.

Overall, a pulsating forty six minutes of hard rock and heavy metal with an immense infectious level and a melodious intent second to none.

TRACKLIST

Nostradamus
I Will Rise
Higher Ground
I Died Tonight
Lost All Control
When Love Comes Down
Falling
Come Hell Or High Water
Jealousy
Spinnin’ In The Black
Rock’n’Roll Survivor (2024 version)

https://www.bonfire.de/
https://www.facebook.com/bonfireofficial

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