A couple of years ago, I had the pleasure of hearing this Swedish band's debut album titled "Timeless Departure." The guys were playing ultra-melodic blend of black and death metal back then. So when I learned that their third disc had come out on the quintessentially power metal label Arise, I initially thought that's exactly the direction the musicians had drifted toward. Fortunately, I was wrong. SKYFIRE now plays music in the vein of CHILDREN OF BODOM, occasionally diluted with melodies reminiscent of IN FLAMES. I can already see the indignant outcries — "a clone, and you're giving it a high score!" The scores are fine, and so is my objectivity ;) Yes, SKYFIRE operates in the same key as the "Children," but they're by no means mindlessly copying the Finns. They could easily ask their colleagues to move over, but they don't have the audacity to climb over their heads just yet. And the Swedes still have room to grow — not everything on the album is flawless.
