Freakangel - Into The Fire

This is the second EP coming off of Freakangel's powerful third studio album The Ones To Fall, and is based around the track Into The Fire, which features Javi Ssagittar of Terrolokaust fame. The title track remains untouched, but is served up an acoustic cover by gothrock act Hell Boulevard, ad we're also fed remixed versions of Queen of Hearts by BlakOPz as well as Terrorkode, a remix of My Last Breath by Evestus, and ends off with two live tracks.

Of course, Into The Fire still remains the slow ambience and metal approach that originally made me fall in love with it in the first place. The vocals, though angry, are also emotionally touched, showcasing a somber tune. It's been a while since I've given this track a listen, but I'm so glad this EP reintroduced me to it all over again. The acoustic cover of the song gave it a huge Western feel through and through, and I could easily see Clint Eastwood riding off in the sunset on a raven black horse after laying waste to a gang of bandits as this played over it. It was a creative way to transform the song from something completely harsh and unforgiving to a fairly soothing, and well touched song.

Now, the remixes of Queen of Hearts need some love bestowed upon them. BlakOPz transformed the song into an electronically filled hate machine. Not as bass heavy as I would expect the artist to make it, the vocals were a tad off beat, but the drum work was spot on. Terrorkode made the song a bit noisy, with the vocals coming off more spoken out than sung this time around, and the slower tune worked well enough on its own. Good effort by both artists.

That only leaves Evestus' remix to cover. Though the original track only lasted around a minute and a half on the album, this artist expanded it into a four and a half minute song. It came off a bit rough, but the drum and bass efforts combing with the later synth work was very well done.

The two live tracks, A Dozen New Scars and Porcelain Doll, came out nicely, but didn't nearly compare to the way the tracks were originally sung and performed on the original CD. I think if I was at the shows where the songs were recorded live, I would have enjoyed them quite that much more. Still, they provided an entertaining experience as to what you can expect different from the studio version to the live version.

But, anyway, the music on the EP was excellent, and being reintroduced to a track I haven't listened to in quite a while was just as satisfying as when I first listened to it. I got the goosebumps that came along with listening to it, and the remixes done by each of the collaborating artists offered an interesting listening experience. For fans of Freakangel, I think you'll find something to love here. Especially with that acoustic cover. Definitely check that out. Sep 12 2014