User:LuciferMorgan/Draft

Days of Defiance is the sixth studio album by Greek heavy metal band Firewind. It was released on October 25, 2010 in Europe and October 26 in North America.

Writing and recording
Firewind took its time writing and "didn't rush". Several tracks like "Embrace the Sun" and "Heading For the Dawn" were written during touring in 2008; while touring the United States, the group's tour bus stopped at Walmart. Approaching Gus while entering Walmart, vocalist Apollo Papathanasio strummed "Embrace the Sun"'s chorus on an acoustic guitar just outside the store and said to his bandmate "Hey, check this out". Such tracks aside though, the band waited until touring commitments for fifth studio album The Premonition had concluded. Firewind then took a break, and spent the first half of 2009 working on songs and arrangements. Mirroring the songwriting sessions for The Premonition, guitarist Gus G. composed the main ideas and keyboardist Bob Katsionis contributed some song ideas as well as riffs or melodies to the tracks. The pair subsequently gave the resulting compositions to vocalist Apollo Papathanasio, who then worked on the tracks' vocal lines and lyrics.

Firewind began recording its sixth studio album around mid summer 2009. Guitars, bass and keyboards were recorded at Katsionis' Sound Symmetry Studio in Athens, Greece, with other parts being recorded at Studio Landgren 5.0 in Sweden and at Zero Gravity Studios, Greece. All of Firewind's previous studio albums were mixed by Fredrik Nordström at Sweden's Studio Fredman, but according to Gus G. the group "wanted [their sixth album to have] a little bit of a different approach to it, a different vibe". Mixing was therefore handled by Nino Laurenne and Tapio Pennanen at Helsinki, Finland's Sonic Pump Studios. Following on from discussions with Laurenne, Firewind felt that they should record an album "with more raw sounds", a "rougher edge" and "a production that was more stripped down". And as well, the group felt the need to mix the album using analogue equipment. Mastering also took place at Sonic Pump Studios. All of Firewind's members produced, while Katsionis engineered.

On May 26, 2010, the title of Firewind's sixth studio album was revealed to be Days of Defiance.

Lyrical themes
According to guitarist Gus G., the lyrics to "The Ark of Lies" "deal with all this corruption and those people that are lying to us", whereas "Embrace the Sun" "deals with the human condition and the feelings of a person." "Heading For The Dawn" is about Firewind "travelling the world and playing to" its fans. "World On Fire" was the last track on Days of Defiance that vocalist Apollo Papathanasio wrote lyrics for.

Artwork
Designed by Firewind's longtime designer and webmaster Gustavo Sazes, Days Of Defiance's album artwork was publicly revealed on September 3, 2010. The group asked Sazes to create "a great landscape scenery"; adhering to "a more traditional approach" by using a ""pencil" style of artwork", Firewind requested that the artist combine such artwork "with more modern stuff". Sazes achieved this according to Gus G., the eventual result being "stunning" and "with a slight futuristic, sci-fi element".

Marketing and promotion
There are three confirmed singles from Days of Defiance, entitled World on Fire, Ark of Lies and Embrace The Sun.

Critical reception
Days of Defiance was released in Japan on October 18, 2010 by Avalon / Marquee. Issued internationally on October 25 outside of North America and Japan through Century Media Records, the album was released one day later in North America via the same label. Selling 700 copies in the United States during its first week of release, Days of Defiance landed at position fifty-three on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart.

Tracklisting

 * 1) "The Ark Of Lies" - 4:45
 * 2) "World On Fire" - 4:39
 * 3) "Chariot" - 4:39
 * 4) "Embrace The Sun" - 4:06
 * 5) "The Departure" - 0:45
 * 6) "Heading For The Dawn" - 4:01
 * 7) "Broken" - 3:26
 * 8) "Cold As Ice" - 4:35
 * 9) "Kill In The Name Of Love" - 4:27
 * 10) "SKG" - 5:20
 * 11) "Losing Faith" - 4:12
 * 12) "The Yearning" - 4:54
 * 13) "When All Is Said And Done" - 5:06
 * 14) "Wild Rose" - 4:25 (Limited Edition Bonus Track)
 * 15) "Ride To The Rainbow's End" - 4:32 (Limited Edition Bonus Track)
 * 16) "Breaking The Law" - 2:38 (Limited Edition Bonus Track)

iTunes Exclusive
"Riding On The Wind" - 4:16

Personnel

 * Gus G. – lead guitars
 * Bob Katsionis – rhythm guitars and keyboards
 * Mark Cross - Drums (Recorded, not credited as part of line-up)
 * Michael Ehré – Drums
 * Petros Christo – bass
 * Apollo Papathanasio – vocals