Monday, January 28, 2013 Rock En Cuba

Author: Johe Arias

We received with curiosity, pleasure and attention this disk of power metal band from Bulgaria. As with most remote countries of the world also there is a powerful metal scene. Krossfire is a band, that was founded in 2001 and finally after ten years have been recording their debut album. An example of that is sometimes a lot of work goes, but with persistence do you get to take a step that means a way that the band has known more. This idea is intended for most Cuban groups who think only to do many concerts and a demo with few conditions and information every three to four years, are already popular. The only way to get noticed in this world beyond water is recording an album and making it able to reach all the record labels, magazines and making critical websites. To see when eventually realizing our fellow musicians Cubans. But back to the Bulgarian band. It is a group where although predominantly double bass, also keyboards are consistent work that will appeal to fans of progressive metal. With a melodic balance, some ballads and mid-tempo, the disc comes to characterize Krossfire as a European power metal band. The production is spectacular and at times reminiscent of those early records of Blind Guardian, not by voice, but by the use of orchestra on songs like “Visions” and “Icaria”. Also approach to the epic touches on some Manowar discs prologues and in peculiar way with entering “Learning to fly”, is much like Rhapsody of Fire. The keyboard has an interesting role in the introduction of “Touch of Destiny”, although it has nothing to do with the riff back, and sometimes the songs he intros add that little to keep with them. But apart from this detail, is a wonderful composition, with a central piano part, that gives a special touch. And back keyboards, in each of the themes and timbres used different keyboard instruments of a very versatile. In “The One”, a song that closes the album, we hear a female voice of Violeta Kousheva, in a melancholy way, being the softest of the disc. There is a band that highlights originality, composition and working interpretation is magnificent and for fans of power metal is a good album of every collection

Monday, January 28, 2013 MEDAZZAROCK.CH

Autor: Andre | Rating: 9 / 10.

Bulgaria is not exactly the Mecca of metal music, but there are good musicians who want to present their work to the wider market. KROSSFIRE is one of those bands , that emerged on the international scene with his debut album. After spherical string intro from the second piece on everything becomes more serious. With much force, sometimes depressing, sometimes spherical bearing, a man embarks on a journey. Voice features brilliant performance of Maestro Dimo Petkov. Moderate guitar solos that are associated with excellent strings illuminate everything. With many Bulgarians compose a variety of sumptuous dishes. Also production, which is very strong, gives a share. Fans of Rhapsody Of Fire Sabaton or should get the album without hesitation. But all who dig just a good, strong and experienced metal music you should hear!

Wednesday, September 12, 2012 METALKAOZ.COM

Autor: Minos Dokopoulos

I was really surprised when I received the debut album of KROSSFIRE, a band coming from Greece’s neighbor country, Bulgaria; and that’s because I don’t think I’ve ever listened to an album coming from there. KROSSFIRE exist from 2001 and during the previous decade they have mostly performed live, hence the live DVD, “7 Years On Stage” (2009), one year after they released their first single, “Touch Of Destiny”. Although, they hadn’t released anything, the band was working hard, and their efforts were rewarded with an invitation in 2005, to support JAG PANZER in Sofia. Apart from the Heavy/Power Metal sound, the Bulgarian quintet seems to be really keen on melodies and slow instrumental pieces. That explains firstly the presence of the album openers “Visions” and “Icaria”. Those two are great slow-tempo compositions bearing an almost soundtrack-like style with classical oriented sound and many atmospheric breaks, whether these are intros or just intervals. The self-titled track has two great examples of both. Many more great melodies come from the beautiful orchestrations and the distinct keyboard presence sharing many times the leading role with the rest of the instruments and the very nice vocals by Dimo Petkov. His great vocal melodies serve the melodic refrains and many times add an epic layer to the songs. And all this abundance of melodies couldn’t but fit perfectly with a heavy sound from the guitar leads and the drum work. All these create great songs, like “Warmachine” that also happens to be one of the album highlights with the epic intro, the heavy mid-tempo, the great leads and the fantastic vocal melodies. Other noticeable songs are, “How Can There Be…?” and “Cold Winds”, where the band’s talents really shines. The album closes with a nice power ballad with a very nice female voice that is piano driven building a nice atmosphere. “Learning To Fly” is an album with solid compositions, executed by skillful musicians. It is a great first attempt, with good ideas that captures the listener’s attention. It is an album that not only will make you hit the ‘play’ button again and again, but you’ll want to come back to it really soon in the future.

Tuesday, June 12, 2012 METAL1.INFO

Autor: Steffen M.

I just had to think, but it’s true: A work of a band from Bulgaria so far I have discussed before. Well, well, now I can tick off this nation on my personal metal world map. KROSSFIRE called the troops from the Balkans, their debut album “Learning To Fly” with Pure Steel Records.Stylistically, KROSSFIRE located in the melodic power metal, but also to enrich their sound with progressive and symphonic elements. The symphonic intro shows up in the “Visions” in there somewhere, which goes directly to “Warmachine”, a song uncover multilayered. Different levels of passages in this piece very skillfully put together, so that the hook line also appears consistent. The following “How Can There Be …” is different in the basic structures almost from its predecessor. The melody is something catchy, otherwise also joined together in a progressive fashion sections with different tempos and rhythms.The instrumental “Icaria” recalls this epic, melancholic melody slightly to the soundtrack of a fantasy film. The driving and energetic, “Learning To Fly” finally brings, also new compositional aspects of the game. Thanks to a very voluminous and expressive vocal presentation by Dimo Petkov approaches this track to a certain extent the most anthemic songs of Powerwolf. Even with “Touch of Density” Petkov again proves that he was almost to the intensity of Attila mandrel incomparable singing rankommt – but only almost. Nevertheless pushes his voice to the compositions of KROSSFIRE also a distinctive stamp.As for the songwriting, the Bulgarians still pull out any trees. Really good pieces are only mentioned – “Learning To Fly”, the epic-scale “False Reality” and the emotional and melodic “Angels Cry”. Friends of ballads could still find “The One” favor. The other songs do go through all of them as solid, and a complete loss recorded the album either, but in order to advance the genre tip KROSSFIRE must make some concise compositions on the legs. They have been so for the future is still room for improvement. KROSSFIRE will always have good ideas, although I would recommend them most, the progressive bells and whistles that is particularly acute in the first two songs, his appearance, to be left out. Thus, the fact seems a little undercooked. The symphonic proportions, which appear to the Bulgarians by repeated use obviously important, could be expanded quietly. This would also support the somewhat subdued some epic songs. For a debut album “Learning To Fly” has become quite well. It joins a high front to the genre average. If you like melodic metal with progressive and symphonic excursions in small fields may retest the debut of KROSSFIRE quiet.

Monday, March 05, 2012 TEMPELORES.COM

Autor: Martine Goffard

It was my curiosity that made me picked this band for the next review. Have you already heard of a Bulgarian metal band before? I didn’t. Ok, a first album, these are newbies who want to break through and may achieve it in ten years, you may thought. Not even that! Indeed, it’s a first album but newbies ? No way. These guys have practiced so much that you would think it’s the tenth of a long carrier. Let’s talk about this album called “Learning To Fly”. We have two parts on this album. You notice it when you reach the half. It begins with a nice and interesting symphonic intro. It sounds a bit like classical music composed on keyboard. There’s a choir, you can hear bells and it ends with traditional guttural sounds. It just leaves you curious for more. A clash of swords and here we are with “Warmachine”. This is pure heavy metal. The singer, Dimo Petkov, is literally throwing his voice, pushing it from down low to the heights, as regular as a metronome. It’s a clear, powerful and understandable voice. Now, he doesn’t really sing, this is a call to arms. Unfortunately, the guitars are a bit absent on this one and the keyboard solo tastes like sugar on a spicy dishes. The second song, “How Can There Be…?”, is not really memorable but keeps the same level. Then we have an intermeddle with Icaria. This has a touch of what Epica can do instrumentally. What comes afterward is no more heavy but power metal. “Learning To Fly”, the hit of the album, has melodic piano solos of all beauty. The guitar play appears a lot richer as well. We have different small intros for each song. The one on Touch Of Destiny makes me think of some music box or the little tunes you can hear on carousels. On this second part of the album, Dimo Petkov has a completely different way of singing. It’s fluid, light, it moves with the songs. He shows his full range of notes. We can also enjoy various guitar and piano solos. I mean piano and not keyboard. Though there are both, the keyboardist, Peter Boshnakov, has clearly a long piano training behind him and masters his score at the perfection. Let yourself float in the air with the marriage of the guitar riffs to the keyboard notes on “False Reality” and “Angels Cry”; the cathedral effects on this last one grazing you like a breeze. The final song, The One, has the nostalgia of a Scorpions’s song. This is the romantic touch of the album, a duo with a fresh feminine voice. It’s soft, slow and full of emotions. The perfect love song. It’s obvious that this album, for a first one, has a maturity that most don’t have. The second part can even make you think of early Blind Guardian. They set the bar high for the next one!

Wednesday, February 29, 2012 DISAGREEMENT.NET

Autor: Alex Thiel

Eastern Europe has given us a fair share of metal bands, but I can’t recall ever having heard one from Bulgaria before. Now I have the pleasure of getting to know a first one, Krossfire, from this Balkan country. The band name may not be overly original, but the music is definitely worth your time. The band was founded in 2001 and then took until last year to release their official debut Learning To Fly. First though the listener has to suffer through a vacuous three minute synthesizer intro before the regular part begins. The first real track, Warmachine, shows instantly that power, progressive and retro (I know this sounds illogical) can very well work together. The songs are enormously powerful, are full of playful details and remind of the big names of the early Nineties like for instance Vicious Rumors, Queensryche, Savatage and occasionally Blind Guardian. Over all of this soar the high yet strong vocals that have certain operatic qualities. Something similar has been done in the past by Puerto Rican metal band Dantesco. Highlights on the CD are the festive title track and the following Touch Of Destiny which doesn’t stand back when it comes to mood. The slightly Germanic tinged Angels Cry might be a matter of taste, but it is still quite entertaining. I only have problems with the concluding ballad The One where a male and a female voice are sharing the vocals, in a rather overdone way though. Krossfire can pride themselves in having come up with a solid debut album. If you like stomping power metal from the second last decade and also a predilection for playfulness, you probably should invest some of your time into Learning To Fly. The vocals are of course the standout feature and help that distinguish Krossfire from other genre bands. Now they should only work on getting their songwriting more varied, as a lot of their material has a similar recipe.

Monday, February 20, 2012 LIVEREVIEWER.COM

Autor:Rik Bauters Rating: 3.75 / 5

This album starts with a 3 minute long orchestral bombastic intro, which made you believe you’re gonna hear some kind of neoclassical gothic metal. But when the wall of riffs from “Warmachine” hit your ears you’re in for a pleasant surprise. Very well produced powermetal fills the room with powerful and clean vocals from Dimo. Keys play an important role in the sound and this is well demonstrated in the instrumental break, which also holds a shredding solo! “How Can There Be…?” is build up with that same recipe but the speed shifts a gear higher. The tittle track has a more progmetal approach with neoclassical metal inspired keys and double bass drumming. In the break you’ll hear some piano pass by. “Touch Of Destiny” brings peace and quiet with organ sounds. But speeding riffs in the vein of US metallers Exxplorer awakes you from your dream. This track has some Dream Theater ingredients, a Savatage piano and light orchestration in the break is accompanied with some surprisingly fresh sounding happy keystrokes. “False Reality” slowly builds up to a powerful metal track with minor vocal effects and classical inspired keys. The catchy vocals in the chorus are the cherry on the pie! “Angels Cry” starts with orchestration and semi-acoustic guitars, but soon galloping riffs and the dominant keys take over the wheel and this trip offers a great musical adventure! The vocal effects in the intro from the slow-fast “Cold Winds” stand in big contrast with the shredding guitar solo and this track also shows neoclassical interfaces. The album closes with the ballad “The One”. In this acoustical sensitive song we hear the sweet voice of a female guest singer Violeta Kousheva. This song makes a smooth end to a powerful album. Conclusion: Once again an unknown band has put out a great album, filled with divers power metal. The great input of the keyboards to the sound makes that the band is not to be classified as standard power metal. Together with the keys the proggy touch to the songs takes it all a level higher. A more then welcome release to the great power metal genre!

Monday, February 06, 2012 THISISNOTASCENE.COM

Autor:Mark Ashby Rating: 8.5 / 10 “

This is definitely a debut worth looking out for …” by Mark Ashby

Bulgaria is not exactly renowned as a hotbed of metal excellence, which may go some way towards explaining why it has taken power metallers Krossfire a full decade not only to earn a profile outside their homeland but also to release what is, in fact, their debut album. On the evidence of the eight tracks (ten if you count two orchestral “overtures”) offered here, it has been worth the weight, as this is a damn fine, highly impressive first effort. Very much in the Blind Guardian / Hammerfall mode, this is as good an example of melodic yet heavy metal as you are going to hear. Opener “War Machineв” is built on a crunching bass riff as the song moves inexorably forward while “How Can There Be …?” has a very Dream Theater-like vibe to it, especially in the interplay between Georgi Kushev’s guitar and Peter Boshkanov’s keyboards, the latter of which are given a real workout on the idyllic “Icaria” interlude which prequels the album’s glorious title track. Picking up its theme halfway through the prelude, “Learning To Fly” builds from a crunching riff into a glorious musical workout which reflects its subject matter as, soaring and swooping, sweeping majestically across the soundscape, the vocals of Dimo Petkov truly come into their own. Petkov is a real talent, his bassier voice suiting the pomp and majesty of the material and fitting the lyrics, with their themes of war and hope although there is a nagging feeling that he is holding back and is capable of much more, especially on the likes of “Touch Of Destiny” and the glorious “False Reality”, where the underpinning roles of bassist Georgi Driev and drummer Spas Markov also come into their own, as they propel the track along in rollicking style, particularly in the latter half. It’s not really fair to pick out highlight tracks, as those offered here are obviously carefully selected to reflected Krossfire’s decade-long pedigree and, as such, each has it’s own merits and strengths. The obvious single is “Angels Cry”, which comes across like Iron Maiden fronted by Geoff Tate and features a beautiful solo, while the use of female vocals on the mellow closer “The One” counterpoint everything that has come before and round the album off in beautiful, acoustic style. This is definitely a debut worth looking out for, and hopefully some live action outside of Bulgaria won’t be too far in the future.

Tuesday, January 31, 2012 METALEXPRESSRADIO.COM

Autor:Sean Maloy Rating: 7 / 10

Krossfire is a five-piece Power / Progressive Metal band hailing from Plovdiv, Bulgaria. The band was formed in 2001 by guitarist Georgi Koushev and bassist Georgi Driev. The band went through a few line-up changes and played locally for a few years to gain a solid fan base. They eventually released their first single in “Touch Of Destiny” in 2008, which received favorable reviews and ended up as part of a CD compilation for the German magazine “Heavy”. All of this publicity and a barrage of live performances catapulted them to release their debut album Learning To Fly. The music of Krossfire is extremely epic and theatrical. There are many orchestrated keyboard themes that give the tracks a pretentious, dramatic effect. This is clearly evident from the nearly three-minute instrumental opening “Visions” which gives an exaggerated sensation of a major motion picture. This actually happens a couple times during the album; preceding the title track “Learning To Fly” is a similar two-minute introduction called “Icaria”. Adding to the many melodramatic themes heard throughout the album is the very over-the-top vocals of Dimo Petkov. Petkov has an extremely bold singing style. He sings with an incredible amount of force and power. There is no question Petkov has a extraordinary amount of talent as a singer … the problem is he contains such a forceful operatic style … it’s just not a great fit for this type of music. When comparing him to similar vocalists like Ralf Scheepers or Hansi Kursch, they contain a more dynamic element that makes the music move around their words instead of pushing the vocals forward through the music. Materially, the tracks on Learning To Fly are all very eloquent and written very well. The compositions are well-thought out and have a natural flow. They do an excellent job of incorporating many different styles of Metal. Some of the tracks are relatively melodic and straightforward, while others are very progressive and theatrical. The single guitar riffs from Georgi Koushev are heavy and balanced and feature some outstanding Neo-Classical guitar solos as well. The major stand out track from this album is the acoustic ballad “The One”. This has a great subtle melody, and it’s actually a duet with Violeta Kousheva who portrays some very enchanting and soft-spoken operatic vocals. Her addition makes this not only the best track on the album, but also the most captivating. Although there are a few flaws with the overall product and presentation of Learning To Fly, it is an admirable effort for an album that has been three years in the making. Krossfire does need to work on areas to differentiate themselves from sounding too much like every other Power / Progressive band on the market, as well as incorporating more profound and diverse vocals to put them ahead of the pack.

Thursday, January 26, 2012 METALUNDERGROUND.COM

Rating: Excellent.

Bulgaria is not known as a hot bed of metal, much less a hot bed for power/progressive metal. Notable acts include the traditional metal band Rampart and power metal band Project Arcadia. Krossfire is a pure power/progressive band which has been a cohesive unit since 2008. The debut LP “Learning to Fly”, having been self-released in May 2011, now sees a worldwide release through Pure Steel Records. Krossfire offers a technically proficient style reminiscent of latter Symphony X with a strong Dragonland feel throughout. The album delivers highly skilled guitar work of Georgi Kushev, spectacular albeit overly demonstrative, keyboard work from Peter Boshnakov, and topped off with the soaring vocals of Dimo Petkov. “Learning to Fly” may be apropos for a normal debut, but from the very first listen Krossfire has clearly left the nest long ago. What we have here is a rarity: a debut release that shows as much maturity as from a band which has been at it for four or five releases. Take tracks like “False Reality”,”Cold Winds”, “Learning To Fly”, and “Warmachine” would fair very well against more established power/progressive acts. There is an overall epic feel, not in a cinematic Rhapsody style, but a neo-classical meets Dragonland style. The only small drawback of the album lies with a portion of the sound. The album is crisp, clear, and clean, but at times the keyboards are way more demonstrative and tend to swallow up the song rather than give way to Kushev’s guitar work. Make no mistake, the keyboards drive the mood of this album and add a whole dimension to the sound, but there are times where they are way too up front in the mix rather than encircling behind and binding the rest of music together (examples: the beginning of “Angels Cry” and just as the guitar work starts on “Learning To Fly”). In addition, the snare drum sound is a bit “coffee can” like upon the first listen, but on each successive listen it becomes less and less impressionable.Overall, Krossfire is highly impressive and looks to make a quick strike on the power/progressive scene. The band has all the tools necessary to do so and, with a slight tweak in the mix, is a hair away from hitting the upper echelon of the genre. It is a rare sight indeed for a band to be that close on its debut album!

Tuesday, January 24, 2012 DANGERDOG.COM 

Rating: 3.5/5

Hailing from Bulgaria, Krossfire re-releases their debut album, Learning to Fly, for international distribution on Germany’s Pure Steel Records. To musical style Krossfire offers their version of traditional melodic heavy/power metal. Generally, the lean more towards the melodic heavy metal side as the speed normally found in power metal is significant, but overbearing. Sometimes Krossfire my remind of a cross between early Blind Guardian and mid-career Iron Maiden. Generally, Learning to Fly is a well-rounded album. Sound musicianship is lead by Dimo Petkov’s clear, strong, and soaring vocal style. The addition of keyboards gives most songs a smooth texture, sliding between simple accent and film score depth. The piano on the ballad The One is quite emotional. To the songs, the classic metal style is self-evident. The album opens with a pleasant symphonic overture, which gives way to some ordinary heavy power metal in Warmachine and How Can There Be? It’s a rather average start. Another instrumental segue follows, better than the intro. The substance and stronger material begins with Learning to Fly and continues to the closing ballad, The One. Essentially, the arrangements are more aggressive in their creativity and depth in the latter part of the album. Krossfire’s debut Learning to Fly displays a band crisp and proficient at creating some very engaging classic melodic heavy metal. Certainly, this is a very strong start for the band.

Monday, January 23, 2012 HEAVYMETAL.DK

Rating: 80%

Krossfire, there is a progressive power metal band from Bulgaria, released on 28 January 2012 their debut album, ‘Learning to Fly’. The album was released to start in spring 2011, but when Pure Steel Records became the band’s record label, they chose to withdraw it and fine tune some things, and then republish it here in early 2012 – and it’s actually been quite successful. The tranquil, instrumental intro number, ‘Visions’, gives a sense of calm before the storm. The sound of church bells and distant chanting voices gives a false sense of security, and it works really well that you will not be thrown directly into the vicious metal, but instead gets a taste of what awaits. Conversely, there started out badly with the next track, ‘Warmaschine’. Lead singer Dimo’s vocals are penetrating and secure and he can get the really high. Every song, except the two instrumental tracks, telling stories of forgotten kingdoms, holy wars, unrequited love and honor. When the last notes of the acoustic guitar in outronummeret ‘The One’ died out, I was left with the feeling of having heard a 47 minute long adventure with the classic power metal elements added and not 10 individual tracks. ‘Learning to Fly’ is the typical power metal in all respects, and very similar to Blind Guardian. The album as a whole is really implemented, and there’s nothing to come after, either in music or vocals. However, I think after hearing the album through a few times that the music fits too well as a soundtrack for a fantasy movie or MMORPG games. Overall, the album very successful and I have no problem with having it put on repeat for an entire evening. If you like good, classic power metal and do not have too many criteria to something innovative or anything different from that genre, then you should definitely give Krossfires ‘Learning to Fly’ a chance – it’s worth it!

Rating: 8/10

Learning To Fly е дебютният албум на пловдивчаните Krossfire, който, за съжаление, излиза чак десет години след създаването на самата банда. Тези години опит обаче си казват думата. Десетте композиции, от които Learning To Fly е съставен, представляват умело композиран и изпълнен пауър метъл, оставящ трайно впечатление с величествения си размах, за който най-голямо влияние имат страхотните клавирни изпълнения на Петър Бошанков. В един момент сетивата на слушателя са атакувани от епични хармонии, в друг – от красиви и нежни звуци, а в трети – от гонещи се прогресив мелодии. Всичко това, подкрепено от множество здрави рифове, засукани сола и галопиращия ритъм на барабаните, над които се извисява впечатляващия и силен глас на Димо Петков, са достатъчни индикации, че отделеното на този албум време си е заслужавало напълно.

Friday, January 20, 2012 POWEROFMETAL.DK Webzine

Rating: 82/100

Everybody who has a metal album from Bulgaria in the CD collection, please raise your hand! OK some of you is on the right track, but for me Eastern Europe is not one of my best mapped areas on the metal map. The talanted Bulgarians in Krossfire really woke me up with their debut album ‘Learning to Fly’ and showed me off. The band was founded in 2001, so the journey to this release date of the album has been certainly a curvy and hilly road for them. The bonecrucher track ‘Warmachine’ is a progressive and powerfull song that will stay for a long time in my iPod. The influence of Blind Guardian, Manowar and other epic bands are obvious and the orchestral melodies fits the vocalist Dimo Petkov like a hand in a glove. Not too much castrato or opera depth singing, but more of a muted tone in his voice mode. I like that! The title song ‘Learning to Fly’ is another “stay in my iPod track” where Georgi Kushev & co. on guitars deliver a massive and one of the top class tracks on LTF with some marvelous tempo changes and guitar riffs with solid metal hardness. A powerfull and strong vocal performance and atmospheric church choirs in the middle creates something memorable. ‘Touch of Destiny’ burns off in a high tempo mode, but floats into a stumbling and insecure song, but in the middle it turns into a instrumental golden earring. At the end of the album I found my personal favourite track on the album: ‘Angels Cry’ with with wonderful witty and spirited Maidne like guitars and with tight backing from the rythm section, this might be a future metal radio hit. The track ‘Cold Winds’ is a dark, melacholic and sad song with a nice guitar solo from Kushev. I was waiting for the mandatory ballad and in the end of the track list did they put ‘The One’ and on this tune, they got help from a female singer and the break from the hard and heavy sound is clear. A very calm and beautiful end of the record and this new experience has made my metal world map a little bigger that before. I’ve heard better metal bands, but I’ve been forced to listen too a hell a lot of of worser bands, that is obvious. Krossfire has an idea of what they like to play and brings it out to the world. That is worth some extra credit from me. Something for the curious who wants to broaden their horizon.

Friday, January 20, 2012 ETERNAL TERROR Webzine

Rating: 4/6

Power metal from the small Eastern European country of Bulgaria – the five piece Krossfire have a single to their credit in 2008 and spent years honing their craft before this debut album. As a result their sound is an amalgam of the epic nature from Manowar, the occasional orchestrated moments of a Labyrinth and melodies / harmonies that occasionally recall Blind Guardian. The title track for instance allows keyboardist Peter Boshnakov a dual approach with symphonic background touches against his normal piano tone strokes as the guitars and vocals reach for the stratosphere during the epic chorus. Decent production and energetic moments like “Touch Of Destiny” (nice deep bass parts on this one) and Iron Maiden-like “Warmachine” give Krossfire significant appeal to the old school brigade. I could see this being a sleeper gem for the power world.

Thursday, January 19, 2012 ANCIENTSPIRIT.DE

Rating: 10.5/12

Of course, these are not the Belgians of CROSSFIRE, which were famous in the eighties. These KROSSFIRE write your name with K and they are from Bulgaria. One automatically directed to the dismal expectations elements that do not stand out too much. The group made slightly progressive power metal, which slightly reminds STYGMA IV, but it is something unique. Above all, the front man is just as strong as that of the Austrians once. His name is Dimo Petkov and has an extremely strong and capacious voice that immediately enchants the listener. From a musical point of view also has a lot to celebrate. Who does not shy away from keyboard will agree that mystical metal of KROSSFIRE has several strong features. Classic hooks and easily perceived choruses are still one of the strengths of the Bulgarians. Five do not ragged or complex progressive metal a la DREAM THEATER. Here it comes to epic music, compelling songs and intriguing ideas. Thumbs up for this newcommer.

Thursday, January 04, 2012 CROSSFIRE-METAL.DE

Rating: 8.5/10

Orchestral intro introduces us in awesome album, just as after the tragic end of the film. Okay? Of course, if then follows from the reef as “War Machine”. Bulgarians draw their swords and are absolutely uncompromising with his riffs and orchestral arrangements from all directions. Just to wait for the vocals. Three-minute wait to start them seems like an eternity, but the relief comes. Almost opera voice Dimo Petkov fits very well into the picture. Metal like, almost grand melodies make every song from the symbiosis between power and solemn atmosphere a little experience. Especially in a title piece feels close to perfection. In “False Reality” focus started quietly to erupt in catchy choruses. If someone has forgotten how to sound a solo, let me hear that song. For the final duet remains of Dimo and female voice “The One”, which the album gets a decent finish. Krossfire can skillfully combine quiet and slow passages with strong ones and create expressive spheres, which always keep pace despite the sentimental touch and radiate hope. The Bulgarians present work from the eternal Power-Metal, which ranks the best in the genre. Ten songs are magnificent spot on the album, worn like a magic carpet of the synthesizer, but which sometimes stands out too much and can irritate one’s ear. Otherwise it is very good, almost perfect.

Wednesday, January 03, 2012 SCUMFEAST METAL 666 

Rating: 3/5

KROSSFIRE originally put this out themselves in the Spring of 2011, but the good people at Pure Steel Records decided to pick it up, repackage the thing with new artwork and have it planned for a January 2012 re-release. Perfect time since there’s a few references of trudging through ice and snow on Learning to Fly. Although it’s late December where I’m holed up at and it’s a balmy sixty nine degrees. Wahfuckinhoo if you ask me. Anyway KROSSFIRE could be considered Bulgaria’s version of BLIND GUARDIAN and I mean that in the most sincere way. That latter band put the orchestral power in Power Metal and this band follows suit. After an obligatory intro, “Visions”, the band comes out swinging their perniks (that’s a medieval sword from their homeland) on “War Machine” which I wouldn’t be surprised was conceived while a band member or two were in the audience the last time MANOWAR played in Bulgaria. (they tour through there often) Wait a minute! Maybe KROSSFIRE opened up for them? Although the band has been around for a decade now this is their debut full length. As far as this release goes it’s obvious that this five piece act clearly paid strict attention to details. The melodies soar, their vocalist Dimo Petkov has that all perfect strong clean voice that’s not operatic. Their guitarist Georgi Kushev floats in a MAIDEN riff or two but most often it’s power chord heaven. Like most modern European Power Metal this is not as rough sounding or NWOBHM based. The orchestral intros and keyboard interludes add that progressive feel to the mix. Strangest thing about this,is that they placed a ballad at the end of this instead of somewhere in the middle. The song, “The One” is a piano and string arranged duet between Petkov and a woman named Violeta Kousheva. Sure nice song, but in the wrong place. The woman’s probably a friend of the family who didn’t make it on Bulgarian Idol so the band gave here a vocal shot on here for a few minutes. Learning to Fly has nothing really going for it which will excel it past any of their genre peers. At least the next time you’re vacationing at the resort on the Black Sea you know who to see in town, if you want some power metal.

Tuesday, December 27, 2011 PURE STEEL RECORDS

Power Metal from Bulgaria: Quite something, that has some obscurity. After all, the small country in eastern Europe isn’t well known for a lot of Metal-bands. A band, that comes from there, are the 2001 founded KROSSFIRE. They have released their debut album „Learning To Fly“ finally on our Label. Songs like the pounding opener „War Machine“ and the doublebass-dominated title track won’t disappoint any fan of progressive but also melody balanced Euro-Power Metal. The bombastic production is almost on the same level like the 90s-albums of Blind Guardian. Both orchestral intros „Visions“ and „Icaria“ own a similar epic touch like monumental Manowar-prologues. Even female vocals can be heard in the ballad and last song „The One“, which isn’t sentimentally or out of ideas, but simply fit perfectly to the band. Give this horde a chance: Someone, who has such a good feeling for melancholic and gripping melodies, deserves your attention!

Friday, November 25, 2011

From the label Andreas Lorenz “Pure Steel Records” say additional: “When we heard KROSSFIRE the first time we were electrified immediately. The Heavy Metal with progressive parts and majestic melody-lines is really unique. Of course this fits perfectly to our label concept. We are glad to have KROSSFIRE joining PURE STEEL RECORDS!”

Monday, September 19, 2011

In the German magazine “Heavy”, issue from August 2011, appears interview for the album “Learning To Fly”. “Thanks for the magazine, the author of the review (Walter Scheurer), and Paul Wlotzka for submissions – Dimo”. Rated 10 is the highest of all the other reviews of underground bands this month.

Here is the English translation: You can be sure, that conditions for recording an album for Bulgarian bands are much worse than for German. Because of this, it is a surprise that “Learning to fly” from the band themselves was put in a powerful corset (sound). But not only the sound (guitars sounds fat, and it sounds very good with combination with keyboards) KROSSFIRE is able to compose, also the all in all ten composition show that this is an extremely noteworthy band. The Quintet which exists now more than ten years serves competent recited and dedicative intoned Metal, that activates friends of progressive sounds and excites Power-Metal-Gourmet in elatedness. The majestic voice of Dimo Petkov and the sporadically rather easygoing tempo it is also interesting for Epic-Metalheads, because the mixture sounds grand and tautly composition stay in (verspielten?) moments extremely approachable. In short: a true treat. / 10 points

UNDERGROUND EMPIRE (THE ONLINE EMPIRE)

REVIEW by Stefan Glas

Respect for our Bulgarian friends KROSSFIRE! Notwithstanding all the disadvantages of location they have to overcome, because of their homeland, the five guys from Plovdiv has released his first full CD “Learning To Fly” on their own. Here, the Bulgarians have built up a sound that certainly does not need to back off from international productions for which they collect the same time one (?Extralob)! On “Learning To Fly” are the revised versions of the two demo songs “Angels Cry” and “Touch Of Destiny” ‘plus various numbers that have been known only from the live DVD or the various websites of KROSSFIRE, as well as some new pieces . In general, the melodic power metal band shows mature adult on the new album and more, because the models seem far this year by no longer as strong as before. For this we have missed the whole thing a certain heroic painting, what is surely the heroic voice of singer Dimo responsible.In short: KROSSFIRE have for “Learning To Fly” in all respects only compliments and thick masses of orders earned by your side.

Friday, October 29, 2010

Here is the promised review of the single “Touch Of Destiny” in “Rock Hard” – issue Krossfirebg rock hard Krossfirebg rock hard Krossfirebg rock hard Thursday, July 17, 2008

Two more reviews for “Touch Of Destiny”. One from metal site “Metal Best Bg”. Thanks to bleakness for good review – 7/10. http://metalbest.net/news.666?news_story=5173 d T

he other one is from Underground Empire by Stefan Glas. He is a free lance writer for German metal magazine “ROCK HARD”. We have the assurance that this review will be in the magazine soon. Thanks, Stefan.

http://www.underground-empire.com/article.php?idx=1417

ENGLISH VERSION: “Clear thing, these are, after all, only two songs which are to us from KROSSFIRE, because the number “Angels Cry” was published, in addition, as a shortened radio Edit on this demo CD. 13 minutes of hearing experience are still sufficient to put KROSSFIRE and their melodic power Metal with discreet Prog-untertones on the list of the hopeful newcomers:” Touch of Of Destiny” and afore-said “Angels Cry” allow to feel a sure composition little hand, are convincing with deep melodies and leaves at no moment the suspicion arise that these Bulgarians want to crib from any tape. The tape plays tight and singer Dimo Petkov, a powerful voice his calls Own – all elements on which can be built in future. And this troop does not need an exotic bonus, whether of the not quite gigantic scene of Bulgaria already at all! Postlisten on the homepage of KROSSFIRE: https://krossfirebg.com/ [email protected] or, however – in this case much more simply, because one must decipher no Bulgarian characters – on MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/krossfirebg ” BULGARIAN VERSION: “Нещата са ясни, в краина сметка имаме само 2 песни на Krossfire, защото парчето “Angel’s Cry” я има и като съкратена радио-версия. Върпеки всичко 13 минути са достатъчни, за да наречем Krossfire и техния мелодичен пауър метал с дискретни прог-подтонове, обещаваща нова група! “Touch Of Destiny” и гореспоменатата, “Angel’s Cry”, показват сигурната ръка на композитора, убеждават с дулбокосмислени мелодии и в нито един момент не позволяват да се промъкне подозрението, че тези българи биха крали от някоя друга група. Групата свири добре и певецът Димо Петков показва един силен и плътен глас – всичко на всичко добри елементи, въз основа на които може за в бъдеще да се градят много надежди. И един екзотичен бонус, от който така и така не особено голямата българска сцена, изобщо не се нуждае. Сингълът може да бъде чут на страницата на Krossfire.”

Tuesday, June 24, 2008 “Touch Of Destiny” in Metal Katehizis – “7/10”. Check out great review in Metal Katehizis. http://www.katehizis.com/reviews/showRev .php?id=1159

Thursday, June 05, 2008 “Touch Of Destiny” in MetalGerald.Wetpaint.com http://metalgerald.wetpaint.com/page/DEMO+CD+PRODUCTIONS

Monday, May 26, 2008 “Touch Of Destiny” in HeavyLaw.com http://www.heavylaw.com/n5241-%5BDecouve rte%5D-Krossfire-(Metal-Prog).html

Saturday, May 10, 2008 “Touch Of Destiny” review by Dimitar Tzonev GREGG http://crossword.crozzword.com/blog/krossfire-touch-of-destiny-289/