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Firewind was always an inconsistent band; from good to awful albums, Greek prodigy Gus G's child's discography stands in the limbo of the Power Metal genre. Five years after the highly commercial Few Against Many and with a small change in the lineup that worked wonders, with Apollo Papathanasio being replaced by the highly skilled Henning Basse (of Metalium fame), Gus G proves that his mind wasn't swallowed by delusions of grandeur when he joined the questionable final era of Ozzy Osbourne's solo career with this new and highly enjoyable effort, Immortals.

The album follows a conceptual story about 'the Battles of Thermopylae and Salamis in 480 BC during the second Persian invasion of Greece', according to Gus G himself, and could be considered the most diverse of Firewind's career, with songs that range from full on Power Metal like the bombastic opener – and one of the best by these guys ever, no doubt – "Hands of Time" and follow-up "We Defy" to cadenced and robust like the interesting "Ode to Leonidas". A couple of fillers in "Wars of Ages" and "Back on the Throne" bring down the experience a bit, but really inspired tunes such as "Live and Die by the Sword" and the keyboard-happy "Rise From the Ashes" manage to maintain the effort strong and re-playable. The decision to hire Basse resulted in what is by far the best improvement here, as the guy has incredible pipes. He can still scream like he did in his heydays with Metalium, while also managing to improve his range by adding a ripping aggressive tone to his low-key vocals.

Immortals represents a much needed reboot in Firewind's history. From the already known flamboyant and pompous solos by Gus to concise and sober performances by Basse and Bob Katsionis (keyboards, additional guitars), the album succeeds in putting the band back on the map and overall is a good Power Metal album. It won't reinvent the wheel, but will definitely provide you with a good amount of fun, especially because of Henning Basse's efforts.