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I remembered not being too enthusiastic about this band's debut (good but nothing exceptional), so I stalled for a few days after receiving it before I gave it a listen. Well, it has hardly left my CD player since. This album is far more "metal" than the first one was, doing away with most hard rock-ish material and turning up the metal knob to 11. OK maybe not 11, but close. :) The best way to describe the music on Wings of Fire would be a kind of Iron Maiden meets Manowar - there's even a couple of songs in there could almost pass as Maiden (Trial by Fire) or Manowar (Blood in the Arena, Guardians of Metal) songs.

The sound is not overpolished - clean enough for the genre, but also with a very raw edge that gives it a crunchier sound, especially the guitars which also happen to be more memorable than on the debut. I found the drums were sometime a bit too high in the mix, not to the point of ruining a song or anything, but still worth mentioning. The vocalist still delivers the good this time around, although he still has a few rough edges here and there. But he showcases his abilities more on this album, with songs such as "The Fifth Dimension" and also the cover of Whitesnake's "Still of the Night" which he pulls off pretty damn well overall.

This is one of those albums that make me think there's still hope for new bands coming out with good "traditional" heavy metal nowadays. From galloping quick jabs to long epics such as the near-18 minutes closer, Phenix present us a good display of varied songs that just doesn't get boring, despite being nearly 75 minutes in length. No pretention, just some ass-kicking heavy metal. Highly recommended.