KIRK / Masquerade (2014)

Kirk was born during the second half of the nineties by singer Thomi Rauch and guitar player Sammy Lasagni. They quickly discovered talented and eager comrades-in-arms Daniel Pfister (Bass), Bruno Berger (Keys) and Vito Cecere (Drums). The Band released their debut album “The Final Dance” via Point Music in 2003. The album was well-received, especially, not only in Europe and North America, but, also, in Japan where it entered into the import charts of the renowned magazine Kerrrang.



Using the critical and commercial acclaim as a stepping stone, Kirk toured Europe, sharing the stages with the likes of Doro, Pink Cream 69, Axxis and Shakra.  Nowadays, the band is back with the brand new "Masquerade" album which is once again produced by the expert guidance of Dennis Ward (Pink Cream 69, Unisonic, Khymera), also, the producer of Angra, Eden’s Curse, Godiva, Krokus, and counting more, including Kirk’s debut album, over a decade ago.

Their music is heavy without loosing the basic thing which is the melody, with powerful vocal performances, solid arrangements, 'clever' hooks and choruses and, of course, a tight and strong production that takes the whole record to a higher level! The album includes many highlights such as the impressive heavy, and a bit progressive, melodic gem of "Masquerade", the fantastic and 'darker' tune of "Eternity", the Queensryche-esque "Nothing Else But Lies", the more complex "Tragedy" and the simply awesome "Face In The Crowd".

Everything here flows perfectly, I would dare to say. There is an early Queensryche feeling in all over the record and that doesn't mean that Kirk is loosing their own identity; on the contrary, the band mixes its influences with its personal ID and finally achieves to deliver an impressive heavy progressive and melodic record that will please every serious hard 'n' heavy fan out there! Highly recommended!
Heavy Paradise's Rating : 8,2/10

Track List :
01. Devil’s Claw
02. Supersonic Speed
03. Masquerade
04. Eternity
05. Fight Or Die Music
06. Nothing Else But Lies
07. Time
08. Tragedy
09. Face In The Crowd
10. The End Of The Universe
11. Fallen Angel