Maximum Metal Rating Legend

Fireball Ministry - The Second Great Awakening 2003 Nuclear Blast Records - Reviewed by EC

Track Listing1. Second Great Awakening (Intro), The 2. King 3. Master Of None 4. Daughter Of The Damned 5. Flatline 6. In The Mourning 7. He Who Kills 8. Rollin' On 9. Choker 10. Maidens Of Venus

Man, I love me some doom metal! What a great year it has been for the doom genre, with great releases from Dirty Power, Solace, Supervillain, Cathedral (late '02), and now newcomers Fireball Ministry.

I had researched this band somewhat, reading great reviews that this act was like 70s era Black Sabbath meets Corrosion Of Conformity. After picking this up and giving it many listens, I couldn't agree more. This album is like a lost Ozzy era Sabbath release.

Fireball Ministry have released their second album upon the masses, with this new album the first for Nuclear Blast. Coming at us from the mystical land of California, Fireball Ministry is made up of Reverend James A. Rota III on vocals and guitar, Emily Burton on guitar, Janis Tanaka on bass, and John Oreshnick on the sticks. The act combine to throw down some heavy guitar licks with the style and grace that Sabbath displayed 30 years ago.

"The Second Great Awakening" is an album that is chock-full of smash mouth doom grumblings, but at the same time the twin guitar harmony of Rota and Burton really take the listener into a peaceful journey, almost making the record hypnotic. On "He Who Kills", the twin guitar starts things off on a smooth ride before giving way to the bone crushing grindage this band produces. Its really a nice change of pace for a doom release. The same can be said for the melancholic "Choker", another fine piece of slow heavy melody.

"Master Of None" is where the obvious traces of Corrosion Of Conformity can be found, with the Pepper-like guitar melody and the working man blues type lyrics. "King", "The Sinner", and "Rollin' On" is pure bottom heavy wattage, slamming along like prime Sabbath or Cathedral.

My favorite cuts are "Daughter Of The Damned", with its strange melodic signature, and the group's single (if they still have metal singles) "Flatline", which has a really catchy chorus that almost sounds like 70s era stadium rock ala Foreigner or even Queen.

This album is HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommended for fans of Sabbath, Count Raven, Cathedral, Spiritual Beggars, Electric Wizard, Orange Goblin, and Candlemass.

I'm extremely happy that Nuclear Blast have added some more doom to their roster, and I'm very excited at the possibility that Fireball Ministry could lead the way for a doom revolution in mainstream music. Everything eventually comes back around, and it looks like metal has come full circle again.

"If I do one thing right at MTV, it'll be to make Fireball Ministry the biggest band in the world." - Iann Robinson, MTV News.


--EC 10.16.03