Album Review: BONFIRE - Legends

01. Africa (Toto cover)

02. Hold the Line (Toto cover)

03. Rosanna (Toto cover)

04. Man on the Silver Mountain (Rainbow cover)

05. I Surrender (Rainbow cover)

06. Stone Cold (Rainbow cover)

07. Death Alley Driver (Rainbow cover)

08. Black Masquerade (Rainbow cover)

09. Burning Heart (Survivor cover)

10. Eye of the Tiger (Survivor cover)

11. Caught in the Game (Survivor cover)

12. Doctor Doctor (UFO cover)

13. Lights Out (UFO cover)

14. Rock Bottom (UFO cover)

15. Child in Time (Deep Purple cover)

16. Jet City Woman (Queensryche cover)

17. Silent Lucidity (Queensryche cover)

18. Eyes of a Stranger (Queensryche cover)

19. Tears in the Rain (Robin Beck cover)

20. The First Time (Robin Beck cover)

21. Save up All Your Tears (Robin Beck cover)

22. Hot Cherie (Hardline cover)

23. DR. Love (Hardline cover)

24. Hallelujah (Jeff Buckley cover)

25. Rebellion (Grave Digger cover)

26. Heavy Metal Breakdown (Grave Digger cover)

27. Love Don't Lie (House Of Lords cover)

28. I Wanna Be Loved (House Of Lords cover)

29. King of Dreams (Deep Purple cover)

30. Frei wie die Geier (Puhdys cover)

31. Erinnerung (Puhdys cover)

32. Alt wie ein Baum (Puhdys cover)

German Hard Rock / Heavy Metal legends Bonfire have just released this double album of covers. The twist is that Bonfire have toured with, or are about to tour with, the artists who recorded the originals, giving this album a true feeling of being a very personal tribute.

It's tough to review an album like this because most of these songs really are legendary, and the majority of Rock fans out there will be very familiar with the originals. They're a part of our lives, whether we initially realise it or not. Songs like Toto's Africa and UFO's Doctor Doctor have stood the test of time and mean so much to so many people. 

Every one of these classics has been handled with respect, yet have that identifiable Bonfire twist added to the equation. The production is magnificent, and in some cases, it feels as though these classics have had a 'lick of paint', as the originals were recorded without the modern technology available today.

This is an excellent collection of covers by a legendary band. Its relevance could be argued as it is a covers album of songs that have mostly been covered before by many different bands. However, for me, it was a pleasure to listen to these classics, some of which I haven't heard for a while. Hearing them delivered with such passion and precision simply couldn't fail to entertain.