Let me first say that, while I have never disliked Fireball Ministry, I have also never been a huge fan. I felt that their albums prior to this self-titled behemoth sounded like a band that just wasn’t sure exactly what they wanted to do. Fireball Ministry (the album) answers my questions with a loud and clear “Rock” chant. Right from the heavily grooved opener, “Hard Lines,” the band makes it clear that they belong to the Ozzy Osbourne school of rock. In fact, I’d like to see what Ozzy could do if he hired Fireball Ministry as his band.
Once the band tells you what’s what with “Hard Lines” they tap their inner Delta Blues with “Fallen Believers” (which leads you to believe it will have a Country bent at first but thankfully recovers). From there on out, it’s a Rock and Roll free for all. “Kick Back” is a down home Southern-flavored, border line Boogie tune that lends some dynamics to the record. “Common Enemy” is a snarling anthem that compliments songs like “Hard Lines” and “Followed by a Fall” really well and most closely resembles the band’s previous material. “Sleeping With Angels” checks in as both the album’s obligatory ballad and one of my favorite tracks and “In Their Own Right” complete’s the pacakage with an up-tempo rocker.
Overall, this is a really enjoyable album, particularly if you grew up in the age of either vinyl or cassettes. This album is set up as if it had two-sides and you had to flip it half-way through and because of that it has an excellent dynamic that is lost on a lot of music today. Fireball Ministry turn in their best effort to date with this self-titled album. More than that though, this album gives you plenty of reason to believe that the band are just now hitting their stride and there is plenty more good still to come.
Reviewed by Mark Fisher
