Posted on: October 19, 2009 Posted by: anfnewsacct Comments: 0

Fireball Ministry is one of those bands that get into your head without any warning and then simply blow your mind away. This American rock’n’roll quartet doesn’t need flashy gimmicks or fancy stage presence to make an impression. Their music says it all – a tasty blend of traditional hard rock and Sabbath-influenced metal, spiced with hints of stoner and doom metal, takes the listener on a journey across the American outlands, where the burning sun, the blowing wind and the overwhelming sand are his only companions.

“The Second Great Awakening”, the band’s sophomore LP from 2003, brings a heavy dose of old-school rock’n’roll fun, able to convince anyone that rock is far from dead… Right from the get-go, the album’s content revealed the band’s greatest influence – Black Sabbath. Similar riffing, similar song constructions and similar-sounding vocals by the Reverend gave an impression like it was the 70’s again and rock’n’roll was all that mattered. Although heavily inspired by Ozzy’s legendary group, Fireball Ministry showcased a lot of musical genius of their own, delivering a complete package of catchy riffs, groovy bass lines and solid drumming, covered with a tasty stoner rock sauce (especially with such songs as “King”, “Daughter of the Damned”, “Flatline” and the doomy “In the Mourning”). The album was very well received by both fans and critics, getting brilliant reviews all over the world. Soon reviewers began putting Fireball Ministry in the same bag with sHEAVY, Soundgarden, Cathedral, Trouble and Masters of Reality, calling them another “no miss” group.

Metal Mind Productions will re-release “The Second Great Awakening” on 19th October (worldwide except for USA). New digipak edition includes 6 bonus tracks (audio and video) and is limited to 2000 copies. Digitally remastered using 24-Bit process on a golden disc.

Fireball Ministry
“The Second Great Awakening” (remastered + bonus tracks)

Label: Metal Mind Records
Cat. No.: MASS CD 1328 DG
Barcode: 5907785035461
Format: CD Digipak (limited edition of 2000 numbered copies)
Genre: hard rock / metal / stoner
Release date: 19.10.2009 World ex. US

Tracklist:

1. The Second Great Awakening (Intro)
2. King
3. The Sinner
4. Master of None
5. Daughter of the Damned
6. Flatline
7. In the Mourning
8. He Who Kills
9. Rollin’ On
10. Choker
11. Maidens of Venus

Bonus tracks:

12. Dark Descend
13. Daughter of the Damned (Demo)
14. Flatline (Demo)
15. Flatline (video clip)
16. Master of None (video clip)
17. Making of “Flatline” (video)

Bio
The group was originally founded back in the late 90’s in Cincinnati, when “Reverend” James A. Rota II (vocals/guitar) and Emily Emily J. Burton (guitar) crossed their musical paths for the first time. After moving to New York and then to Los Angeles, the duo met drummer John Oreshnick, who ultimately made forming of Fireball Ministry possible. The complete band (with Jimmy Z. D’Amico on bass) soon had enough original material to record a full-length album. The dream became reality on August 16th, 1999, when “Ou Est La Rock?” (French for “Where is the rock?”) was officially released through Bong Load Custom Records. The album was a great presentation of the band’s potential and received a very positive feedback on the L.A. rock scene. Soon Fireball Ministry proved to be a solid live act as well, supporting such names as Danzig, Unida and Nebula. In 2001 the band recorded an eight-track EP for Small Stone Records, with the help of producer Nick Raskulinecz (known from his outstanding work with Velvet Revolver and Foo Fighters). Released on May 15th, “FMEP” included 3 original tracks and 5 covers (Aerosmith, Judas Priest, The Misfits and others), and featured the band’s newest addition – bass player Brad Davis (Fu Manchu). Fireball Ministry soon went on touring with Fu Manchu and Spirit Caravan, building up their reputation as ass-kicking live performers. The growing buzz around the band eventually caught the attention of the American branch of Germany-based Nuclear Blast Records, who signed Fireball Ministry in 2003.
The group’s debut for a major record label, “The Second Great Awakening”, was released on October 7th, 2003. The title was explained by Emily J. Burton in an interview for the VibeRate webzine: ‘“The Second Great Awakening” was a religious revitalization that took place in the US between 1790 and 1840. Great numbers of people were converted en masse to the Protestant religions through wide-scale emotionally charged revivals. This fire and brimstone, tent revival imagery is something that’s always been with the band, just substitute the religion with Rock. Being that this is our second album, the name seemed to fit perfectly.’ Right from the get-go, the album’s content revealed the band’s greatest influence – Black Sabbath. Similar riffing, similar song constructions and similar-sounding vocals by the Reverend gave an impression like it was the 70’s again and rock’n’roll was all that mattered. Although heavily inspired by Ozzy’s legendary group, Fireball Ministry showcased a lot of musical genius of their own, delivering a complete package of catchy riffs, groovy bass lines and solid drumming, covered with a tasty stoner rock sauce (especially with such songs as “King”, “Daughter of the Damned”, “Flatline” and the doomy “In the Mourning”). Recorded with a new bass player, Janis Tanaka, the album was very well received by both fans and critics, getting brilliant reviews all over the world. Soon reviewers began putting Fireball Ministry in the same bag with sHEAVY, Soundgarden, Cathedral, Trouble and Masters of Reality, calling them another “no miss” group. The band went on to promote “The Second Great Awakening” across the States by supporting Dio, Anthrax, Andrew W.K. and Motörhead. After touring the US, Fireball Ministry went on to conquer Europe with Uriah Heep, Blue Oyster Cult and CKY. Back in their hometown they performed next to such names as Slayer, Mastodon, The Datsuns, Lamb of God and Killswitch Engage.
In 2005 Fireball Ministry recorded their third opus – “Their Rock Is Not Our Rock” – with a new bassist Johny Chow (ex-Systematic). The album was released by a small record label called Liquor and Poker, and continued the honorable traditions sealed within “The Second Great Awakening”. But be certain that this band hasn’t said their last word yet…
So if you’re looking for a rockin’ blast from the past and want to experience the sheer beauty of heavy music, just pop “The Second Great Awakening” into your CD player and get ready to join the First Church of Rock ‘N’ Roll…

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