{"id":466814,"date":"2026-05-03T19:15:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-03T19:15:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/466814\/"},"modified":"2026-05-03T19:15:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-03T19:15:13","slug":"gus-g-steel-burner-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/466814\/","title":{"rendered":"Gus G. – Steel Burner Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Gus G.<\/strong> is a busy man. For some odd 25 years and counting, the Greek guitarist has not only been running his own band Firewind<\/strong> but also contributed to many notable heavy\/power metal acts\u2019 beginnings, such as early Mystic Prophecy<\/strong> and Dream Evil<\/strong>. And somehow on top of that, he\u2019s even managed to fit in five solo albums during that time! Steel Burner becomes the sixth album under the Gus<\/strong> G.<\/strong> moniker, the first since 2021\u2019s very fun Quantum Leap. I was a big fan of Firewind<\/strong>\u2019s energetic 2020 comeback<\/a> and enjoyed 2024\u2019s anthemic rock-oriented Stand United plenty as well. How does Steel Burner compare to his other recent works, and were any Steel Druhm\u2019<\/strong>s harmed in the making?<\/p>\n

Gus has proven himself to be a very potent guitarist since the early \u201900s, and Steel Burner\u2019s strand of heavy metal offers a good general gist of the instrumental and solo craft he\u2019s known for. The album doesn\u2019t steer too far off Quantum Leap\u2019s core in this regard. Gus\u2019s natural bend towards \u201980s rock and metal shows up in full force once again, containing Yngwie and Blackmore-esque guitar hero cheese (\u201cWhat If,\u201d \u201cClosure\u201d) in terms of both shred and soulful play. A surprising highlight is \u201cAdvent\u201d with its interesting djent-ish influences by way of downtuned 2010s rhythm guitar work. It pans out much better than one might think and makes for a refreshing listen in an album full of otherwise expected source material.<\/p>\n

The other side of Steel Burner is the record\u2019s confusing flow and identity, the guest vocalist tracks being at odds with the instrumental songs. Whereas Quantum Leap was fully instrumental, Steel Burner contains a theoretically balanced set of five tracks with vocals and five instrumentals. This intentional variety quickly ends up working against itself. Doro (Doro<\/strong>, ex-Warlock<\/strong>) and Matt Barlow (ex-Iced Earth<\/strong>, ex-Pyramaze<\/strong>) are both starting to show their age, delivering some good lines but flat choruses (\u201cNothing Can Break Me,\u201d \u201cDancing with Death\u201d). The suddenly enervated instrumentation exacerbates the quality contrast between Steel Burner\u2019s different aspects. Fortunately, the back half fares better. Vocal mercenaries Ronnie Romero (ex-Rainbow<\/strong>) and Dino Jelusi\u0107 lend stronger performances on better, more AOR-adjacent tracks (\u201cMy Premonition,\u201d \u201cNo One Has to Know\u201d), and I wouldn\u2019t mind Gus working with Ronnie more often based on \u201cMy Premonition.\u201d Aside from the vocal-instrumental clash, the drums are a sticking point. Gus\u2019s drum programming on the aforementioned tracks is solid, but Quantum Leap\u2019s guest drumming proves that more varied and potent percussion would have helped make these songs much more lively.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Much like Jeff Waters (Annihilator<\/strong>), Gus G.<\/strong> is an excellent guitarist who is usually better when sharing vocals-forward songwriting reins with other people. Steel Burner tends to repeat some of his early-career hiccups with Mystic Prophecy<\/strong>, where the rhythm guitar tends to be underdeveloped and the songs oddly stripped-down without the choruses compensating for it. Gus is very good at crafting colorful instrumental compositions (\u201cAdvent,\u201d \u201cConfession\u201d) or even standard power metal tracks at higher BPMs (\u201cKill the Pain\u201d on Firewind<\/strong>\u2019s self-titled, \u201cEscape from Tomorrow\u201d all the way back on Forged by Fire), but making a \u2018normal\u2019 mid-paced track with vocals often requires some extra hands alongside him. Firewind<\/strong>\u2019s two most recent records are proof of this, and the positive effect of a consistent powerhouse vocalist like Herbie Langhans is undeniably lacking here.<\/p>\n

Steel Burner has its bright spots, but ends up feeling like two EPs in a bar fight. It mashes together parts of Quantum Leap and Stand United, and both halves unfortunately suffer as a result. While nothing on the record is strictly off-putting, the instrumental side is clearly the better and more inspired one, containing the usual guitar goodness you would expect from Gus. Even so, one listen to Quantum Leap\u2019s title track<\/a> exposes Steel Burner\u2019s general lack of urgency compared to prior works. Grab most of the instrumental tracks and \u201cMy Premonition,\u201d and you\u2019ve got a solid EP! Despite the overall experience being hit-and-miss, I still respect Gus\u2019s work ethic, and I\u2019ll be gladly waiting to see what he comes up with next.<\/p>\n

Rating<\/strong>: Mixed
DR<\/strong>: Nope! | Format Reviewed<\/strong>: Alas, poor Stream!
Label<\/strong>: Metal Department<\/a>
Websites<\/strong>: gusgofficial.com<\/a> | Facebook<\/a> | Instagram<\/a>
Releases Worldwide<\/strong>: April 24th, 2026<\/p>\n

\n\tGive in to Your Anger:\n<\/p>\n