Trial by Fire Songs Ranked

Trial by Fire is the tenth studio album by American rock band Journey. Released on October 22, 1996, the album marked the reunion of the classic 1980s lineup, which had not recorded together since 1983’s Frontiers. Trial by Fire was produced by Kevin Shirley, who continues to produce the band’s albums. The first album to feature bassist Ross Valory since Frontiers and the last to feature vocalist Steve Perry and drummer Steve Smith. The album reflected a growing maturity with the members of Journey and could be loosely termed a concept album with many tracks reflecting a more overt spirituality in lyrical content. The title track, for example, is taken directly from Paul’s Second Epistle to the Corinthians. On November 9, 1996, the album entered at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and was eventually certified platinum in the United States by the RIAA. The band did not receive another platinum award until Revelation in 2008. Here are all of Trial by Fire songs ranked.

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12. Trial By Fire

“This is absolutely their best title track since Escape, maybe even better! It’s such a peaceful song and just tropical like the rest of the album Trial By Fire is very different and yet the most polished work by Journey to date.”

11. Forever In Blue

“Forever in Blue” is another up tempo-track, if a little bit slight. Although not a bad song persay, “Forever in Blue” is not nearly as substantial as some of the more weighty material that preceeds it.”

10. When I Think of You

“The very best song on this album in my personal view is “When I Think Of You” because it really hits home in my heart really hard! I had a very dear friend who loved Journey as much as I do and after she died, I decided to dedicate this song in memory of her untimely passing.”

9. One More

“This is a much better song than most give it credit for. This song really shows why Steve Smith is Important as the drummer…his beats sound cooler and also give it a drive…”

See more: Journey Albums Ranked

8. It’s Just the Rain

“It’s Just the Rain” is a redundant ballad with rain effects, especially in light of the far superior title cut, a moving, majestic slow torch song which also co-ops the rain audio for far better effect.”

7. Can’t Tame the Lion

“The smoking guitar riffs starting “Can’t Tame The Lion” reaffirmed Journey fans that although this would be Perry’s last ride with the band, it was both Schon and Cain who made damn sure the band itself wasn’t done in its share of rocking!”

6. Baby I’m Leaving You

“The reggae is entirely out of touch with both Journey’s style and the remaining material on the album; however, I don’t really fault the band for this song. After all, the song introduces some much needed levity on the otherwise ballad top heavy record.”

5. If He Should Break Your Heart

“Good slow mellow rocker. I like it. Until I recently heard the Tarzan Soundtrack again, I thought this was from that movie…that’s not a bad thing at all…I love that movie”

See more: Journey Songs Ranked

4. Easy to Fall

“Good bluesy Ballad, not the best. It might grow on me in the future but for now, it’s just better than ok. “Easy To Fall” pretty much summarized my relationship with women in general!”

3. Message of Love

“The compact disc starts off with a screaming guitar riff by master Neal Schon, following by Perry’s synthesized voice and Cain’s keyboard overlay…then Smith and Valory join in with rocking bass and drums almost immediately to get the amplifier needle jumping across the gauge with the smash “Message Of Love”!”

2. Castles Burning

“The hard hitting “Castles Burning”, based on real life events of the fallout relationship between Andre Rison and the late great Lisa “Left Eye” Lopez where she set his multi million dollar mansion ablaze in a jealous rage while he was a wide receiver for the Atlanta Falcons.”

1. When You Love a Woman

“This is the only hit from this album (sadly because this album is full of gems) Much better than Open Arms and it Rivals with Faithfully. Very moving ballad.”