Fire was a power trio formed in early 1973 in the small town of Čakovec in the former Yugoslavia (now Croatia). In order to find gigs and perhaps even the chance to record an LP, they moved to the Netherlands. Thanks to their dynamic live performances, they secured a record deal with the small independent label Killroy, a sub-label of Telstar Records. In September 1973, guitarist and singer Jura Havidić, bassist Miljenko Balić and drummer and singer Emil Vugrinec recorded their debut at Theelen Studio in Venray. Released by Killroy later that same year, the album Could You Understand Me featured hard-hitting blues-rock very much in the tradition of power trios such as the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Taste, Groundhogs, Grand Funk Railroad and others.

With one crucial difference: they played a harder and grittier brand of heavy psychedelic blues rock, featuring roaring fuzz guitars, muscular bass lines and insanely driving drums. Dag Erik Asbjørnsen wrote about them in his book Scented Gardens of the Mind: „This is simply one of the best and wildest power trio albums ever recorded.“ Despite a number of gigs in the Netherlands and Germany, as well as enthusiastic reviews, their sole album failed to reach a wider audience. They therefore returned to their homeland in 1976, leaving behind a fascinating powerhouse of first-generation heavy metal. To this day, there has been no official reissue on vinyl, only numerous bootlegs exist. The few original Dutch pressings are therefore highly sought after by collectors worldwide.