Something you see often with new bands in the genre of European power metal is that many of them sound a lot like already established bands. Sometimes this can be a blessing or a curse. If a band sounds like a cheap knockoff that doesn't offer much new then it doesn't really give you much of a reason to check them out. On the other hand if they resemble a certain era of a classic band that doesn't really currently convey that same sound then it may give all the more reason to give them a chance. Twilight Force seems to have all of the cards in their hand in getting attention among legions of power metal fans. They hail from the same town in Sweden as Sabaton, who is currently one of the most massive bands in the world right now. They are on the same label that produced several of Sabaton's first albums, Joakim Broden does guest vocals on one of the tracks, their drummer used to be in Sabaton, and their singer once auditioned for Dragonforce, who is pretty much the one band who got a whole new generation of people into power metal. So with all of this being said, it kind of builds up anticipation and excitement for listening to the album before even pushing play.
Tales of Ancient Prophecies kicks off with a track that sounds very reminiscent of early Rhapsody called “Enchanted Dragon of Wisdom”. This song literally has everything that makes the genre so exciting; fantasy lyrics, epic keyboard arrangements, extremely catchy choruses, memorable guitar passages, and a singer with a high note from hell. This is definitely the kind of song that will get stuck in your head on first listen. The guitar and keyboard solo interplay is phenomenal which is something that there definitely needs to be more of in power metal.
“The Power of the Ancient Force” invokes a lot of folk metal elements, especially with the keyboard intro. It then kicks into a galloping guitar riff over the top of singer Christian Hedgren's amazingly clean and high vocals. The chorus is particularly catchy as well with a lot of rhythmic gang vocals, which is also something typically lacking in the genre. Once again there is another really complex and extended sweeping yet melodic guitar solo about halfway through the song that gives you the feeling of being transported to a distant land with sword in hand.
br/>Two amazing tracks down, they are going to start letting up right? Completely wrong. “Twilight Horizon” kicks in with the most intense keyboard intro so far and a bit faster pace and much faster drum parts than the previous tracks. The choruses are definitely not forgotten here either and are easily one of the best aspects of this entire album along with what I would rank as being one of the newest most powerful vocalists in the industry.
“Fall of the Eternal Winter” is more of the same but different. There is yet another intricate shredding keyboard intro that then gets into being a bit of a dance beat. The guitars take a little bit of a backseat in most of this track. Most of the riffs are basic chords. There are still very clean leads about half way through and a very emotional guitar solo followed by a bit of a galloping riff and back into the original dance keyboard groove from the intro. The real highlight is that this is probably the one song where the vocals go the highest. If you can imagine early Fabio Lione meets Daniel Heiman meets Keeper era Michael Kiske, you'd have this guy. This is probably my favorite song on the album and to me definitely the catchiest. For anyone wanting to check out a song I would definitely recommend this one. It has pretty much everything that makes this album great.
The intro to “Forest of Destiny” reminds me very much of Rhapsody's Holy Thunderforce. In fact their guitarist has a style very similar to Luca Turilli, which is quite impressive and something that you don't really see very often. They are definitely carrying on the torch that bands like Rhapsody and Skylark lit years ago. The chorus to this track to me isn't quite as catchy, but the rest of the song is just as epic as the others. The lyrical themes here have been done quite often but somehow Twilight Force still manages to keep it sounding fresh unlike many other newer bands of the genre.
Every power metal album seems to have a ballad thrown in somewhere. Some of them are great at it, some of them aren't so great and some bands seem to just do it because they feel like they have to. Honestly, “Made of Steel” is a pretty solid track, but isn't quite as memorable as some of the others. The chorus isn't as catchy, but the guitar solo makes up for it a little by being extremely emotional. This is probably my least favorite track on the album, which is saying something because I still love it.
The finale is a moment that everyone has probably been waiting for, guest vocals from Sabaton's very own Joakim Broden. “Gates of Glory” is an extremely happy sounding track. The vocals are traded off between both vocalists who add a whole new dimension to the track. The song has a vibe to it that makes it seems like a natural climax to a phenomenal album. It sounds extremely uplifting all throughout. Once again the chorus is quite memorable, there are some palm muted guitar riffs, and excellent interplay between the guitars and keyboards.
This album took me by complete surprise, especially for a debut album. I'm not saying that it is not without its own faults. It is technically only 7 songs since 3 of them are spoken word tracks that last barely a minute or so, and the album clocks in at barely over half an hour. However, all the tracks are incredible, the vocalist has one of the most incredible ranges that I've heard in quite a while, and the entire album will be stuck in your head for days. Currently it is probably my favorite power metal album of the year and definitely my favorite debut. I am giving it a 90% only because it could have used maybe a couple more songs. If you are a fan of Rhapsody of Fire or Lost Horizon I would definitely pick this album up immediately, you will not be disappointed.
Adam Philips, HMS
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