Oryginalne Japońskie wydanie z 1 bonus trackam

While approaching the 20 year mark from when European power metal was given a massive shot in the arm after a period of recession courtesy of the likes of Gamma Ray, Blind Guardian, a reformed Helloween and a few others, it is breath-taking to note the amount of evolution and expansion that the style has enjoyed while never quite losing that original triumphant and campy character first purveyed by Helloween in the late 80s. Be this as it may, the style can generally be broken down into 2 opposing camps, one that puts a more serious spin on things with a lot of philosophical overtones (this often comes with a progressive or speed metal edge), and one that goes 3 sheets to wind down the road of campiness and relates to the former strain the way the 1960s Batman show would to the Dark Knight perspective more popularly sought after today and also more representative of the original story. Contrary to what one might assume, both of these extremes can yield truly spectacular results, though more often than not, to a metal head the campy approach tends to be more of an acquired taste.

Sweden recently birthed a symphonic tinged power metal band named Twilight Force that stands as one of the purest and unabashed examples of pure camp. Some might be tempted to compare this act to the likes of Rhapsody Of Fire and Fairyland, and while musically this conforms much more closely to their brand of songwriting and general sound, the actual character of their debut concept album Tales Of Ancient Prophecies bears far more similarity to the ultra-catchy, campy to the point of 80s B fantasy cinema greatness Polish band known as Pathfinder. The songwriting is a bit humbler and tasteful with its technical gimmicks than said band, but the lyrical content, storyline, and exaggerated vocal display is a dead-ringer for the over-the-top flavor that painted every second of Beyond The Space, Beyond The Time. Vocalist Christian Hedgren was one of countless many that auditioned to be ZP Theart's replacement in Dragonforce, and much like another rejected applicant with an impressive voice in Thomas Winkler (who fronts Gloryhammer, another band that takes power metal camp to a similar extreme successfully), the rejection was definitely not for any inability to shatter glass with his high notes.

Though this album contains a host of stylistically familiar elements and will easily rope in anyone with an affection for the shameless optimism and consonance of Freedom Call and the epic atmosphere of Rhapsody Of Fire, it's a somewhat odd affair as a whole. Short in scope, with songwriting that largely sticks to standard structures and scarcely goes beyond the 4-5 minute mark, this listens more like an EP than a full length studio offering, particularly when discounting the frequent and extremely brief interludes. The choruses are massive, layered heavily with backup vocal harmonies, thundering symphonic components, and all the usual guitar and drum lines that make for an up tempo melodic affair. The only outright speed fests come in the forms of the Rhapsody Of Fire meets Alestorm cruiser "Enchanted Dragon Of Wisdom" and the lead fill steeped cruiser with a symphonic gloss "Twilight Horizon", leaving much of the rest of this album to basque in a more moderated up tempo category more befitting of Stratovarius, particularly in the case of this album's single "The Power Of The Ancient Force", which features a prominent piano theme that could have been penned by Timo Tolkki if he got as ambitious as he was back in the late 90s with his current project Avalon.

What tends to seal the deal for this album is its unapologetic embracing of camp, which includes but obviously doesn't begin with the extremely cliche, but very well crafted storyline and its comical undertones. The voices of all the characters featured during the narrated sections are exaggerated all but to the point of slapstick imagery. Think of an amalgamation of Monty Python's "Quest For The Holy Grail" with an extremely low-grade 80s B flick in the medieval fantasy genre like "Wizards Of The Lost Kingdom", the one where Bo Svenson (probably best known for his brief role in Kill Bill Vol. 2 nowadays) joins an ensemble cast of mostly unknowns in one of the goofiest low-budget adventures ever to come out of the mid 80s. Interestingly enough, when combined with the nimble guitar and keyboard acrobatics of the musical content and the soaring counter-tenor vocal exploits of Hedgren, the spoken parts manage to fit in quite nicely. It's understandable that some might be turned off by it in much the same way as was the case with the voice-overs on the latter albums of Rhapsody Of Fire's "Emerald Sword Saga", as most bands that utilize this element attempt to keep things more serious.

This is fodder for just about anybody who likes European power metal, and will probably go down as one of the best, if not the best album in this style of 2014. There are just so many moments of pure gold here, from the majestic sing-along chorus on "Forest Of Destiny", to the vocal cameo of Sabaton's own Joacim Broden on the album's closer "Gates Of Glory". The only thing that can really be said against this masterpiece is that it ends far too soon and could have done even better with an additional 10 minutes of music, but hopefully this album will prove to simply be an amazing introduction to what will be a long career of campy storytelling. It's always exciting to see some new blood reinvigorate the power metal scene, and Twilight Force may indeed usher in a new wave of storytelling albums just as Rhapsody Of Fire did seventeen years ago.