I'm met with a lack of words to describe this album as a whole. It is compulsory for all Power Metal bands to follow the rules now laid down by the Swedish sextet. At a point when Power Metal was getting dull and stagnant, along comes this refreshing release. This album is the 'The Jester Race' of the Power Metal scene. Just as you thought the song couldnt get any better, an ending reminiscent of 'Now We Are Free' from the Gladiator movie soundtrack finishes the song, complete with seawaves in the background.

Epic all the way through, with an amazing Viking style party in the middle that owns anything ever. The song that deserves special mention is 'The Shores of Our Land'. Some of the riffs, 1:00 in 'Calling My Name' and 1:56 in 'To the End of the World' are perfect examples of this.

Also Mörck's and keyboarder Holmlid's love of BAL-SAGOTH shine through in There are many riffs that would be at home in a Swedish Death Metal song by the likes of IN FLAMES and DARK TRANQUILLITY. Many times you get a hint as to what kind of music Mörck draws his influences from. Where are the samey chord progressions? Where are the E-standard tuned guitars? Where's the constant double bass in every song? The Power Metal element is still there, but at times the only connection is in the vocals of Jonas Heidgert, who has matured and now really come into his own. Hell, even if you're not into Power Metal you'll be wondering the same. Well, the fucking effort shows.īy the time the opener 'As Madness Took Me' finishes, the typical Power Metal fan will be wondering what just hit them. So for the 6-8 months leading upto the recording and eventual release of 'Starfall', I'm told everytime I talk to guitarist Olof Mörck how good this album is and how much effort has been put in from every member of the band. DRAGONLAND have always been, for me, a fairly average Power Metal band with excellent musicianship, the idea has always been there but they havent been able to execute it properly.

Starfall the time song