No, I can't really sound metal-tough, no matter how I shout it, can I?
Anyway, The Fall Of An Empire is the second album of this French band, three years after their classic debut OF WARS IN OSYRHIA, and in that time, bassist/drummer Willdric Lievin and vocalist Elisa Martin had left, which resulted in the band bringing in a male singer (Martin was also replaced by a male when she left Dark Moor - does she put these bands off women somehow??), Magic Kingdom vocalist Max Leclerqc. While not great, he's certainly an improvement, and there are also a couple of other female voices that appear from time to time.
I admit I was a bit disappointed to start with when listening to this album. I can now look back and see that the choral vocals that were so wonderful in OSYRHIA are still there, but they seemed somewhat diluted to start with. Or maybe the material is a bit weaker.
Indeed things do start a bit below par, but there is still some really good stuff here, the first outstanding track probably being the first slow song, "Eldanie Uelle", immediately followed by the more up tempo "Clanner Of The Light". These two songs show just how deft and melodious Fairyland can be. Other songs like "The Walls Of Laemnil" and the ten minute "The Story Remains" ar also good, and it soons become apparent this is indeed the Fairyland that has come before.
Guitars seem to be a bit more prominent this time around, and there's probably a bit more variety in regards to tempo and song structure. All these factors are fine. But the impression remains that The Fall Of An Empire stalls a bit at the beginning before eventually picking up.
Nevertheless, Fairyland are a must for those who love epic-sounding, symphonic power metal, and it's just a shame that their output is so sporadic. The metal world could do with more from them, no matter what it might think of their name.
****
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