Well that took a while didn’t it? It’s eleven years since we heard anything from Swedish Symphonic Power Metal maestros Dragonland! It’s always possible that some members were busy with other projects, for instance, it’s more than possible that guitarist Olof Mörck has been kept a little busy by his side-project Amaranthe (it’s funny how things turn out…). But it’s always great when all the band members find themselves in a position to commit to another album no matter how much time has passed – and besides. it would have been a bit of a travesty if the last we had heard from this influential Metal band had been the epic conclusion of their Dragonland Chronicles trilogy in 2011. But conclude it they did – and now they’ve gone all sci-fi…
This is a Symphonic Power Metal album big on melody, orchestration and gloss. This is a big, full-sounding album, oozing class, with each element of every song seemingly polished and finished to the maximum. Despite having plenty of progressive touches and unexpected time-changes, there’s always a memorable hook or catchy vocal line waiting around the corner – but then, that’s Dragonland really. Occupying similar musical territory to Twilight Force, Fairyland, Sonata Arctica, Rhapsody Of Fire and Serenity, but to be honest, so many others too, such is the diversity from track to track – this is a band thoroughly enjoying writing what they want, making it work within their own sound and without set boundaries. There are so many symphonic/power styles on offer here – but whether it’s borderline Speed Metal through to Epic Melodic Arena Metal, each track has that Dragonland sheen to it that we have grown to expect over the past twenty years, but with a renewed freshness after such a long break.
The space-travel themed lyrical concept is possibly also a bit more freeing for the band, switching fantasy saga for sci-fi epic has meant touches of futuristic synths can be sneaked in, as well as a slightly edgier vibe than the Dragonland Chronicles had. It’s subtle, but there does seem to be more energy to the band than there was 10 to 15 years ago, which is also maybe a further maturity of members bringing to the table a few tricks they’ve learned elsewhere over the past decade. There’s even a guest appearance from Amaranthe’s Elize Ryd which I’m sure will come as no surprise to anyone, but of course it’s a very welcome one and she excels as always. Existing fans are going to love the next chapter from this ultra-slick Metal band and I’m sure the bands faultless delivery and imaginative songwriting will win over even more.
(8/10 Andy Barker)
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