Starbound Stories

Power metal has always been an exercise in throwing caution to the proverbial wind, but how that manifests for a band from the sub-genre's obscure 80s roots as a more theatrical offshoot of the traditional metal approach vs. a current day adherent band is a line that divides about as clearly as any. Indeed, while fantastical themes have always been the principle staple, the past couple decades has seen a rise of a new sort of legend, namely the one that comes in a gaming sole or computer with one or more remote controllers. Pivotal mid-2000s pioneers and arguable forerunners to the current 3rd wave of power metal, otherwise known as DragonForce, have been at the forefront of marrying gamer culture with high speed melodic majesty, so it logically follows that their second and current front man Marc Hudson would carry said lyrical pursuits into his solo ventures. Be this as it may, this British screamer's debut offering Starbound Stories brings more commonality to his aforementioned flagship project to the table than similar tales set in the XBox/PC universe.

The sonic quality of this 55 minute excursion into the realm of power metal camp could be best described as a curious middle ground between the saccharine-heavy yet less technically showboating exploits of mid-2000s Power Quest and the electronic gimmickry and melodic pizzazz of DragonForce's post-ZP era. Even the sugary instrumental intro that kicks this bad boy off "As The Twilight Met The Sea" carries such an uncanny similarity to "Ascension" off of Power Quest's Magic Never Dies that one might feel compelled to check the album credits to see if Steve Williams made an appearance on the keyboards, though the second half veers into a more synth-pop steeped take on a symphonic overture and moves well outside of the parameters of a second wave melodic affair. What ends up following this two minute exposition proves to be one of the more well-rounded and eclectic blend of hook-driven yet exploratory songwriting where technical excess is largely tempered by music that takes its time to develop ideas and comes off as a less extravagant yet equally epic take on what DragonForce might have become had they stuck a little closer to their 2000s format once Marc had entered the fold.

Though this is very much Hudson's circus and his insanely high and crystal clear, soaring vocals are those becoming of a master ringleader, a fairly auspicious cast of supporting characters are what truly give this album its unique character. Arguably the most pivotal influence is that of ex-DragonForce bassist and ex-Heavenly guitarist Frédéric Leclercq, whose multifaceted songwriting approach that made Maximum Overload and particularly Reaching Into Infinity standouts of Marc's tenure with DragonForce brings this album home, to speak nothing for his skilled performances on both of previously noted instruments. I Am I and former Power Quest drummer Rich Smith makes a truly impressive racket behind the kit as well, arguably matching every single surgeon that manned the drums throughout DragonForce's nearly 25 year run. A wild lead guitar display courtesy of Galneryus' own Syu and a hodgepodge of traditional instrumental input by ex-Gyze guitarist Ryoji bring a healthy degree of Japanese flavoring to this light and fast musical affair, with a raunchy harsh vocal slot by Seven Spires singer Adrienne Cowan and a shred-segment provided by YouTube celebrity Stevie T bringing further flair to an already flashy auditory journey.

While this is about as characteristically British of a power metal album as one could expect, it does do a fair bit to avoid sounding like a total homage to either DragonForce or one of any number of other contemporary or recent English or Scottish bands sporting a similar sound. One can't help but hear an album that isn't afraid to dabble in a more straightforward, pop/rock character when it comes to the sugared over balladry of "Stars" or the mid-paced drive with a PS5 soundtrack edge of "The Siren", to speak nothing for how are both are combined with a dreamy atmospheric aesthetic to an absolute fault on the ethereal sounding "Swansong"; which is also one of Marc's more brilliant vocal performances to date. And even when things drift closer to the high speed fury that one might expect from a project involving a veritable who is who of British power metal as on "Freedom Heart", "Dracula X!" and "Astralive", there are some noteworthy twists that could be chalked up to a mild progressive influence. But when the rubber hits the road, this album comes into its absolute own on the 8-minute slough "Call Of The Martyrs", by far the most reminiscent of what Ultra Beatdown might have sounded like had Marc been on it, and definitely the most technically-charged guitar assault to occur on this entire album.

Taken as a whole, this album is a fair bit to process in spite of its generally melodic and hook-driven character, and a few of these songs might come off as a bit pop/rockish for those more accustomed to what power metal sounded like before the rise of Battle Beast and Dynazty. Particularly when noting the synth-steeped, retro-80s character of the title anthem "Starbound Stories" and several noteworthy segments of other songs found on here, it's pretty clear that much of the 3rd wave quirks that have seeped into DragonForce's sound of late have been imported into this album, but Marc and company ultimately carry it well and showcase a stylistic niche that still has potential for further evolution in the coming years. The target audience of this album is roughly the same as those who have been eating up the meme-happy high-jinks of Victorius and Gloryhammer, though it comes off as having a more cerebral character that can appeal to some of the less uptight factions of the prior power metal wave. It doesn't reinvent the wheel, but the one that it comes out with isn't easily confused with those adorning other cars currently on the market.

Starbound Stories is the side project of Dragonforce singer Marc Hudson, but fortunately most of this album sounds nothing like Dragonforce. Although I'm a big fan of Dragonforce, the change in genre is really satisfying, and it gives Marc a chance to excel in his own style. It's been awhile since the last Dragonforce album (4 years, although we're getting an album in a few weeks), but it would be a letdown if Marc just released 10 more Dragonforce songs as a side project. This side project gives us what you want to see from Marc.

The songs, for the most part, remind me of anime. They're the type of songs you'd hear in the opening or outro, or perhaps during a music sequence. I haven't really watched much anime, but Marc's music gives a good taste of the magic involved. The keyboards are sparkly and vivid, and are quite honestly my favorite part of the album, courtesy of Shaz D (Marc, if you're reading this, bring this guy in to fill the hole left by Vadim. Trust me, he can fill it). The guitars have some good melodies, but mostly abstain from solos, although The Siren has a great guitar solo courtesy of Marc Hudson. I knew he could play guitar, but I didn't know he was good at shredding. But the keyboards are still the reason the songs sound so incredible.

Speaking of Marc...holy crap, his voice is incredible. He doesn't always get the chance to show off his voice on Dragonforce songs, but here his voice is pushed to the limit, especially on the title track. His voice is able to draw you in, and when it soars, you feel the power behind it. The lyrics give off a good anime vibe, but they don't feel overly cheesy. The ending track (sung in Japanese) confirms beyond any doubts that Marc is a certified weeb. I mean, making an entire anime-sounding album could have been a hint, but this confirms it.

The Siren is my personal favorite song from this whole album. This song was the second single, and it changed my mind about the album. When I heard the first single, I thought "Oh great, Marc's making Walmart Dragonforce". But when I heard this, I thought "This is different. This sounds good." I said before that the keyboards were some of the best parts of the album, and this song is the prime example. We get a mix of acoustic piano, sparkly synths, and background strings, and the synths sync up with the guitar during the second part of the solo.

The ballads (Stars, Swansong) are incredible. For me, the biggest problem with Marc-era Dragonforce was the ballads. ZP was incredible with ballads, and his voice fit perfectly with the style. Trail Of Broken Hearts, from my all-time favorite metal album Inhuman Rampage, is the perfect example of what a metal ballad should be. Silence from Reaching Into Infinity was a good ballad, but it lacked the Dragonforce touch, and it didn't sound enough like a ballad, but rather a slow song. Stars is very Celtic-sounding (makes sense, since Marc is British). The vibe of the song is like walking through an Irish valley in the springtime, and it's tied together with a beautiful electric violin solo by Mia Asano. Swansong is a more mournful song, giving the vibe of walking through a rainy autumn street to lay roses on a friend's grave. These two songs have some of the best lyrics on the album.

There are only two minor problems on this album:

There's not as many guitar solos. The Siren has a good solo, and Call Of The Martyrs has a bunch, since it's the most Dragonforce-sounding track. But Marc can do good solos, as can Frederic Leclerq. This album would have been a good place to show off their skills, but they somewhat under-used these.

Ryojin and Adrienne Cowan. Marc had a lot of guests for this album, but he misused these two. Ryojin had harsh vocals on Freedom Heart, and they throw off the entire feeling of the song. Cowan had harsh vocals on Dracula X, but you could barely hear them. So Marc put harsh vocals on a track that didn't need any, and then he didn't bother to use the harsh vocals for the track that would have actually benefited from them. He should have put Ryojin's vocals on Dracula X, and left Freedom Heart by itself.

Despite these two small mistakes, the album is incredible. I wasn't sure about Marc doing a solo album at first, but this definitely exceeded my expectations. Herman and Sam need to play some of these songs at the next Dragonforce shows, and if not, Marc better get the chance to play these songs himself.

Well well well, the man’s done it. Anyone who’s been following Dragonforce avidly will know the band has a tendency for video games (Remember Shadow Warriors?) while most of their peers from the same era aimed for fantasy. This seems to be cultured even more with the entrance of their second and much-disputed mike wielder. So is it really a surprise that Marc Hudson would come to release his own solo project of a mixture of power metal and anime OSTs? Hmmm... not really.

My surprise came from how detached Starbound Stories actually sounds from Dragonforce itself on the whole. I dunno why but I had been expecting some sort of resemblance. Yet aside from Astralive and Freedom Heart the debut leaned more on the typical melodic power metal side, albeit with a stronger Japanese vibe. That was looked for though, when Hudson announced Ryoji of the Japanese melodeath band GYZE and our favorite shredder Syu from Galneryus on the guestlist. Also, considering the Gloria cover in his profile, the closer One More Sight of the Sun with You was semi-expected; I’ll leave it up to the Japanese to judge at how good Hudson’s Japanese is. It was too fruity for my likings speaking purely from the music stance, the title track would pack a bit more punch and end shits on a high note if it was the closer.

Yeah, I was talking about washing this debut down with insulin from the first track. I don’t think I’ve heard a cuter synthline and a more lighthearted melody like those on the title track since Freedom Call’s Dimensions. While the ballads, Stars and Swansong, definitely checked all my boxes of annoyance too with the mid-paced cadence and the overflowing syth. Oh, and did I ever mention that Hudson’s voice is just overtly sweet when it comes to ballads? Two ballads in one album is plainly one of my bigger red flags.

Still, the general mindset I’d recommend to anyone preparing to dive into this debut is just treat it as an anime OST compilation and some of the speedier, more headbanging-worthy songs like Dracula X! or Astralive will come off as surprises as well as making your journey way way more enjoyable. Don’t hold any expectations, and you’ll never be disappointed. On the contrary, You might even be impressed; after all, The Siren is just about uplifting enough with the bouncy rhythm section and cheesy syths to make me happy – it’s upbeat at the just right moments, almost reaching for those early Sonata Arctica styles as the solo progresses, but also keeping to the right length on the whole without wearing down my patience. I guess I don’t mind the guitars blazing along the keys. The 8-min Call of the Martys was quite a fun ride in itself too, no dull points, all the right hooks, and Stevie T and Azure’s Galen Stapley’s cooperation was impeccable. Marc Hudson shows excellent songwriting abilities in such songs, just not quite consistent when you consider the whole album.

I guess Starbound Stories is not a bad album per se, just different from what most would expect as a solo project. It’s definitely far lighter than most power metal even, and gets boring when you’ve overplayed it. But as one of my favorite musicians puts it, why should one be forming a solo project just to play the exact same style as their main band? If the songs were not good enough for their main bands, why should we take in the garbage through the solo stuff? At least Marc Hudson is definitely writing with his anime dreams in mind. Judging by the new songs Dragonforce has put out these days, I might take this debut over their next release – at least I hear passion.

HIghlights:
Dracula X!
Astralive
Call of the Martyrs