The Sacred Talisman

Ah, it's been a little while since I decided to write a review purely for MA. The other day I put together a playlist of some of my old favourite Swedish power metal releases - reliving my youth, if you will - and decided it might be fun to give them the review treatment. Plus I still really dig this scene; particularly from 1997 - 2004.

The Sacred Talisman was the third full-length from Nocturnal Rites at the time, right before Jonny Lindqvist joined and they massively changed up their sound. I used to favor their later direction, particularly Shadowland, although over the years I've come to hold The Sacred Talisman quite dear. A lot of this is to do with singer Anders Zackrisson, whose vocals added a lot of charm to the album, I always felt he sounded like a smoother, reigned in Niklas Isfeldt.

The material contained here on The Sacred Talisman is largely kept to a high standard, thanks to energetic performances and a great mix. The album isn't completely even though, with a couple of tracks failing to resonate with me as well as the likes of highlights such as the classic opening track "Destiny Calls", or the eighties swagger displayed in "Eternity Holds". The fist-pumping magic of "The Iron Force" is pretty damn great too. On the other hand I feel they drop the ball on the overlong semi-ballad "The Legend Lives On" which is a number best skipped, and "When Fire Comes To Ice" whilst fun, is a little on the dumb side.

Nonetheless this is still a lot of fun, and at just under forty-five minutes is perfectly digestible. Whilst Nocturnal Rites would go on to record albums of superior quality, The Sacred Talisman is a release that shouldn't go overlooked. A window into a simpler, more innocent time for the band and a perfect blend of eighties power metal with the European style which was rising at the time. These guys were all about the riff, and there's very little in the way of keyboards, as such this should appeal to fans of Crystal Eyes, Iron Fire, Gamma Ray, and Freternia.

Following a truly amazing release in "Tales of Mystery and Imagination", the now properly labeled group of 6 (keyboardist Mattias Bernhardsson has taken his rightful place as number 6 in the fold) re-entered the studio. However, once again we see an important line-up change. Although Ulf Andersson was a decent drummer and got the job done on the first two albums, current drummer Owe Lingvall is far superior and his influence on this album gives it a good deal of strength.

Bernhardsson's role has increased yet again, as tracks such as "Iron Force", "Eternity Holds", "Free at last", "The Legend Lives On" and a few others have extremely prominent keyboard parts. Although the same kind of driving guitar riffs that gave the previous two efforts a lot of their strength are still alive and kicking, this added keyboard presence gives this album almost a slightly Dio/Queensryche tinge.

The album kicks off with "Destiny Calls", and immediately I'm reminded of "Dark Secret" off the last release. A driving double bass drum line and a memorable chord progression provide the foundation upon which Zachrisson can deliver a great vocal performance. "Iron Force" is a highly memorable slower rocker. "Ride On" is a faster track that also reminds of early Yngwie cookers. "Free at last" is an upper mid-tempo anthem with a catchy chorus that is actually fairly difficult to sing along with.

"Hold on to the Flame" is another quasi-punk rockish anthem that could almost be interchanged with "Change the World" off of the previous release if it weren't for the keyboard steeped verse. "Eternity Holds" is easily the most recognizable track on here, much as "Lay of Ennui" was on the debut. The vocals are quite fun to sing along with, and this one also has my favorite guitar solo on this release.

"When Fire Comes to Ice" is another up-tempo rocker that reminds of early Judas Priest, and the distant sounding intro effect is an early indicator of a recurring effect that would appear on subsequent NR releases. "The Legend Lives On" is often made fun of as being a cheesy ballad, but actually it reminds me a bit of classic Manowar ballads like Master of the Wind. Although not the most head bang worthy song, I could see myself lighting up a Zippo during a live concert to this one.

The rest of the album is comprised mostly of faster paced ones that actually sound a bit similar. Of them, "Unholy Powers" probably has one of the fastest and thrashiest sounding intro riffs I've heard out of a band single 1986. Dave Mustaine would definitely be proud of this one. "The King's Command" tends to drag on a little bit, but we do have some excellent riffs on here and a decent Norberg solo. "Glorious" is another anthem-like cooker whose chorus is similar to "Change the World".

Unfortunately after this release, Anders Zachrisson ended up leaving the band and has since not re-surfaced in the metal scene. Although Jonny Lindkvist took over the vocal reigns of the band and NR since re-developed their sound into a rather intricate hybrid of power and speed/thrash metal, it is unfortunate that Zachrisson isn't singing anymore. He's a good vocalist and might have been able to replace Oliver Hartmann in At Vance or perhaps started his own band.

Before I write my recommendation to this album, I would like to take a moment to address some criticisms this album has received in certain circles. Some have stated that Anders has a whiny voice (something which I did not observe anywhere on this album or the other two he sings on, and I've listened to them dozens of times) and also a few have mentioned that the increased synthesizer presence on this album killed all the guitar solos (if Norberg's lead tracks had been any louder on this release, he would have drowned out the rhythm section for Christ's sake). While the critics in this regard are few, their arguments are completely erroneous by my observations, and I was very careful to specifically scrutinize the individual tracks before writing this review.

Anyhow, this is another great release that demands the attention of fans of older 80s metal fans and newer Power Metal fans alike. I think UltraBoris put the overall spirit of this album best in the title of his review. This is more great, fun, and catchy power metal. So get your lazy ass off the couch and get to the store and pick up a copy today.

So this is what European power metal should sound like. Not excessively double-bassed, and pretty damn heavy. A nice album in the vein of Helloween's Keeper series. It's a bit more traditional sounding than the album that came before it, and is not all that distant from some Hammerfall with its use of the well-timed speed metal riff.

"Destiny Calls", "When Fire Comes to Ice" are total speed metal - but other times the album is more straightforward power metal, including one of the catchiest power metal songs ever, in "Eternity Holds". Holds what, you may ask? Who cares, it's a total fucking owning song. This is the power-metal equivalent of "People of the Lie". Monster fucking headbanging riffage.

Lots of sing-along choruses, headbanging anthems, and even the obligatory ballad ("The Legend Lives On") doesn't blow total donkey balls, though it is the weakest on here. Some people can't stand the vocalist, but he is perfectly fine, and very distinct.

You like Hammerfall? This isn't quite as speedy but it's still well worth getting.