Tales of Ancient Prophecies

Sweden's Twilight Force seem to be getting a lot of good press, and for the most part it's deserved. Their debut “Tales Of Ancient Prophecies” is a rollicking ride through power metal conventions, though it does seem a little over hyped. For a start, people seem to believe a band like Twilight Force, playing power metal to the letter as so many bands did at the turn of the century, are heralding a return to former times, but to me this just seems to have come about ten years too late. Don't get me wrong; if you love the early releases from Rhapsody, Dark Moor, and to a lesser extent, Stratovarius, you're going to play the hell out of this. If your lyrical poison is Dungeons & Dragons styled heroic fun, then “Tales” will most likely provide the soundtrack to many a tabletop battle. But there is no innovation here, no true acceptance of modern forms, only cliché after cliché.

Now, Twilight Force do have a lot going for them. They write almost perfect power metal cookers, from the opening salvo of “Enchanted Dragon Of Wisdom” to the squeaky clean “Twilight Horizon”, from the epic ballad “Made Of Steel”, to the lead single, and best song here, the rather fabulous “Power Of The Ancient Force”. They are intensely talented musicians, proving that they can shred on the guitar and keyboard better than Turilli and Staropoli, bash the kit like Jorg Michael, and sing as high as Kiske. They know exactly what power metal fans want, that being high-pitched choruses fit with huge backing chants, lyrics about victorious whispering winds, and more double bass than you can shake a stick at. So what's the problem?

First of all, I can't shake the thought that Twilight Force are truly and utterly taking the piss. The narration here is stupid and asinine (as well as damn right hilarious), and the vocals of Christian Hedgren, while technically astounding, are so over the top it's hard not to crack a smile. It's just so damn triumphant; it's like these guys fell through a magic trap door into The Shire and decided to take up residence there. And the cover art; have you ever seen anything so ridiculous? Plus, this album is only 36 minutes long, with many of those minutes being taken up by narration and symphonic interludes.

So what exactly are you getting for your money? Seven bombastic power metal anthems, some silly voice overs, and a couple of keyboard pieces. That's it. If you think Twilight Force are the saviours of power metal, you can think again. This has been done to death by many bands, some of them modern (Thaurorod springs to mind, Pathfinder and Wisdom, too), but if you can't get enough frilly-shirt wearing, dragon-slaying, magic-sword-wielding action, “Tales Of Ancient Prophecies” is a safe bet. It's just so sweet, you might want to follow it up with some Dissection or something just to blast your eardrums back to health.