Tales of Ancient Prophecies

Twilight Force's Tales of Ancient Prophecies is about as enjoyable as enduring an endless marathon of bad karaoke performances. I kid you not, I had an easier time sitting through my dentist's appointment than listening to this album. That's not to say it's without its minor victories, as it is marginally better than their horrifying sophomore album. It is, however, a clear demonstration that Twilight Force is yet to discover and capitalize on their strongest assets.

I absolutely adore cheesy power metal with plenty of gusto and overblown antics when executed correctly. Yet, such music needs to be backed by at least some semblance of talent, musicianship and a degree of coherence therein. Twilight Force has unfortunately skimped on these elements. Needless to say, the sound cannot be salvaged by the reduction of drama alone.

The majority of tracks within Tales of Ancient Prophecies feel like watching a rerun of a show you've already seen numerous times; everything feels tired, worn out, and bland. This recycled, uncanny imitation of better music makes Twilight Force come off as a poor clone of the great bands that came before them. There are a few brief moments of catchy melodies and foot-tapping rhythms, but they can't salvage the banality of the entire album.

Twilight Force seems to teeter on the edge of parody and seriousness, managing to manipulate neither angle to their advantage. If they had picked one direction and held to it, they might have pulled off something enjoyable. The unwillingness to firmly plant themselves in either the campy or serious spheres of power metal makes the whole album feel disjointed and puzzling.

The album's ninth track, Made of Steel, is Twilight Force's attempt at creating an epic track. The intro builds anticipation admirably, but rapidly devolves into a trite and colorless track identical to the others. There are glimpses of power metal done right, but they are few and far between, lost in a sea of mediocrity.

In sum, Tales of Ancient Prophecies left me wanting a memory wipe, a desire to never remember Twilight Force again. They've got to let go of their obsession with overly bombast songs, focus on delivering cohesive quality songs and perhaps try to do something original. I recommend you to skip this album unless you crave an exercise in dealing with auditory frustration.