ALBUM REVIEW: The Power Of The Nightstar – Dragonland
It has now been 23 years since DRAGONLAND‘s formation. The symphonic metal six-piece from Gothenburg have clearly had a fantastic musical career so far, with their 2001 debut album The Battle Of The Ivory Plains expanding their fanbase quite considerably. Fast forward to the present day and DRAGONLAND are due to release their sixth studio album The Power Of The Nightstar following a lengthy 11-year hiatus.
This brand new body of work contains a total of 13 vibrant, energetic tracks. Unlike previous work, DRAGONLAND have adapted their usual sound, with more of a cinematic feel in this upcoming release. They have also gone out of their way to include more electronic influences in this album, whilst still remaining true to who they are as a collective. In terms of lyrical content, keyboardist Elias Holmlid states that it is “entirely a sci-fi concept album, telling the story of a people astray, looking for a new home throughout a hostile universe. The song A Threat from Beyond the Shadows is written from the perspective of the antagonists, and Final Hour details the cataclysmic battle that the story ultimately leads into.”
The first track on the album is The Awakening, which is a fantastic introductory piece coming in at just under two minutes. The instrumentals throughout are truly fascinating, reminding us somewhat of something that THE DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT would create. Next up is A Light In The Dark. It takes us by surprise as we are instantly blown away by the level of musical talent here. The hard-hitting composition at the very beginning is just so fantastic, and it gets us ready for what’s to come. As soon as Jonas Heidgert‘s magnificent vocals kick in, it is completely overwhelming. The progression within the song is second to none, hitting listeners right in the feels. Flight From Destruction is a fast-paced symphonic metal track which has hints of power metal infused into it in terms of the vocal style and some of the bolder chord progressions. This song would be perfect featured in an action packed sci-fi movie, providing all the dramatics and theatrics that we now come to expect from DRAGONLAND.
Through Galaxies Endless continues on with the theatrical, dramatic nature of this release in the best way possible. The instrumentals make you feel as though you are being transported to outer space, elevated even further by the lyrical content. The Scattering Of Darkness successfully builds up the intrigue with the introductory instrumentals before leaping right in to a pleasant orchestral like segment. This song definitely contains one of the best choruses on the entire album, with its catchy yet powerful nature making us hang on to every single word as Heidgert‘s vocals really come to life. A Threat From Beyond The Shadows contains even more impactful instrumentals, providing us with just the right amount of intrigue. The thundering guitars in the chorus are astonishing, making the song even more effective. As with the latter, this track features another amazing chorus which adds to how memorable this song is. The unclean vocals from Heidgert add further spice to the track, surprising us with something that we weren’t necessarily expecting.
Aphelion is up next, starting things off well with some soothing, calming instrumentals which wouldn’t seem out of place at a spa retreat. They instantly make you feel at peace, changing things up with some subtle dramatics near the end. Another surprise is the inclusion of female vocals in the last few seconds, breaking up the usual male-oriented sound fantastically. Celestial Squadron is yet another striking song, with perhaps a little less memorability than others. Resurrecting An Ancient Technology continues with this theme, unfortunately. There is not as much progression as heard in other tracks within the album, making us lose interest pretty quickly.
Title track The Power Of The Nightstar is pretty uninspiring. It would be welcomed at this stage for them to attempt to change up their sound, adding some variety to the album. Final Hour is strikingly different though, exciting us once again with some insane instrumentals and vocal delivery. There are further influences from bands such as THE DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT with the bold spoken word segments. Journey’s End begins on an operatic note, before introducing some impactful drum work. This is one of the slowest songs on the release, but that doesn’t make it any less impactful and important. The spoken word section, not to mention the vocal harmonisation is just wonderful. The closer is Oblivion, which most certainly doesn’t disappoint and provides a great ending to a largely impeccable release.
DRAGONLAND‘s recognisable sound infuses the melodic and power metal genres flawlessly. There is no doubt about it, we were truly blown away when we listened to this record for the first time and we feel like you will feel the same. Even if you aren’t particularly a fan of the typical power metal sound, this band could help to open your mind to the genre in the best way possible. A truly fantastic release, with some outstanding musical talent just shining all the way through to the very end.
Rating: 8/10
The Power Of The Nightstar is set for release on October 14th via AFM Records.
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