FAIRYLAND – The Fall Of An Empire

This is the second release from the French Power Metal band, Fairyland. They mix Symphonic and Speed Metal, and you might determine them to be a mix between Blind Guardian and Rhapsody of Fire, but, yet, very original. Their debut album, Of Wars In Osyrhia, included Elisa C. Martin (ex. Dark Moor) on vocals, but on The Fall Of An Empire, she has been replaced by Max Leclercq (ex. Magic Kingdom).

The Fall Of An Empire is an epic concept album that tells the story about one of the biggest battles in the history of Osyrhia (a fantasy world created by keyboardist and composer Philippe Giordana). The album is mighty and grandiose with lots of orchestra and choirs. It’s still pretty predictable, but that’s the way it’s supposed to be in this genre. Even though they’re not innovative and experimental, they succeed in making a fantastic album that’s worth checking out.

“The Fall Of An Empire” track is fast like Power Metal usually is. It’s got a lot of technical parts with great guitar play from Anthony Parker; wonderful and grandiose orchestra parts, mighty choirs, and extremely great singing from Leclercq. This is just how a Fantasy Power Metal song is supposed to be.

“The Awakening” isn’t as fast as the previous mentioned song, but is at least just as powerful. It’s got more of the “Blind Guardian feeling” to it than the other songs. There’s even some keyboard and duplicate vocal lines in the middle of the song. Once again, Parker does a great job on the guitar and plays a dual guitar solo that’s just fantastic when listening.

“Eldanie Uellë” is a wonderful and very mighty-sounding power ballad. It truly reveals Leclercq’s powerful voice, which is backed up by sonorous and resonant choirs. This song is the perfect example on the spirit of the album. There are strong melody lines and no weak links here.

The longest and most enjoyable song on the record is “The Story Remains.” During the ten minutes of the song, you get beautiful piano parts, heavy Speed Metal riffs, epic Orchestra parts, extremely technical guitar, and keyboard solos and so on. You know — the works.

Though the entire album is a great, those four songs are the ones that truly stand out on the album. Most impressive about this record is how tight, but extremely powerful, it sounds. Giordana did a great job on the orchestral parts, and when he decided to put Leclercq’s spectacular voice on top, he truly made a marvelous choice. If you are a fan of Power Metal and Melodic Heavy Metal, then YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE TO BUY THIS ALBUM. This is a Symphonic and grandiose Epic masterpiece. The Fall Of An Empire is without a doubt one of the greatest albums of 2006.

Line Up

• Philippe Giordana – Keyboards
• Anthony Parker – Guitars
• Max Leclercq – Vocals
• Pierre-Emmanuel Desfray – Drums
• Thomas Cesario – Bass
  

Track List

1. Endgame
2. The Fall Of An Empire
3. Lost in the Dark Lands
4. Slaves Forlorn
5. The Awakening
6. Eldanie Uellë
7. Clanner of the Light
8. To the Havenrod
9. The Walls of Laemnil
10. Anmorkenta
11. In Duna
12. The Story Remains
13. Look into Lost Years