VANDOR – On A Moonlit Night

June 29, 2021 Bryce Van Patten Album Reviews, Reviews 0
VANDOR - On A Moonlit Night
  • 8/10
    VANDOR - On A Moonlit Night - 8/10
8/10

Summary

Label: Scarlet Records
Release date: July 16, 2021

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4/10 (1 vote)

Swedish Power Metal

Vandor has followed up their 1st self-release In the Land of Vandor with a strong sophomore effort on Scarlet Records titled: On a Moonlit Night.  This 4 piece group is led by Vide Bjerde on lead vocals and guitar, with Jack L. Stroem on guitar and backing vocals, Alve Bjerde on bass, and Lova Krysell taking over on drums.

Anthems to Epic Sagas

On a Moonlit Night was produced by the band, while the mixing and mastering was done on the other side of the globe by Jason Carter (Black Francis, Guards of Metropolis) at Wavelength Studios, Salem Oregon (USA). Vandor ticks all of the Power Metal boxes on this record, from the anthemic ‘Mountains of Avagale’, to the ballad ‘Future to Behold’.  Add to the list the intense warmongering tale of ‘Fate of Eltoria’, and to top it all off the band has created an 18 plus minute long  saga ‘The Sword to End All Wars’.

Final Notes

Vandor has created a solid album here with On a Moonlit Night, showing growth in their songwriting and producing skills that are improving each album. Though the album is not ground breaking, it has good songs that are well recorded and performed. The guitar and keyboard work is excellent, as they deliver almost an hour of very cool music. Overall, Vandor has created a new album that surpasses their previous work in both writing and production, giving Power Metal fans a nice treat to add to their collection.

Vandor - band photo 2021

Lineup

Vide Bjerde – lead vocals and guitar
Jack L. Stroem – guitar and backing vocals
Alve Bjerde – bass
Lova Krysell/Robin Risander – drums

On a Moonlit Night – Tracklist

  1. … Darkness Looms
  2. Mountains of Avagale
  3. River of Life
  4. Endless Sea
  5. Future to Behold
  6. Fate of Eltoria
  7. The Sword to End All Wars
  8. On a Moonlit Night
  9. Enter Twilight (Bonus Track)

Author

  • Bryce Van Patten

    Bryce is an audio engineer and a graphic designer here at Metal Express Radio. From the day he purchased his first album (Machine Head by Deep Purple), he has had a passion for heavy music, which has influenced his whole life. Bryce is from the great Pacific Northwest in USA, and has played in metal bands like Babylon, Holy Terror, The Wild Dogs, Warhead and Egypt through the 80s. He had his first interview for the Portland, Oregon publication The Rock Rag with guitarist Paul Gilbert in his Racer X days. Then he was honored to get to have drinks, and talk for an hour with the legendary Dan McCafferty of Nazareth for his second interview. In 2013, he spent an amazing hour talking to Andi Deris of Helloween, which was the high point of his heavy metal journalism.   In the year 2001, he formed Man in Black Music Publishing. They released recordings by several local bands, and in the spirit of the old Metal Massacre compilations, he created a 2-album series called The Defenders of Metal. The albums featured classic styled Metal bands from all around the world, with bands from Australia to England, and from Argentina to Russia. Currently, he is the producer/creator/vocalist of the Metal band The Black Tuesdays.

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