KRILLOAN – Emperor Rising

December 9, 2022, will mark the first full-length album release from Swedish Power Metal band Krilloan titled, Emperor, Rising on Scarlet Records. This is the follow-up to Krilloan’s 2021 EP titled, Stories of Times Forgotten.

Krilloan Bio

In 2020, Krilloan started as a solo project by Klaus Holmgren. The vision for Krilloan is to write songs with high speed, soaring guitar solos, thundering drums, and no keyboard solos. This philosophy is to pay homage to the Melodic Power Metal and Heavy Metal bands of the late 1990s and early 2000s with fantasy-themed lyrics. Klaus Brockman is joined by his friend, Steve Brockman at the core of the band and features Alex VanTrue (vocals), Marco Ignacio Toba (bass), and Christopher Brandes (drums). In May 2021, Stormspell Records released Krilloan’s debut, The Stories of Times Forgotten-EP.

Emperor Rising

Emperor Rising has a runtime of just under 37 minutes over 9 tracks. Krilloan starts the album with a fantasy tale about a dragon tamer, “Prince of Caledor.” The music wastes no time taking off in full-speed bombastic double-kick drums, epic power metal riffs, and anthemic lyrics. “Sons of The Lion” and “Fireborn” do not let off the gas as these songs maintain the tempo and fury of the first song with powerful riffs and anthemic vocals. The anthemic, speedy, and heroic power metal delivered by Krilloan is very reminiscent of the late 80s – mid-90s era of Blind Guardian. There are no ballads on Emporer Rising, yet “Break of Dawn (Brothers in Arms)” brings a melodic acoustic guitar sound to the sound transitioning to a melodic yet powerful chorus.

Compared to Stories of Times Forgotten, the band stripped out symphonic power elements to focus on Emperor Rising to a more classic Euro-Power Metal style of music. Alex’s vocals are powerful, dynamic in range, and on point with the tempo of the music. The backing vocals interlaced on the songs compliment Alex’s vocals and add a layering dynamic throughout Emperor Rising.

The Good

The production of Emperor Rising by Cristoph Brandes at Iguana Studios (Germany) is solid and well-balanced. Most fans of Power Metal will appreciate that there are no extensively long songs with drawn-out solos. “Angels Sacrifice” is the longest song at 5:45 but is also the most dynamic in terms of tempo changes. Standout tracks include, “Emperor Rising,” “Sons of the Lion,” and “Angels Sacrifice.”

Not So Good

Krilloan checks all of the boxes for a well-written and performed Power Metal album. The only complaint if any could be the interlude track, “Return to Melniboné” after “Fireborn”. The listener does have the option to skip over or delete the track if they so choose.

Final Thoughts

Fans of early Blind Guardian will be in for a treat. There is nothing on this album that fans of Power Metal should find disappointing as Krilloan checks all of the boxes for a strong release, anthemic guitars, bombastic and pompous beats, themes of fantasy, dragonslayers, and war. Metal fans not familiar with the subgenre of Power Metal may find this release to feel repetitive as most of the songs on Emperor Rising have nearly the same fast tempo and beat.

Tracklisting

1. Prince of Caledor
2. Sons of The Lion
3. Fireborn
4. Return to Melniboné
5. Emperor Rising
6. Break of Dawn (Brothers in Arms)
7. Into the Storm
8. Stormlight
9. Angels Sacrifice

Album Lineup

Alex VanTrue – Vocals
Steve Brockman – Guitar
Klas Holmgren – Guitar
Marco Ignacio Toba – Bass
Christopher Brandes – Drums