KRILLOAN – Return Of The Heralds

Swedish power metal band Krilloan is back with their sophomore album to bring us more metal along the lines of bands like Blind Guardian, HammerFall, and Helloween. Return Of The Heralds brings us tales of sword and sorcery based on Conan The Barbarian (The original movie), Elric of Melniboné and Michael Moorcock’s Eternal Champion series, as well as from Warhammer 40.000. The band is led by guitarist Klas Holmgren, who also composes all of the original music, as well as writing a large portion of the lyrics. Bassist/vocalist Linus Palmqvist of the band Angry by Nature wrote a majority of the lyrics with Holmgren.  The story telling harkens one back to the fantasy paperbacks of the 60s, and the exceptional album cover art by Alvaro Valverde works well to complete this theme.

Sword & Sorcery

The lyrics on Return of The Heralds definitely stick to the fantasy genre that has become so popular of late thanks to television shows like Game of Thrones, Rings of Power and The Witcher, while being mined from much older sources. Not only do they reference the movie Conan The Barbarian in lyrics to the song “Atlantean Sword”:

Hear how he trembles, the snake Thulsa Doom
Her bite will surely prove deadly to you!

Suffer no guilt ye who wield
This in the name of Crom
A Cimmerian King who fights
Fights with an Atlantean Sword

But, they also deftly use the Basil Poledouris soundtrack directly in “Blood & Fire (Born On A Battlefield)” from the main riff of the song, to the signature melody at the end of the killer guitar solo. The lyric sheet does not reflect the borrowing of this music, though it definitely should, as it’s a very recognizable masterpiece soundtrack that helped to set the Conan The Barbarian movie far above the low budget Sword & Sorcery movies that have come before, as well as after.

True fans of the genre will also celebrate the references to the Michael Moorcock’s Eternal Champion series in the lyrics of “Kings Of The Iron Hill”:

As we fly at the edge of time
A twist in the myth has begun
We were chosen for the Quest of Tanelorn
We enter the realm of the twilight Gods

Moorcock practically invented the anti-hero with the character of Elric; an elvish albino that can only be sustained by drugs, or by his sentient sword Stormbringer that gives him sustenance by stealing the souls of his victims, be they friend or foe.

Final Notes

Return Of The Heralds is a well produced, very well performed and conceived album that takes us to that place in the Sword & Sorcery genre with their epic riffs, huge anthems, and remarkable guitar work. One standout track is “Blood & Fire (Born On A Battlefield)”. The album is a great follow-up to their first effort Emperor Rising, and is a really good album that every self respecting barbarian needs to check out.

Photo: Maty Xeven.

Lineup

• Alex VanTrue – vocals
• Klas Holmgren – guitar
• Steve Brockmann – guitar
• Marco Toba – bass
• Christoph Brandes – drums

Guest Appearances

Johan Haraldsson & Johan Karlsson (Evermore)
Jack Reynolds & Tom O´Dell (Battle Born)
Magnus Holmström (Swedish folk master and HammerFall live guest)

Return Of The Heralds – Tracklist

1. Atlantean Sword
2. Kings Of The Iron Hill
3. Blood & Fire (Born On A Battlefield)
4. Hammer Of Wrath
5. Avenging Son
6. The Oathpact
7. Return Of The Heralds
8. The Kingkillers Tale
9. We Burn
10. Beyond The Gates

Check out the new video for “Hammer of Wrath” by Krilloan off of their new album Return Of The Heralds.