DAWNRIDER – Fate Is Calling (Pt. 1)

While nowhere near the level of proliferation of tribute albums, concept albums are popular in their own right. There have been some good Metal concept albums throughout the years; chances are Tobias Sammett and Arjen Anthony Lucassen are working on one right now.

The latest person to try their hand at a Metal concept album is Tarek Maghary, leader of German True Metal heroes Majesty. Maghary, under the DawnRider moniker, has assembled a large cast of singers and musicians for Fate Is Calling (Pt.1), which serves as a prequel to a novel Maghary wrote entitled Sword & Sorcery.

Maghary is apparently a fan of Lord Of The Rings judging by Fate Is Calling (Pt. 1)‘s cover art, which features a Gandalf-like figure front-and-center. Epic Fantasy Metal? You better believe it.

But not to put the cart in front of the horse … first off, besides Maghary, DawnRider’s “cast” features names that will probably be familiar to most Metal fans: Rob Rock, Andreas Babushkin, James Rivera, Sven D’Anna, and Michael Seifert lend their pipes to the proceedings. Johanna Mott injects some estrogen into a couple of tracks, and Mark Shelton and Bryan Patrick from underground Metal heroes Manilla Road pop up as well. One of the original Kings of Metal, Manowar’s Ross The Boss, drops by too.

There are numerous other musicians involved in the DawnRider project; for a complete rundown, check out the DawnRider website (see below).

If you’re not familiar with Majesty, they play Manowar-style “All Hail Metal!” Metal, with lots of amusingly cheesy lyrics about how great Metal is. Fun for some, but not for others. DawnRider isn’t like that; Fate Is Calling (Pt.1) takes things more seriously as it spins its tale of Good vs. Evil in the mythical land of Rianda. The story is solid enough, but pretty standard fantasy stuff. It maintains your interest and is easy to follow, but it’s hard to get into it without some background info on the story and the characters involved, which is supposedly covered in the extensive liner notes that flesh out the story.

Musically, it would have been easy for Maghary to go over the top into Rhapsody territory and pummel listeners with bombast; the subject matter certainly lends itself to that style. Luckily, Fate Is Calling (Pt. 1) plays things fairly straight and respectful. Maghary’s lyrics are pretty good; he proves he can write more than just “Hail! Hail! Hail!” repeatedly. DawnRider still plays Epic Metal though, with lots of soaring vocals, classical instrumentation, and big riffs and solos, make no mistake about it.

Fate Is Calling (Pt.1) probably won’t make a huge impression on you the first couple of times you listen to it. The album takes a bit of time to sink in, and becomes more enjoyable after a few listens. There are some good songs here, and the vocals and musicianship are strong, but at the same time you’ll never feel like you’ve been swept away to another time and place, like you would be with a great fantasy story. You’re always aware that you’re listening to a CD.

DawnRider’s Fate Is Calling (Pt.1) is a fairly solid concept album that’s pretty good at what it does. It’s not the best example of this type of music, but fans of this genre will certainly get some enjoyment out of it.