Mention the word Fairyland and the first thought that comes to mind is
that of heroic metal. So it is not much of a stretch for the French
metal band using that moniker to be playing metal inspired by heroic acts
during battle. However, the new album, The Fall of an Empire, will not
do much to add to power metal and all it represents.
Getting into the the band itself, everything that is normally
associated with the epic power metal genre can be found with Fairyland, from the
album cover to the song titles and even the band name. Saying all
that, their sound is largely derived from bands such as Rhapsody of Fire
and Blind Guardian. It is one thing to pay homage to the bands that
influence your sound; however, it is another to sound similar without
really adding your own elements to the music. Not to downplay Fairyland's
talent, but more can be done to simply distinguish itself from the other
bands in the chosen genre. Vocalist Max Leclerqc could be mistaken for
Hansi Kursch while the guitar and keyboard solos could easily fit in
with the Dawn of Victory-era Rhapsody of Fire material. The ballads on
the album range from over the top to weak. In Duna is the over the top
ballad that shines on the album in large part, because the bulk of the
vocals are handled by a female vocalist. The weakest song on the album
is the closing track Look into Lost Years, which is also the weakest
ballad, despite having the same female vocalist dominating the
proceedings. The track also takes away the epic ending that Fairyland was
shooting for and probably would have in The Story Remains. Aside from the
last three tracks, the rest of the album will leave the listener asking
whether or not it was a Fairyland album or a Rhapsody of Fire
album.
If one was to base Fairyland's music on the band name alone, they would
not be too far off. The problem with that would seem to be that the
band is contempt with the expectations heaped onto it. Granted, the band
members do have talent and like to show it and there is nothing wrong
with that. However, if Fairyland wants to be thought of more than just
a Rhapsody of Fire clone, they will have to incorporate different
things to at least make their music stand out. It would not hurt if they
could also improve the effort in making the ballads more
memorable.
