Review Summary: Freedom Call's debut is a truly solid Power Metal effort, that, unfortunately, feels a little bit too much like a homage to the band's stylistic idols. Fans of Helloween, Stratovarius or Sonata Arctica will enjoy this album a lot, though.
Freedom Call are one of those bands that, despite producing high quality albums on a regular basis, never seem to be able to achieve truly widespread attention within the metal scene. In their particular case, this can be considered a real shame, since some of their work is arguably up there with the best stuff the Power Metal genre has to offer. Freedom Call's earlier albums especially, starting with the one discussed in this review, are a true gem that no fan of catchy Euro-Power anthems should leave untouched.
Stairway to Fairyland is an album that I do not only consider a Power Metal classic, but also something like a derivate of the genre: Take a tablespoon of Stratovarius, a handful of Helloween and blend it well with a good amount of Sonata Arctica - the result, I bet, would sound a whole lot like this album. In the same vein, if a friend asked me what Euro-Power was, I would not hesitate and hand him or her my copy of Stairway to Fairyland.
It is an album that contains close to everything you would expect from a Power Metal record. It is all there: The high-speed drumming, the high-pitched vocals and, most importantly, the cheesy, catchy, anthemic choruses the genre is both loved and looked down upon for. Take that as you will. If you did not like Power Metal before, chances are Stairway to Fairyland is not going to change your perspective, as, despite all of my praise beforehand, it is by no means an innovative record. Freedom Call's debut makes extensive use of pretty much every Power Metal cliché out there and does so really well, but it is far from being an outstanding album in terms of 'what' is going on during the approximate hour of its running time. However, when it comes to 'how' said clichés are made use of to create a new fragment of the genre, Stairway to Fairyland most definitely deserves all of the praise uttered in the first part of this review.
Freedom Call's more recent records have often been criticized for a supposed lack of seriousness, for sounding too silly and poppy, which is the reason for many a Power Metal fan rejectingly labelling the band as 'Happy Metal'. This tendency to focus more on happy, uplifting melodies rather than on heavy riffing, epic storytelling or demonstrations of technical prowess can, admittedly, already be spotted when listening to Freedom Call's debut. It is, however, way less blatant here in comparison to their more recent output. Stairway to Fairyland is somewhat of a concept record about some kind of magical other dimension called Taragon (the 'story' continues on the albums Crystal Empire and Eternity), and, fittingly, epicness and grandeur are more prevalent here than on later Freedom Call albums.
All the afforementioned strengths of this record are even more astonishing considering it is a debut album we are discussing. Stairway to Fairyland might without exaggeration be the most impressive Power Metal debut I have ever listened to, and it is truly challenging to find any real flaw with this record. The songwriting is spot on with amazing tension buildups and hooks you can already sing along with after hearing them only once or twice. Moreover, the production is crisp and crystal clear with a genre-typical focus on vocals and guitars, while drums are also comparatively high in the mix. The latter observation might indeed be a result of Gamma Ray drummer Dan Zimmermann being a founding member of Freedom Call alongside singer, songwriter and guitarist Chris Bay.
Still, there are a few minor points to be criticized: First, the album's macrostructure seems to be rather unbalanced, with the first half consisting of fast-paced Power Metal anthems throughout and the second half making an odd twist towards more midrangey, dare I say Prog-tinged songs. I am not actively favoring one of the two halves, however, the distribution of faster and slower, heavier and softer songs could have been arranged way better. A second point of criticism addresses the endings of certain songs: Freedom Call made truly obnoxious use of fadeouts on Stairway to Fairyland, which will at times leave you with a somewhat sour taste after an otherwise enjoyable song.
These minor flaws should definitely not put you off giving this record a spin, though. With Stairway to Fairyland, Freedom Call created their own, not really innovative, but nevertheless appealing and entertaining brand of Power Metal. They created an album which they have not been able to top yet in this reviewer's humble opinion.
Favorite Tracks:
-Over the Rainbow
-Tears Falling (DragonForce actually plagiarized this song's chorus for their track Valley of the Damned)
-Another Day
4/5
