Review Summary: Epic, over the top Power Metal
Heroes of Mighty Magic by Twilight Force will not be the album for everyone. This is over the top, bombastic, epic, cheesy Power Metal at its finest.
If the album art itself doesn't give it away the lyric booklet goes full on fantasy. Each band member has a fantasy character persona with their own backstory and full costume. Plus a RPG/D&D character sheet (with them dressing in full costume for music videos and live shows) listing all the skills etc. As well as a map that you would normally find in an epic fantasy book like Lord of the Rings. You don't get much more nerdy than that!
The music itself is a great mix of power metal guitar work with crazy solos. However guitar work isn't the centre piece, just part of the epic tapestry. There is plenty of symphony and orchestra that doesn't overwhelm the metal aspects of the music. The two elements complement each other very well.
Vocally and lyrically it ticks the box of the over the top stereotypes of Power Metal. High pitched male clean vocals with choir parts. The lyrical content is about dragons, wizards, magical swords all set in its own fantasy world with plenty of lore, but it isn't a full on concept album, each song tells its own story.
Being a fan of epic fantasy books, films, tv shows, plus massive games likes Skyrim or Witcher this album really spoke to me. If you are a fan of those elements and don't take the music too seriously, you will find plenty to love here!
The only downside is the intro to Rise of a Hero is a bit... too over the top, especially the vocals at the start of the song. Also on repeat listens the lengthy spoken word epilogue and operatic outro lose their charm, these can easily be removed from a playlist though. I'm intrigued to see what the rest of their albums are like (2 other albums at time of writing).
Songs to check out: Flight of the Sapphire Dragon, Heroes of Mighty Magic, Battle of Arcane Might
