Review Summary: Yes, it’s exactly what you’re thinking – not such a terrible fate after all.
What media franchise is more worthy of a dedicated metal band than
The Legend of Zelda? Sure, Dragonforce released their single
Power of the Triforce not too long ago in 2023, but what is a single track for a series that spawned the legendary
Ocarina of Time followed closely by
Majora’s Mask two and a half decades ago? The gargantuanate that is
Lord of the Rings has Summoning amongst others, and tabletop games have influenced their share of metal inspiration with Bolt Thrower’s very name and a couple full lengths forged from extracts of
Warhammer a prominent example.
Well, HEY! LISTEN! Master Sword is a progressive power metal band having braved the forces of Ganon since 2013, and just this January, they now open the chest to their
Majora’s Mask themed album
Toying with Time.
Lead vocals are handled by their very own Zelda, Lily Andromeda, while guitarist pair Kojo Kamya and Matt Farkas invoke the spirit of tragic Mikau, Andy Stark takes to the bongos with the strength of Darmani III, and Will Lopez strikes punchy bass lines akin to being walloped by said Goron warrior.
As may be surmised, the album is arift with
Majora’s Mask references, though they are not as on the nose as one may expect. There are several metallized melodic passages taken directly from Koji Kondo’s work, such as the Song of Healing on
Shadow of the Mind and the Gerudo Valley theme inserted in
Son of Stone (Winter’s Requiem), but they are brief and smoothly configured without taking away from the overall songwriting, no different than your favourite 70s prog rockers on a tangential frill. Lyrics likewise are direct allusions to their source material yet are shaped into seemingly conventional power metal limericks with obvious wordplay and connotations to those in the know, as will attest
The Salesman’s:
It’s dangerous alone, be sure to take your time / When the moon is full above us, you’ll see light before your eyes / Don a mask, share in the happiness. Kekkles galore. Or how about the title track’s breaking of the fourth wall:
…he cheats death’s embrace to win the game / …the world before him crumbles, just three days before it dies / A terminal dilemma…. The very length of the album, clocktowering in at 54:58, insinuates the 54 minutes of real-time it takes for an unmanipulated by the Songs of Time 3-day cycle to pass in-game.
Reflecting the great variety of landscapes in the land of Termina, Master Sword adventure across a similar combined diversity of rhythms, tones, and atmospheres. Lily’s vocal lines are particularly standout and dynamic in additon to traditional power metal soars, roaming from classic rocker chick bellows a la Lee Aaron on
How You Hide, to a lady version of Candlemass’s Messiah Marcolin on
The Salesman amongst others, to constrasting duets with several male vox guests such as Prof. Shyguy on the Anju and Kafei themed
My Last Breath, though their contributions are not of any impactful note. The composition and riffs consist of every kind of progressive, heavy, and power metal contrivement, weaving in and out between enthusiastic assault, tethered unevenly timed jags, and simple laidback chord progressions, including several instances of weighty doom making them sound very similar to fellow lady-led power metallers Smoulder at times. The additional sound effects, such as creepy tower bell chimes, tick-tocks, and game soundbites, are well integrated and always colour the atmosphere between the lines.
Toying with Time's magnum opus is surely
Son of Stone (Winter’s Requiem). Fully entrenched by avalanche in the happenings at Snowhead and the Goron Village, this most epic of songs properly relays the amount of magic and struggle involved for both Link and the Player in overcoming the freezing cold snow, Biggoron’s breath blizzards, and the Masked Mechanical Monster, Goht. Wintry but triumphant keys, classic prog rock strumming, Lily’s dynamic singing, and a compositional exploration reaching the final peak of the mountain and the fate that awaits there.
Master Sword’s
Toying with Time, like the game it is based on, is not however without its flaws. Less emphatically so but still grating while they go on are the start-stop portions of
Shadow of the Mind, always annoying, followed by a random and unnecessary metalcore section. An otherwise fairly put together track. But what is perhaps the album’s only primary disappointment is the closing track,
Child of the Night. Emulating classic Zelda boss music and indeed lyrically about the conclusive battle at hand, the song successfully builds such tension initially, only to prolong and stagnate it without any great recourse of relief or intense finality, resulting in a somewhat anticlimatic ending, like killing Majora with only a few strikes from the Fierce Deity. Perhaps that was also an intentional allusion.
With its long history of incorporating fantasy themes into its music, it is inevitable that metal will gather inspiration from any such multimedia franchise standing the test of time. That
The Legend of Zelda had not been a primary target before Master Sword courageously came along is somewhat absurd, though now that the power is in their gauntlets they will surely continue to bring it oath to order, and wisely not let their efforts fall into an elegy of emptiness. BY THE POWER OF THE TRIFORCE!
