Twilight Force project an air of being around forever, probably because their Power Metal stylings harken back to classic Helloween, but this epic journey into top, middle and bottom Earth is only their fourth album. Straight outta Sweden, they’ve firmly established themselves as one of the new masters of the genre, and it’s great to see and hear them again.
At time of writing, I’m sitting here with a big smile on my face as some seriously widdly guitar breaks up the ten-minute epic ‘Highlands Of The Elder Dragon’ with a serious intent to play it again straight after. Like much of their output, it’s a dramatic and bombastic B-movie of a song that is best appreciated with a flagon of mead on one hand and a twenty sided dice in the other. Twilight Force are one of those bands that, when they get it right, they REALLY get it right. Alessandro Conti’s vocals are in line with those of Michael Kiske, maybe without the full power of the master, though, and new drummer Isak Olsson impresses at every turn with joyful fills all over the shop. The whole album is very cinematic and firmly in the ‘Game Of Thrones’ or ‘Lord Of The Rings’ camps in equal measure.
Topped off by two fantastic orchestral versions of previous songs that take the running time well over an hour, ‘At The Heart Of Wintervale’ takes Twilight Force and sticks them right up there with genre leaders Rhapsody Of Fire, such is the scope of epic storytelling mixed with some brilliant Power Metal pounding. Definitely one to paint your miniatures to.
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