Fairyland- The Fall of an Empire

Artist: Fairyland
Album: The Fall of an Empire
Label: Napalm Records

"The Fall of an Empire" is the first release on Napalm Records for the French symphonic power metal act, Fairyland. The were formed back in 1998 and have released a demo and one other full-length on NTS which was re-released by Napalm as well. I was filled with a bit of uncertainty when I read the bands name and the first track didn't help me out too much. It's a keyboard track with chanting mixed in and it reminded me a bit of a movie soundtrack. When the second track "The Fall of an Empire" started, it got a little better. Sadly, that was all it did as the rest of the album is fairly mediocre. The cover art on the album is fantastic and you can tell right away that the music contained within was going to be some kind of epic metal. I had just hoped that it would have been better than this as I'm usually a fan of this style, as long as it's done well and is original. The production on "The Fall of an Empire" is great but sadly the music doesn't hold up and reminds me of a second-rate Rhapsody. If you don't mind that or are a big fan of Rhapsody, then by all means give "The Fall of an Empire" a chance and you may like it.