siLLy puPPy Power metal is one of those genres that either gets me totally excited or leaves me dreadfully cold. It’s a tough nut to crack really. It is by far one of the most demanding styles of metal as far as technical virtuosity is concerned and even more so when it comes to a competent vocalist. It doesn’t help that Helloween set the bar so high all the way back in the 80s that very few bands can rise to the high standards of. Then there are bands like Sweden’s TWILIGHT FORCE that just seem to pull off this style without even trying.

Far from implementing a cookie cutter approach of dissecting a power metal classic and simply reconstituting another band’s sound, TWILIGHT FORCE seems to excel at setting itself apart in a crowded metal universe without losing that classic epic power metal feel. The band has been around for over a decade now and has been compared to bands like Dragonforce for its sheer raw power that excels at rampaging through role-playing game fantasy worlds at ridiculously fast tempos accompanied by extremely versatile vocals and symphonic excesses. In a way TWILIGHT FORCE has picked up where Rhapsody of Fire left off when the band started to become a little stale constantly repeating its formula only delivering much more metal than that band ever has in its sump-rich releases.

Self-designated as adventure metal, AT THE HEART OF WINTERVALE, the band’s fourth studio full-length does indeed deliver a wild 45-minute symphonic power metal journey that takes you into the heart of a Dungeons & Dragons epic saga fortified by lush cinematic classical passages as well as blistering neoclassic guitar solos. The band is famous for its lengthy epic tracks and WINTERVALE features two of them each racing past the ten minute mark and with an energetic drive of seasoned metal magi means that this album is chock filled with passionate delivers of technical deliveries, lush orchestral accoutrements as well as off the hook catchy melodies, a true necessity for any power metal act.

While the metal parts are for the most part fiery and filled with vim and vigor, the classical aspects are what add the most variety to this band’s sound. While tamed down a little from previous releases, TWILIGHT FORCE maintains its grip on an epic fantasy fueled adventure in the truest power metal sense. While it’s not really my favorite grab from the bag, cheery even overly gleeful metal can be fun especially when taken to extremes and with an apparent love of classic Queen’s operatic stylistic approach only delivered in a symphonic power metal packaging, it’s hard not to fall for this band’s attention to detail.

It’s worth mentioning newbie drummer De’Azsh who is an absolute beast with incessant blastbeats that can easily turn into tender contemplative percussion in a millisecond. Founder / guitarist Philip Lindh has a lot to be proud of. It’s certainly not easy to carve out a niche in a the crowded metal world of epic fantasies but something about Sweden in the 21st century that seems like an endless wellspring of creative musicians churning out interesting music in so many disparate genres. While i do find a lot of power metal cheesy or just plain substandard, i have to admit that TWILIGHT FORCE rubs me the right way when it comes to this kind of music and AT THE HEART OF WINTERVALE shows no signs of losing steam.

Kev Rowland I must be honest, I wasn’t exactly looking forward to playing the latest album from Twilight Force, having not been a fan of their previous two efforts, and when it commenced with a spoken intro which reminded me for some reason of ‘He-Man and the Masters of the Universe’ I inwardly groaned. But what was this? Soaring orchestration over the top of a metal band in full flow with drumming powering it along? Who found the controls in the production suite and turned up the bottom end? Hang on, that’s a new singer as well, and although he can hit the high notes he also sings lower with plenty of passion and emotion. A quick look at the press release and I see that the new singer is Allyon, but given everyone in this band likes to use pseudonyms I did some more checking and realised this is none other than Allessandro Conti who has been working with Fabio Lione in their own band, and was also in Luca Turilli’s Rhapsody for 7 years prior to joining Twilight Force. He is a bona fide rock star in the world of power metal, and all of a sudden this band has come to life.

All the strengths have been kept from the previous two albums, but the weaknesses and concerns have been dissipated and here is a band which is playing as if their lives depended on it. This is such a step up from the previous two albums that it is almost like a brand new band, but the only new person in the band is Conti – everyone else was on the last album, while just rhythm guitarist Aerendir didn’t feature on the debut as he joined afterwards. But the dynamics have changed, the production and arrangements have greatly improved and here is a band on a roll. I may not have enjoyed the first two, but this one has been on my player a great deal, as even the twee moments which annoyed me on the first two here make me smile as the context is so much better. Definitely worth investigating.

Kev Rowland 2016 saw Twilight Force return with their second album. Since the debut they had changed drummers and also added an additional guitarist so were now running with a traditional twin attack. The drumming has definitely improved but the production hasn’t, neither has the one-dimensional feel of the band, and although they have been using more orchestration it still feels like they are treading water and need a good shaking to move to the next level. All the influences from the debut album are still here, while Eriksson still hits the notes with ease but there is little breadth and depth to the vocals. As for the guitars, they often appear to be hiding in the same room as the bass, and couldn’t bother to turn up for the sessions. Signed to Nuclear Blast, who generally have a great roster with strong producers I was somewhat surprised to hear another album so similar to the debut as while it contains with same strengths as before, it also has plenty of the same weaknesses.

It is strange to think there are two years between albums and with two new members of personnel as all this material could have easily sat on the debut as well. I am sure that anyone who loves the debut will think this is just as indispensable. As for me, next!

Kev Rowland This 2014 album was the debut from Swedish power metal outfit Twilight Force, and there is no doubt at all from looking around the web that this is one which many people rate very highly indeed. I can understand that in many ways, in that they are taking some of the best bits of classic Stratovarius, have plenty of shredding, and in Christian Eriksson (here going by the name Chrileon) they have someone who can hit very high notes indeed. The problem for me is that it is incredibly one-dimensional and is combined with very flat production which has no depth and the bottom end just hasn’t been catered for whatsoever. I know they are described as power metal outfit, but this is way more hard rock than metal, although there is no doubt whatsoever that Philip Lindh (here going by the name Lynd) is a heck of a guitarist.

The first time I played this I was decorating the garage, which meant I had plenty of boring painting to undertake and wanted an album which I could really enjoy and get a lot from, but I soon found the white walls were more interesting which is not what I expected at all. There are some spoken bits and pieces, and choirs are utilised at times, but to me it felt as if Helloween had been crossed with Angria and Malmsteen but with all the depth and soul ripped out of it. They are great musicians, with some interesting material at times, but while it isn’t an album I would dismiss totally out of hand I can’t see it being one to which I will return even though apparently it is the best thing since sliced bread.