Customer Reviews

Score to a New Beginning

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Back in 2007 the band known as Fairyland parted ways even after a successful release of their second album Fall of an Empire and an equally successful tour with Kamelot and Leave's Eyes. But the story didn't end there as long time lead member of the group Philippe Giordana took the reigns all on his own and enlisting instead the services of guest musicians rather then seeking a new line-up for the band. In the long run this might have been a great turn of events for the music as a whole.

Score To A New Beginning doesn't stray far off the track from previous releases under the Fairyland banner and in my opinion simply improves their original sound and style. Philippe allowed his imagination to run rampant and what we get is an extremely adventurous, anthematic, epic Power Metal album with an onslaught of extremely gifted musicians contributing to the finished project.

Not many bands could build the climax that tracks such as "Across The Endless Sea Part II" unfolds to, let a lone one man. This one track shows the similar style of fast paced Power Metal backed by roaring leads and entrancing orchestral arrangements as other Fairyland releases but pushes the ideal further. Choir lead chorus' and even a Keyboard lead that strongly reminded me of Stratovarious turn this one track into an instant classic in the genre.

Philippe slows things down on "A Soldiers Letter" using classical piano, over powering bass and some very pleasant acoustic leads. Later on a track like "Godsent" we get a fairly standard Fairyland feel with straight forward fast paced Power Metal and little filler. The arrangements on each track are what set them apart and allow them to stand on their own. Some tracks make me think of pirates battling on the high seas while others bring to mind epic battles of knights and wizards defending against dragons, he truly captured a vivid landscape with this album.

However the track that stands above the rest easily is the epic just short of nine minute title track. The song captures every aspect of the album from the almost depressing lows to the anthematic highs, including one of the most addictive chorus' on the album and some of the finest leads I have heard under the Fairyland banner. The title track and the previously dissected "Across The Endless Sea Part II" are must hear tracks by fans of the Power & Progressive Metal genre's.

All in all Score To A New Beginning is a powerful release that should (at least in my opinion) solidify this band's place among the best of the best of this style of music. The chorous' remind me of Blind Guardian's classic Nightfall in Middle-Earth while the faster paced style of the guitars and drums isn't far off from the Power Metal poster boy's Kamelot's amazing The Black Halo. This album is a must for all fans of Symphonic Metal and most importantly the fans of the Power & Progressive Metal genre's. Thank you fr reading and I hope my review interested you and ultimately encouraged you to purchase this amazing album. Thanks again.

There's reason this album has an almost solid five star rating and that is this is one of the best, if not the best melodic power metal albums I've ever heard. Yeah, I have other favorites like Hastings 1066, A Time Never Come and a few others, but none are any better than this album, it is that impressive, so buy it. You won't be disappointed.

What can I say? This is simply the best type of music in the world. That may seem like an opinion, but to me, it is completely factual. Anyone who reads this review probably has some interest in symphonic power metal already, so I don't think I need to describe it very much. Then again, how would I describe an experience so divine and mind-blowing? All you need to know is that this is one of the best CDs of it's kind. It is better than Dark Moor, Nightwish, Visions of Atlantis, and even Rhapsody!

I won't go through every song, but overall, this album is extremely epic and majestic. It will inspire you and fill you with a sense of adventure. The choirs and orchestra are as beautiful as any movie soundtrack I've heard, and the metal is faster, heavier, and more intense than most well-known metal bands. It truly is a shame that 99.99999% of the people in the world will never hear music this good.

Other highlights are the keyboard solos and the lead vocals. They display incredible talent that is quite rare. You will DEFINATELY be impressed! Everything else (guitars, drums, etc.) is also very much above average. Anyway, my favorite songs are Across the Endleass Sea (Part II), Assault on the Shore, and End Credits (SO BEAUTIFUL!!!!).

Thanks for reading. Now please buy this CD. It will leave you breathless.

With the first two albums, Fairyland was, well, fairly lame (bah-zing!). Barring cheap jokes though, they were actually decent enough, but ultimately forgettable amongst power metal giants like Rhapsody of Fire, Sonata Arctica, Symphony X, etc. However, I kept a keen eye on the band because I saw huge amounts of potential there, which I knew had to one day be realized. Well, after The Fall of an Empire, Phil Giordana (the composer and overall Fairyland mastermind) decided to do away with the whole "band" rubbish and instead enlisted a freakin' army of guest musicians. Enter the most appropriately named album ever.

Score to a New Beginning is a full* realization of Giordana's abilities. Whereas the prior two albums were samey, hookless, and a bit monotone, StaNB explodes with huge orchestra sections, catchy and booming choruses, several vocalists, some truly rockin' keyboard riffs, an oh-so-satisfyingly smooth flow, and variety, variety, variety. This album really has everything, yet it knows when to stop. (I'm looking at you, Nightwish.)

*As ridiculously impressive the whole of the album is, it's the conclusion that will blow you away. The title track, a nine minute epic (coincidentally the 9th track), is by far the highlight; it is everything a symphonic/power metal epic should be. But this remarkable conclusion doesn't comprise of just this track alone: it's the 8th and 10th as well, which serve as a prologue and epilogue. These last three tracks share unique sounds, instruments, and musical influences not found elsewhere on the album, and the result is a much fuller, broader experience that, once the album's finished, makes you dying to hear where he goes next. So I use the asterisk because, as much of a masterpiece this may be (it's no doubt HIS masterpiece), these last three songs suggest that we have much, much more in store from Giordana.

With this album and this album alone, there is now a new kid in town. If things go as I think they should (and I was right once!), you'll soon be hearing Fairyland's name probably more than you'll want to, since it's still a pretty awful one. At least they got the album name right.

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If you are a fan of symphonic or power metal, you owe it to yourself to pick up this album. This is the third in Fairyland's musical trilogy, and one can definitely see the development and maturity in this newest offering. And if you are already a fan of Fairyland, you know how good they are. And this is by far their best.

I have to admit, ITunes is my savior, especially when it comes to previewing a band's latest music or older records. I heard of Fairyland through an ad over on Blabbermouth and was curious to hear what they sounded like. Enter ITunes. I open up the program, go into the ITunes Store, search them out, and previewed a few tracks. It sounded very good, but would it do the trick? I had to admit, I downloaded the record, but only to find out whether or not I would be really into it. The good news is that I came away VERY impressed. So impressed, in fact, that I immediately ordered the record on amazon.com. This album is full of awesome talent, ranging from the keyboards to the amazing drum/bass playing, the amazing choruses sweeping left and right. Some of my personal favorites are Across The Endless Sea (Part II), A Soldier's Letter, and Godsent, but every track stands out in its own way. My least favorite would have to be Rise Of The Giants, but it's a brillant track and does its magic here. If you are a fan of symphonic power metal and are looking for a place to start, then I highly recommend this record!

I had heard of FAIRYLAND before, but it wasn't until I heard a few samples from this album that I decided I'd give them a try. Sure glad I did!

I think there are two prerequisites to liking this album.

1) The most obvious is getting past the band's name. While it is very feminine and cheesy, the music, for the most part, is not. The lyrics have no mention of faeries--at all. The very cool cover art should also zip the mouths of any doubters.

2) Although this does classify as Metal, the guitars are few and far between, pushed into the background. I hope you like keyboards and synth-sounds.

Still with me?

The whole album, played from end to end, sounds like a mix between the soundtracks of a really optimistic, epic fantasy movie and an SNES RPG like SECRET OF MANA. The major difference, of course, being the use of clean vocals (male and female) and occasionally, guitar.

Of the 10 tracks on this album there were 7 that I really liked. Some highlights for me were the epic "Opening Theme", the following "Across the Endless Sea Part II" and the ballad "A Soldier's Letter".

As the ship on the cover art implies, the songs tell the story of a ship on a voyage. Not a very original concept (consider the Varangian Way album by TURISAS), but still interesting.

The only downside I see to this album has to do with the singing. Usually the vocals are quite coherent, but every now and then the singer/s drop down to a bare whisper, which begs the question: Why sing something the listener can't understand? Why not just hum or something? This is not Black Metal where lyrics are usually intentionally difficult to decipher.
Finally, there are times where it seems they simply put too many syllables in their sentences, resulting in some very forced rhymes or the singer just about runs out of breath before they get to the end. Sentences like "It's in the wind, the feeling of sudden death awaits as Leviathan rises."

Those are minor quibbles though and I think the average Power/Symphonic Metalhead can overlook them to hear the epic sounds. If you're into bands like RHAPSODY (OF FIRE), ELVENKING, IRON FIRE, SPELLBLAST or maybe BLIND GUARDIAN I think you'll be rewarded if you give this album a spin.

Wow I knew this third album would be epic but not THIS epic! After listening to it several times I can honesntly say this is there best release yet!