Customer Reviews

Stairway to Fairyland

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

 

 

Chris Bay (Vocal & Guitars) * Sascha Gerstner (Guitars) * Ilker Ersin (Bass) * Dan Zimmerman (Drums). If you are looking for the Power Metal at it's best in the style of Helloween - Gamma Ray - Iron Savior.... Here it is! Chris Bay (Moon'Doc) shines through with his high melodic vocals in the style of Michael Kiske & Geoff Tate. The band also incluse a solid low end provided by Ilker (Moon'Doc) and Dan (Iron Savior - Gamma Ray) and the neo classical influenced guitar style of Sascha. Buy this one and you won't be disappointed.

German melodic power metal band Freedom Call is probably my guiltiest of guilty pleasures. They sound like Helloween's shinier, happier younger siblings, and their sunshine and light sound is the antithesis of the dark image usually associated with heavy metal (they named their debut album Stairway to Fairyland, for crying out loud!), and their lyrics are (almost) as cheesy as anything Hammerfall has ever written. I know logically why I should be mocking this band.

And yet I love this album. I really do. I love the melodies. I love the sing-along choruses. I love Chris Bay's high-pitched vocals. I love the fact that every song is an utterly melodramatic metal anthem. Freedom Call doesn't quite seem "metal" enough most of the time, but behind those choruses and keyboards are some heavy rhythms, courtesy of former Gamma Ray drummer Dan Zimmermann and some very metal guitar riffs. This album is bright, shiny, and super-catchy. Trust me, you'll be singing along before it's over.

If you're into the more melodic power metal bands like Helloween, Gamma Ray, Hammerfall, and Heavenly, you'll probably love Freedom Call as well, and Stairway to Fairyland is the perfect place to start. Actually, given their tendency towards repetition, this may be the only Freedom Call album you need.

I just discovered this band last week, and boy am i taken by storm! I was expecting more average power metal, i.e. (labyrinth and Emperium) but this disc is done in the vein of classic bands such as helloween and gamma ray. Superb musicianship and out of the ordinary chord changes finished off with some of the most glorious choruses ive ever heard make these guys a must to check out. The disc is based on a story not unlike the deliverance of the hebrews from egypt, very cool. I cant wait to hear what crystal empire (their new soon-to-be-released disc)has in store for us.

German melodic power metal band Freedom Call is probably my guiltiest of guilty pleasures. They sound like Helloween's shinier, happier younger siblings, and their sunshine and light sound is the antithesis of the dark image usually associated with heavy metal (they named their debut album Stairway to Fairyland, for crying out loud!), and their lyrics are (almost) as cheesy as anything Hammerfall has ever written. I know logically why I should be mocking this band.

And yet I love this album. I really do. I love the melodies. I love the sing-along choruses. I love Chris Bay's high-pitched vocals. I love the fact that every song is an utterly melodramatic metal anthem. Freedom Call doesn't quite seem "metal" enough most of the time, but behind those choruses and keyboards are some heavy rhythms, courtesy of former Gamma Ray drummer Dan Zimmermann and some very metal guitar riffs. This album is bright, shiny, and super-catchy. Trust me, you'll be singing along before it's over.

If you're into the more melodic power metal bands like Helloween, Gamma Ray, Hammerfall, and Heavenly, you'll probably love Freedom Call as well, and Stairway to Fairyland is the perfect place to start. Actually, given their tendency towards repetition, this may be the only Freedom Call album you need.

I first heard Freedom Call after seeing them support Virgin Steele and Hammerfall live. I then bought this album at the gig afterwards.
The style of Freedom Call is highly reminiscent of Helloween, but the guitars sound far chunkier and more headbangable! The choruses are often happy sounding, but in a good way, the singer Chris Bay is excellent and the harmonies on this album are great. I can't overemphasise how good the songs are on this album, they are very catchy indeed!!!
If you are even remotely into power metal, check these guys out. This is in my top 10 power metal albums ever. Crystal Empire the followup is also superb. Best songs on this album - Over the Rainbow, Another Day.

Freedom Call is by far one of the greatest power metal bands out there! They sound like a cross between Gamma Ray, Hammerfall, Helloween and other power metal gods. The drummer, Dan Zimmerman is also the drummer for Gamma Ray, therefore, you can definitely hear some Gamma Ray influences on this CD. I would single out some of the better tracks on this CD and the highlights, but to be honest, the whole entire CD is amazing. I guess if I had to pick some tracks, they would be 2, 3, 8, and 10. Everything, and I mean everything is perfect about this CD, the editing, producing, song writing, vocals, intrumentals, everything! My last words are words of advice, please, if you are a metalhead, do yourself a huge favor and get this CD!

I must say this is one of the bands that makes you happy to listen to. This album sounds alot like a happier version of helloween with great anthems which have a great combination to their metal. Chris bay is one of the best singers in power metal today and the main thing is I wanted to hear about this album was none other than former guitarist sascha gerstner's (now with helloween) neo classic guitar playing style with freedom call and I must say I like him more than ever now, And daniel dimmerman (now with gamma ray too) is one of the greatist talented drummers as always.


\m/ stay metal \m/

Upon hearing this CD played through once, the following description came to mind: heavy-metal religious music as written by Middle-Earth bards. Many of the songs on this album DO have heavy religious overtones, but that hardly takes away from its total feel. The music and lyrics sing of great quests without the obscene references usually found in heavy-metal music. A great work.

So, I had a dream that I was playing Mario Kart 64, and I was on the Rainbow Road level on 150cc. On the last stretch, I managed to take Koopa out with a red shell, and sneak in front of that piece of crap, Toadstool, for 1st place. Instead of the usual boring trophy ceremony though, it was a Freedom call concert. They started with the opening track off 'Stairway to Fairyland', and everything just fell into place...

Sitting there in my kart on the rainbow colored pavement, staring at my freshly procured gold medal, and thinking back to all the trials and challenges I had to overcome to get to where I was (especially DK's cheating antics), I realized that there was no better way to celebrate that moment than to listen to Freedom Call kick off with the organ intro on Over the Rainbow.

Koopa somehow had managed to finish in 2nd place, even though I could swear I knocked him clear off the track with my red shell right before the finish line. I looked over at him, and it was apparent that he felt the same way I did about the whole ordeal. I pulled my kart up next to his, and we just sat silently, side by side, and took in the next 45 minutes of Freedom Call's live set. It was surreal to say the least...

The most amazing part was, after the show, the guys came down from the stage and challenged some of us to a friendly race. Even though Yoshi was concerned that Rainbow Road might be too difficult for complete beginners, especially in the suped up 150 ccers we were racing, in no time at all, the band had managed to borrow some karts and we were lined up on the starting line.

That crummy cloud guy signalled that the race was underway, and we all hit the gas. Of course, Toad spun out from getting too excited on the pedal, but who cares about him... Seriously. Anyway, you won't even believe what happened next. All of the Freedom Call guys got mushrooms and blasted off just as the track dipped downwards. Instead of getting some mad air and then dropping back onto the track, they just kept going through the air. They were flying! They turned around and waved goodbye to us and then there were a bunch of fireworks and everything - it was AMAZING!!! The last thing I remember was Luigi screaming, "Hey you motherf#$%ers, that's my kart!!!".

You need this album.

Lets get one thing straight, Slayer is speed metal. These guys are energetic, progressive, rock. I saw this in a bargain bin with a CD from Angra. I have never heard any of these bands before and already I wanna go back and grab some more. Unlike speed metal bands, this band has a singer that can carry a tune. Also you don't feel like putting a gun to your head after listening to it.

Nuff Said.