KRILLOAN – Emperor Rising
Release Date: 9th December 2022
Label: Scarlet Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Power Metal, Speed Metal.
FFO: Stratovarius, Blind Guardian, Helloween.
Review By: Liam True
Releasing their debut album after a trail of singles and an EP, Krilloan’s Emperor Rising is a fast-paced affair that has put faith into the power metal genre being kickstarted again after falling off the radar for a while. With that being said, it’s a great album but not without its flaws, however miniscule they may be.
Opening track, Prince Of Caledor, springs to life with a choir-esque vocal verse before the band kick into first gear with drummer Cristoph Brandes’ double kick assault as guitarists Klas Holmgren, Steve Brockmann and bassist Marco Toba keep up with his pace as they whirl their fingers around the fretboard as vocalist Alex VanTrue hits the highest notes I’ve heard in a while.
Sons Of The Lion is pretty much the same in terms of song structure, but VanTrue’s vocals really shine on this track as his range is shown in full force. Fireborn, while being a fantastic name for a song might I add, is on the slower aspect of the genre and adds to the album to make it sound unique.
As the interlude of Return To Melnibone ends and title track Emperor Rising hits your eardrums, you begin to realise something. Yes, all power metal does sound the same, but that’s not it. But when Break Of dawn (Brothers In Arms) comes to a close, it hits you. There’s an absence of any catchy chorus’ on the entire album. And while there are some pretty catchy hooks and guitar melodies, there’s nothing in terms of a chorus. And really, that’s the only bad thing about this album. The sound is perfection. The song writing itself is great, and lyrically it’s what you’d expect from a power metal band with a dragon on its cover art.
It’s the only let-down of an otherwise great album. And me just being me, I can’t overlook it and justify calling it what I want it to be, which is a phenomenal album. If there were more hooks and sing-along’s then it would be perfect, but unfortunately it narrowly misses the perfection mark for me.
(3 / 5)
