Member:
Dragonflame713
(Profile)
(All Album Reviews by Dragonflame713)
Date:
8/1/2003
Format:
CD (Album)
Of Wars In Osyrhia is the title of the debut album by France’s Fairyland. This is the most recent in names for the band, who first went under the name “Fantasy”, then “Ferreol”, then "Fantasia", then finally “Fairyland”. Under the name Fantasy, they recorded the Realm Of Wonders demo. Having heard this prior to the release of this album, I was rather excited to hear the debut! To my ears, this demo outshined many bands normal releases.
Upon reading the track listing for this album (just before it came out), I noticed almost the entire demo’s songs were here. I then began to expect this would be a bigger, badder, more full-blown sounding version of what I had heard on Realm Of Wonders. Needless to say, my expectations were sky high, since I had been raving about this band for well over a year!
Upon my hearing the album, my expectations were certainly realized. In addition to the even better production for this album, they strengthened the vocalist position considerably. Elisa Martin (former vocalist for Spain’s symphonic power metal legends, Dark Moor), was brought in and her strong full bodied voice really carried this album to even greater heights.
Unfortunately, many may dismiss this band to be Rhapsody clones. The influence is obvious, from the epic symphonic power metal sound, to the Luca Turilli type arpeggios in the lead guitar, to the medieval concepts in the lyrics. However, this band’s sounds is more gentle and graceful opposed to the Rhapsody’s thunder metal undertones. As a huge Rhapsody fan myself, I believe influenced material such as this to be more than worthy if it is done well. More than likely, just as Italy’s Thy Majestie did, they will evolve into more of their own sound on the next release.
The full effect of the album is felt immediately with “And So Came The Storm” (formerly “The Realm” on the demo). With this they made it even more atmospheric, with sounds of the outdoors enhancing the strings, choirs, and tubular bells. It’s gentle but dramatic intro to this odyssey in the land of Osyrhia. The highlights of this album are numerous, with my favorites of the bunch being “On The Path To Fury”, “Ride With The Sun”, and “The Fellowship”. Fast, epic, graceful, neoclassical, medieval, and beautiful are excellent words to describe this work. Simply put, the greatest debut album by a metal band since well… Legendary Tales! I see Fairyland not as Rhapsody clones, but more like the sons and a daughter of Rhapsody beginning their quest into the realms of wonders that await them, in a world of metal all of their own….
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