From the greeting card-style image of a dragon adorning its cover to the Harry Potter-esque tales of what the biography calls “myths, adventures and heroic sagas” (its stars prefer the term ‘adventure metal’), this album deserves a neon-lit sign: ‘Approach with caution, loonies ahead.’
Two summers ago TF swooped in with an ecstatically received debut, Tales Of Ancient Prophecies. Now, with the backing of new home Nuclear Blast, the Swedes have fashioned a mighty follow-up to cement their place as the rising stars of classical power metal. Heroes Of Mighty Magic offers everything craved by the genre’s disciples: impressive guest singers in the form of Joakim Brodén of Sabaton and Rhapsody Of Fire’s Fabio Lione, broadsword-friendly, keyboard-loaded anthems, shrill vocals, technoflash musicianship and not only all the cheese that you can eat, but enough for your friends and families, too. Flight Of The Sapphire Dragon and Riders Of The Dawn are as bombastic and borderline hilarious as their titles. Manowar-meets-Disney, this is pure fantasy sh(l)ock and awe.
