Avaland. The band already made a forceful appearance on this ‘zine with their debut album Theater of Sorcery. And back in 2021, this piece came somewhat as a surprise to us. The RMR crew expected some sort of a dime-a-dozen cheese-laden Power Metal piece. Instead, the meaty delivery and the musical acumen impressed us somewhat fierce. So, two years and many more PM records down the road, the band greets us with The Legend of the Storyteller.
And, I daresay, their credo of being a metal opera is now stronger than ever. This time, the band left the land of little cheese way behind and went full-tilt fondue. The opener, adroitly called The Vision, just oozes the stuff. A voice – the storyteller, I guess – talks to the crystal ball in best Disney fashion. Boy, I was waiting for little stars to emerge from the loudspeaker so bad was the use of overblown clichés in just that one little blurb. Yikes.
Luckily that Crimson Tyranny – the next track – injected some juice after that. That one’s indeed a great example of symphonically-tainted Power Metal. Complete with lusty group chanting, some cool solos and riffing that holds its sugary water. The tag-team effort between male and female vocals on this track truly is one of the juicier moments on this album. And this song is, to an extent, indicative of the rockier pieces of The Legend of the Storyteller. But yet again, the closeness to earlier Avantasia records becomes all but too apparent after only a few moments. You’ll find the same tendency to overorchestrate everything or to pack the piece full of guest interpreters to the point of confusion. And that’s where the latter always found the right balance more or less. In contrast, Avaland here still has work to do.
You see, once all players leave the barn at full speed and let loose, the Power Metal on The Legend sounds pretty good. These are the moments when the record moves closest to the undeniable power of Theater of Sorcery. Until you get to the more delicate parts, that is. The vocals, for example, often get some filter slammed in front of them, rendering them gooey in a weird way. Or failing that, it’s just plain bad recording. So, instead of crystal clear belting we get some slushy clears that should never have reached the final mix.
Then, you get sound samples that arrive at strange moments of the record, an oddly-placed medievally-tainted unplugged ditty, and excursions into the lands of disco and the delights of the ’80s. And that would all be good if the storyline would be consistently apparent. Furthermore, folk songs need body, measured tones, and a ton of emotion. Just rushing through them without much pause won’t really help matters.
And that gets me to Lies, the track that should have fallen prey to the carving knife. Clocking at over 10 minutes, the track really encompasses all the shortcomings of The Legend of the Storyteller. Creaky vocals worse than before, endless meandering about the soundscapes, strings that almost disappear in the mix. Keys set to harpsichord when there should be none, and an atrocious imitation of Frère Jacques in disguise, the French canon, that appears not once, but twice. This – thing almost drove me crazy.
So stop, deep breath, and slow down, we’re on a rant here. Because for those who wonder if there’s anything good on this record, you’ll definitely find a lot to like. The aforementioned Crimson Tyranny for sure is a good candidate. Then, The Gift unleashes its juicy wares. With a pretty harmonious almost proggy offering complete with some discreet oriental undertones. But Betrayers really sold us with its powerful and well-paced Power Metal and tremendous belting spells.
But in the end, it takes a lot of skill and attention to detail to pull off complex pieces like The Legend of the Storyteller successfully. And Avaland‘s contribution to Power Metal nirvana here ain’t at that level of mastery quite yet. Bludgeoning listeners into oblivion with a production overloaded with a gazillion miscellaneous fancy items won’t cut the metal mustard after all. In other words, less would indeed be more, even if this overused sentence doesn’t really make any sense. A delicately constructed arrangement with a production that doesn’t feel like a firehose on full power, plus careful time management would work wonders. Yet here, this didn’t really pan out quite that well.
And that’s a pity because many sections of the record sport pretty snazzy Power Metal. There’s sometimes true oomph in the band’s concoction that really blew us away. Only to be met by a mushy production that grated along our nerves for long stretches. The ideas, the talent, and the pathway to success are all there. But here, Avaland fell prey to a typical sophomore album trap. There’s overreach on TLotS, and that finally killed the proverbial cat.
Record Rating: 5/10 | Label: Rockshots Records | Web: Official Band Site
Release Date: 31 March 2023