Freedom Call - Legend Of The Shadowking review
| Band: | Freedom Call |
| Album: | Legend Of The Shadowking |
| Style: | Power metal |
| Release date: | January 29, 2010 |
| A review by: | Baz Anderson |
01. Out Of The Ruins
02. Thunder God
03. Tears Of Babylon
04. Merlin - Legend Of The Past
05. Resurrection Day
06. Under The Spell Of The Moon
07. Dark Obsession
08. The Darkness
09. Remember!
10. Ludwig II - Prologue
11. The Shadowking
12. Merlin - Requiem
13. Kingdom Of Madness
14. A Perfect Day
Freedom Call is that guy that has just had sex for the first time. Their whole outlook on life has changed, they bask in their freedom to do as they like and are able to take a step back and chill. Legend Of The Shadowking is like no Freedom Call album before it.
The band have thrown caution to the wind and given us something genuinely interesting that has clearly had a lot of thought put into it. Legend Of The Shadowking is Freedom Call feeling the freedom, and is the most diverse, colourful, and cheesy work the band has ever put out.
This is still very much a power metal album, but doesn't utilise the generic power metal album formula of fast song, heavy song, ballad, repeat. From the first second of the album, the bravery and bombastic energy becomes apparent as you are sucked into this fantasy world.
This is also still very much a Freedom Call album. Chris Bay sounds better than ever treating us to a more varied vocal performance than before, the cheesy keyboards and backing vocals are always ever-present and Dan Zimmermann as always behind the drum kit delivers the fast pace in thunderous form.
The thing that is different about this album is the variation in songs and composition that takes this band from being a good, but run-of-the-mill power metal band to the level where Legend Of The Shadowking is genuinely a top class piece of work. The album has its catchy moments, its heavy moments, even some dark moments, but with a whole new level of variety that the band has never shown until now.
Almost some form of metal opera, Freedom Call have finally risen above mediocrity and have shown a whole new dimension to the band. This is both maturity and unadulterated cheesiness rolled into one brilliant package that will leave you hungry for more. This is about as good as modern power metal of recent years gets.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 9 |
| Songwriting: | 9 |
| Originality: | 9 |
| Production: | 10 |
Comments
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| Zenzero Zenzero Posts: 472  |
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| Baz Anderson Staff Posts: 13262  |
Yes. Over the years I would pick Gamma Ray over Freedom Call any day. This time however, I think Freedom Call have released the better album.
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| fade Son of Sweden Staff Posts: 3771  |
I.AM.Shocked.
---- The troubles of avoiding horseshit. My Music database: http://www.racksandtags.com/northernsky/
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| Kamilbolt Account deleted |
Kamilbolt
Account deleted
OMG  9 /10 ?- this is some kind of joke or somethin'  Edit: sorry, I just don't like FC stuff - it's too sweety. And those keyboards melody on the begining of third song.......  
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| Dragonlord TG Posts: 140 |
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| wrathchild Staff Posts: 14090  |
I should definitely give it a listen before I see with on tour with Gamma Ray next week. I enjoyed their first album, but all the others were boring, so I'm glad to hear that this new album shows more variety.
---- La belleza no reside en lo que puedas crear, sino en lo que eres capaz de transmitir Beauty resides not in what you're able to create, but in what you're able to communicate Txus, Mägo De Oz
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| Valaskjalf Account deleted |
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| Jeeers Posts: 195  |
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| silenius Posts: 532  |
I cant realy decide if i hate or love this album, its REALY an album of mood to me, sometimes i just cant stand it, but at other times i can just sit back and relax to it, but its not a great album tbh, heard 1283919231203 better power metal albums. Still mediocre to me.
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| annodomini Posts: 784  |
This is to high rating for sure. It isnt bad album, but for example, the last two songs, are the highest rank of awfulness. 7,5/8 for me.
---- the riddle wants to be...
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| Valaskjalf Account deleted |
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| YoreLore Posts: 234  |
Freedom Call 9 for originality? I will need to try this album out then! I can only stand a few songs on previous albums
---- "I'm rising in power through murdering rain Stronger than Faith allows Braver than heroes vows ...My head is bloody but I am unbowed I am power..."
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| Metal Maiden Megadead Posts: 352  |
Hmm, now that's a power metal band I like...their last album was kinda disappointing though, hope this one is better...
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| Ellrohir Heaven Knight Posts: 8674  |
Hey! i must get this! now!
---- My rest seems now calm and deep Finally I got my dead man sleep 
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| Lord_Regnier Posts: 1469  |
"This is about as good as modern power metal of recent years gets." Considering how much modern-day Powermetal sucks, I don't even consider this sentence as a compliment.
---- "Why would we fear death, when life is so much more frightening?"
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| Ellrohir Heaven Knight Posts: 8674 |
Surely it is no album for you, Lord_Regnier...
---- My rest seems now calm and deep Finally I got my dead man sleep
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| Lord_Regnier Posts: 1469 |
I listened to all the songs on Youtube. There are maybe 4-5 songs I like (they remind me of Stairway To Fairyland) but it's not an album for me, indeed. More or less half the album is garbage, imo. The last two songs are especially atrocious.
---- "Why would we fear death, when life is so much more frightening?"
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| RainFillsRivers Posts: 31  |
Lol i love how everyone just includes cheesiness as one of the things freedom call is just known for. hilarious.
---- - Wrainth
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| Ellrohir Heaven Knight Posts: 8674 |
The last song is especially great... 
---- My rest seems now calm and deep Finally I got my dead man sleep
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| Baz Anderson Staff Posts: 13262 |
I saw the last song as them just messing about. My favourite is the chunk from track 1 to 4.
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| Metal Maiden Megadead Posts: 352 |
Ah, unfortunately nothing in the vein of Eternity or the different but also great Circle of Life...Slightly better than Dimensions though...
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071  |
Same comment here as I posted in the album comments department: Damn, I listened to it and it is once again a dripping cheesefest. And reading the review how the bleep is it possible too give this piece of generic music a 9 for originality? My God... Helloween and the other forefathers of cheese a 9 no porblem, but on eof the copiers a 9 in the originality department is just ludicrous. Performace 9, production 10 etc I can all live with but ORIGINALITY 9 hahahahaha joke of the year
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996 
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| Ellrohir Heaven Knight Posts: 8674 |
Too bad, that even a staff member is not sharing opinion with you here, eh? but to be honest, you are probably right about that - there are very few innovations compared to older albums, maybe that they are singing one song in German? on the other hand - you can listen to few seconds and you can be almost certain, that it is Freedom Call due to quite specific vocals and choruses...maybe this is meant with this "originality"?
---- My rest seems now calm and deep Finally I got my dead man sleep
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| Lord_Regnier Posts: 1469 |
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 08.02.2010 at 02:40 There's indeed absolutely nothing new under the sun. The best it achieves, and only on a few parts here and there, is to sound like "Stairway To Fairyland". But, come on. Originality? It's modern-day Powermetal we're talking about. It's always generic and not original at all. And of course it's over-happy and quite cheesy. Freedom call have always been happy and cheesy. You need to be in the right mood to enjoy this band. The difference is after "Eternity" their songs are boring. Lots of fillers and garbage songs.
---- "Why would we fear death, when life is so much more frightening?"
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071 |
Written by Lord_Regnier on 08.02.2010 at 14:01 Tbh I actually do find this new Freedom Call more enjoyable than their older stuff. I't just seeing the rating for originality here that made me crack up. With bands such as these it's better not to rate originality, that's like rating traditional doom bands for originality when in fact they lean so much on Black Sabbath that they should score around a 3 or 4 for originality every time, even a band such as great as Saint Vitus.
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996
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| Baz Anderson Staff Posts: 13262 |
Well yeh, it isn't that original. I must have not been thinking properly when I put that. Compared to past Freedom Call albums though, this is definitely the most original album.
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| JÄY Metal slave Posts: 1567  |
I dont like this album one bit.....new gamma ray aint the best but how can any power metal fan claim this pile to be better?
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| Lord_Regnier Posts: 1469 |
Written by JÄY on 11.02.2010 at 16:58 My theory is most people who claim to be Powermetal fans nowadays have tastes that lean more towards hard rock than real PM (melodic speed metal, like we called it in the 90s). Lots of people don't even make the difference between PM and hard rock anymore, in fact, because people are so used to hear soft and cheesy garbage from PM bands. Old PM was fast, heavy, not overproduced. It wasn't as aggressive as Thrash, Death or Black Metal but it had a certain roughness. I would say the genre became ridiculous and cheesy around the time labels like Limb Music started to sign every mediocre and generic band who sounded a bit like PM. For me, most bands nowadays are melodic metal but not speed metal. Some bands are barely or not even metal, from my point of view. More like some kind of sucky hard rock or a different kind of pop music.
---- "Why would we fear death, when life is so much more frightening?"
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| Darken Rahl Posts: 32  |
I am a huge Power Metal fan and this is definetly PM. The best by them so far. I can't stand hard rock. When a band starts to lean that way (Edguy) I lose interest fast. I'm still undesided which is beter, the new Gamma ray or this. They are both extremely good albums.
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| MeTalRea|istiK Posts: 170  |
Written by Darken Rahl on 21.02.2010 at 04:48 yeah man!!agree!!gamma ray is AWESOME..cant wait Avantasia new album!!!argh!!
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