Freedom Call - Legend Of The Shadowking review

Reviewer:
9.0

183 users:
8.07

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

Written on 04.02.2010 by

Baz Anderson

Member of Staff since 2006

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MeTalRea\|istiK Posts: 170	Permalink +1 21.02.2010 - 06:02 MeTalRea\|istiK Posts: 170 Written by Jeeers on 06.02.2010 at 00:36 9?! - Oh I get it - "Only for real pOwweR mEtaL fans" Dumb music... hey dont FUCK with other man taste of music!! Loading...
Ellrohir Heaven Knight Posts: 8669	Permalink 21.02.2010 - 12:08 Ellrohir Heaven Knight Posts: 8669 Written by MeTalRea\|istiK on 21.02.2010 at 06:02 hey dont FUCK with other man taste of music!! you have right for own taste of music only as long as it matches your opponent's taste... ---- My rest seems now calm and deep Finally I got my dead man sleep Loading...
Angelic Storm Melodious Posts: 6675	Permalink 21.02.2010 - 14:47 Rating: 9 Angelic Storm Melodious Posts: 6675 Brilliant album. I dont care what the nay-sayers say! Loading...
MeTalRea\|istiK Posts: 170	Permalink 21.02.2010 - 14:56 MeTalRea\|istiK Posts: 170 YEAH!!FREEDOM CALL RULEZ!! Loading...
Lord_Regnier Posts: 1469	Permalink 21.02.2010 - 17:30 Lord_Regnier Posts: 1469 Written by Darken Rahl on 21.02.2010 at 04:48 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. I disagree to a certain extent. Imo, only half the album is PM, while the other half leans towards hard rock. ---- "Why would we fear death, when life is so much more frightening?" Loading...
Ellrohir Heaven Knight Posts: 8669	Permalink +1 21.02.2010 - 19:16 Ellrohir Heaven Knight Posts: 8669 Af first, i dont understand, what is so bad about hard rock... (and what is so good about nu metal btw, but thats another topic) ---- My rest seems now calm and deep Finally I got my dead man sleep Loading...
Lord_Regnier Posts: 1469	Permalink 21.02.2010 - 19:23 Lord_Regnier Posts: 1469 Written by Ellrohir on 21.02.2010 at 19:16 Af first, i dont understand, what is so bad about hard rock... Hard rock is, imo, simple, basic, talentless music most of the time. It's commercial, shallow, superficial. It promotes the same ideas and mentality as pop music, in general. On a more personal level, I'd say hard rock is way too soft and lame for my tastes. ---- "Why would we fear death, when life is so much more frightening?" Loading...
Troy Killjoy perfunctionist Staff Posts: 21306	Permalink +1 21.02.2010 - 20:15 Troy Killjoy perfunctionist Staff Posts: 21306 Written by Lord_Regnier on 21.02.2010 at 19:23 Written by Ellrohir on 21.02.2010 at 19:16 Af first, i dont understand, what is so bad about hard rock... Hard rock is, imo, simple, basic, talentless music most of the time. It's commercial, shallow, superficial. It promotes the same ideas and mentality as pop music, in general. On a more personal level, I'd say hard rock is way too soft and lame for my tastes. Man you need to get off your high horse. Metal isn't the only music with talent. And just like metal, you need to dig into the more obscure/underground acts when consulting the various rock genres, electronica/dance/trance/whatever you want to tag it as...all music. I respect that you find the music too soft; I'm not a big fan of the style for the same reason, but it really isn't fair to others to go around acting like your shit doesn't stink because your musical tastes are just so much more talent-based than theirs. ---- "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something." Loading...
Troy Killjoy perfunctionist Staff Posts: 21306	Permalink 21.02.2010 - 20:40 Troy Killjoy perfunctionist Staff Posts: 21306 Anyway, this is a well-written review with perhaps the only issue being the originality rating others have already pointed out and you've addressed. I think I understand both sides... Firstly with your point regarding the album format, in that it isn't set up like most modern power metal releases (soft, heavy, ballad, repeat). And secondly, each song isn't original by any means, so maybe a 6-7 would be more appropriate. Just my two cents. ---- "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something." Loading...
Lord_Regnier Posts: 1469	Permalink 21.02.2010 - 22:01 Lord_Regnier Posts: 1469 Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 08.02.2010 at 15:25 Written by Lord_Regnier on 08.02.2010 at 14:01 Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 08.02.2010 at 02:40 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 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. 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. I think it's a mistake to take into account originality when rating albums and the reason is quite simple: you can have very original material that ends up only as a mess and sucks big time, while you can have masterpieces with absolutely nothing new or original. Originality and quality are two completely different things. Originality should be mentioned in reviews but not take part in the rating. ---- "Why would we fear death, when life is so much more frightening?" Loading...
Ellrohir Heaven Knight Posts: 8669	Permalink 21.02.2010 - 22:54 Ellrohir Heaven Knight Posts: 8669 Written by Lord_Regnier on 21.02.2010 at 22:01 Originality and quality are two completely different things. Originality should be mentioned in reviews but not take part in the rating. yes...i see that in all those reviews you have posted... ---- My rest seems now calm and deep Finally I got my dead man sleep Loading...
Lord_Regnier Posts: 1469	Permalink 21.02.2010 - 22:55 Lord_Regnier Posts: 1469 Written by Ellrohir on 21.02.2010 at 22:54 Written by Lord_Regnier on 21.02.2010 at 22:01 Originality and quality are two completely different things. Originality should be mentioned in reviews but not take part in the rating. yes...i see that in all those reviews you have posted... WTF? I never posted any review. ---- "Why would we fear death, when life is so much more frightening?" Loading...
Ellrohir Heaven Knight Posts: 8669	Permalink 21.02.2010 - 23:41 Ellrohir Heaven Knight Posts: 8669 Yes, thats the fact i tried to point out ---- My rest seems now calm and deep Finally I got my dead man sleep Loading...
Lord_Regnier Posts: 1469	Permalink 21.02.2010 - 23:48 Lord_Regnier Posts: 1469 Ok, I understand, Ellrohir. It wasn't criticism towards those who write reviews. Only my opinion on originality vs quality. ---- "Why would we fear death, when life is so much more frightening?" Loading...
Ellrohir Heaven Knight Posts: 8669	Permalink 22.02.2010 - 00:25 Ellrohir Heaven Knight Posts: 8669 Ok, fair enough than...i understood it a bit differently...my apologizes then ---- My rest seems now calm and deep Finally I got my dead man sleep Loading...
Angelic Storm Melodious Posts: 6675	Permalink +2 22.02.2010 - 03:09 Rating: 9 Angelic Storm Melodious Posts: 6675 I also agree that originality has SQUAT to do with quality. Its a seperate thing entirely. Also, in this day and age, almost everything musically has been done before. So to be completely original is almost an impossibility these days. And original doesnt automatically equal ''good''. Being original for being original's sake can come off as sounding contrived, and not very natural at all. To me the best music, unoriginal or not, is music played from the heart, and sounds natural and not forced. As for the new Gamma Ray, I do like it quite a bit. Its certainly better than LOTF II anyways. But I prefer the new Freedom Call. It just has more substance to it, feels more adventurous, and is amazingly consistent for an album with 14 songs on it. I also feel it is FC's best album. Whereas Gamma Ray have done better than "To The Metal". Loading...
Lord_Regnier Posts: 1469	Permalink 22.02.2010 - 03:56 Lord_Regnier Posts: 1469 Written by Angelic Storm on 22.02.2010 at 03:09 I also agree that originality has SQUAT to do with quality. Its a seperate thing entirely. Also, in this day and age, almost everything musically has been done before. So to be completely original is almost an impossibility these days. And original doesnt automatically equal ''good''. Being original for being original's sake can come off as sounding contrived, and not very natural at all. To me the best music, unoriginal or not, is music played from the heart, and sounds natural and not forced. One more time we agree completely. ---- "Why would we fear death, when life is so much more frightening?" Loading...
Angelic Storm Melodious Posts: 6675	Permalink 22.02.2010 - 13:29 Rating: 9 Angelic Storm Melodious Posts: 6675 Written by Lord_Regnier on 22.02.2010 at 03:56 One more time we agree completely. What can I say? Great minds think alike I guess. Loading...
Meluto Posts: 3	Permalink 12.03.2010 - 19:23 Meluto Posts: 3 Hi here. I'm quite sure many posters has not hear these guys all albums... LOS is a fu.ckin.g amazing work, mostly because, even when they keep the the "bigger-happy-metal-band-out-there" title, they amazingly dare to go beyond and has some quite dark moments couple with a new vocal approach which are simply great. 7 out 10 in my opinion... ---- "Overworked and Underfucked" -seen on the Tuomas Holopainen's keyboard, Nightwish member Loading...
andresderis Posts: 2	Permalink 30.04.2010 - 01:26 andresderis Posts: 2 Best power metal album at this time ,Chris has evolved and improved some very cool voice style. Crystal clear production . Songs could have been a little bit longer but this is fine. 9.5/10 Loading...
Ellrohir Heaven Knight Posts: 8669	Permalink 30.04.2010 - 14:12 Ellrohir Heaven Knight Posts: 8669 Best power album at this time is Sabaton...or will be next month when it is coming out but nice album indeed ---- My rest seems now calm and deep Finally I got my dead man sleep Loading...
Zenzero Zenzero Posts: 472	Permalink 20.06.2010 - 16:53 Rating: 10 Zenzero Zenzero Posts: 472 When a dark/black metal album is out i don't comment it saying that for me all sound similares! and that sucks! i comment the genre i listen! so if you don't like power why d'you post messagges here?? Loading...
Vikcen Metálico Posts: 971	Permalink 31.12.2010 - 05:01 Rating: 8 Vikcen Metálico Posts: 971 Tracks 1 to 4: really awesome and surprising. Track 5: still a very good song. Tracks 6 to 8: a real bore . Track 9: really awesome and surprising. Track 10: nothing to comment. Track 11: well, it is good. Track 12: well, a short ballad, not bad. Track 13: good song! Track 14: hehe good song! Loading...
Vikcen Metálico Posts: 971	Permalink 31.12.2010 - 05:18 Rating: 8 Vikcen Metálico Posts: 971 I had removed two or three songs of this album, and we get a solid record of power metal. Loading...
Polcanium Posts: 1	Permalink 03.02.2011 - 16:46 Polcanium Posts: 1 "From Russia with love" and POWER!!! \m/ This music changed my life. Thank you, Chris, for everything you do. Loading...