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With Legend Of The Shadowking Freedom Call present their 6th full-length album and they kick off with the fast, powerful Out Of The Ruins. This fast one is about king Ludwig II who fantasized his own world when he felt his power decline. A quite typical Freedom Call song to make it easy to get into Legend Of The Shadowking. The following Thunder God is a mid-tempo hymn about the war between Prussia and France which Bavaria had to join in and which led to the battle of Sedan. A history lesson á la Freedom Call!
At Tears Of Babylon they offer a different topic, musically a heavy, mid-paced tune with mighty backings. Epic and hymnic. Lyrically they show a different side of Babylon, not the Gomorra it's usually presented as. With Merlin - Legend Of The Past they take you on a travel in time and to England's mighty druid. Another melodic speed metal tune, but Freedom Call start into this one more slowly. Leap in time and back to King Ludwig II with Resurrection Day. Another fast one, another typical Freedom Call track... And I start to wonder why they haven't done a conceptual album about king Ludwig II... As this one is about the palaces and castles Ludwig II ordered to build and which made him legendary, I expected this one to be a bit more epic... Quite heavy, but a bit slower they lead you into Under The Spell Of The Moon which talks about Ludwig trying to avoid the presence of others and living at night... In his own world, a dark, melancholy place. This song shows the quintet differently, the song has a slight gothic / dark wave touch... Pretty cool. Dark Obsession is a dark, mid-paced song full of drama. This time it's about the relation between Richard Wagner and king Ludwig II. And so this song is a sonic roller coaster ride - like their friendship. Musically Freedom Call show some new facets. The story continues with The Darkness, a more traditional heavy metal tune about the death of king Ludwig II and it's effect on the world. A dark tune with symphonic elements, but based on heavy riffs and modern grooves. Time for another fast one! Remember is a catchy high speed metal attack about the humans destroying the environment. At Ludwig II - Prologue they use a German spoken words part to lead over into The Shadowking. The song shows the while sound spectrum of the band and deals with the end of king Ludwig II, a mystery never to be solved. Partly dark and melancholy, partly full of hope - an emotional roller coaster ride. My favorite track of the new album! They slow down for Merlin - Requiem, a keyboard-based tune with a symphonic touch and expressive vocals by Chris Bay. A straight rocker is Kingdom Of Madness, very cool! Live this one will be killer! Again they turn to king Ludwig II and this time it's about his love to take a coach ride at full moon nights. The closer is another straight rocker called A Perfect Day, and guess what it's about... A perfect day. The song has a slight punk vibe, but will surprise you with twists and turns.
The foursome shows a wide range of sounds and reduced the amount of speedy melodic metal tunes. New sound facets make it more interesting, even if I'm still wondering why they haven't done a conceptual album... Check out: The Shadowking, Kingdom Of Madness, Thunder God and Dark Obsession.
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