PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal
Since their 6th studio album Legend of the Shadowking, which was released in 2010, German power metal heroes Freedom Call have been working their asses of touring, writing and generally kicking ass in any way possible. Now in 2012, Freedom Call have once again blessed the world wide heavy metal nation with a 1st class, jaw dropping German happy metal experience. I present to you, Land of the Crimson Dawn, an astounding album chock full of: Catchy choruses, killer guitar lines and some of the best songs Freedom Call have ever wrote. So, buy the CD, play it out loud for all to hear and bang your head like crazy to one of the greatest power metal releases ever to be released!
The best thing about Land of the Crimson Dawn is just how many memorable tracks there are on this album. After Legend of the Shadowking, no one would have thought that Freedom Call could have topped the awesome songs on it. But, from the ambient opening of ’66 Warriors’,
to the high speed; upbeat power metal anthems ‘Crimson Dawn’ and ‘Hero on Video’, Freedom Call have inputted barrels full of musical flare, excellent song writing skills and memorable lyrics to create fourteen mind blowing metal songs.
The musicianship on this album is brilliant and you can clearly tell from each individual part, that every member of Freedom Call is an incredible musician. From Lars and Chris’s powerful dual guitar line in ‘Age of the Phoenix’, to Sammy and Klaus’s pounding rhythm opening section in ‘Rocking Radio’ – it is clear that all four members of Freedom Call are some of the most talented musicians in the business, letting their musical brilliance shine brightly through every song. Not forgetting Chris Bay’s quite magical voice, which although is rather distinctive – combines power and emotion to smash through every note like an angel breaking through the gates of heaven with a sledgehammer.
The only real problem with Land of the Crimson dawn is that it doesn’t really follow a concept like previous albums by Freedom Call. Now, you may call me a cynical bastard as I usually complain about concept records. But, with Freedom Call, if there isn’t some kind of mystical and magical story involved with the music then they shouldn’t be a power metal band. Sure, songs like ‘Rockstars’, ‘Killer Gear’ and ‘Space Legends’ may all be great songs, but because the album does flow in terms of a convincing story line, the music can never be perfect.
This is a perfect album apart from the fact that Freedom Call have ditched the theme of Merlin and Goblins and decided to go for the approach of why being a rockstar……. ROCKS. If Freedom Call kept these fantastic songs and sung about how a dragon swallowed a knight whole, then Freedom Call would be not only one of the leading innovators of power metal music. But, the greatest innovators of power metal music! [9/10]
