OK – Fairyland. Who on EARTH thought that this would be a good name for a band? Even if you’re pumping out the kind of limp-wristed pseudo-operatic ‘power metal by numbers’ that oozes from this disk like molten mozzarella, you could at least TRY not to highlight the balls-free nature of your material by adopting the lamest moniker in the metal kingdom. Anything would do – Elfrealm, Pixieworld, Gnomecountry, take your pick – just NOT Fairyland.
And so, like Tommys on the Somme steeling themselves to go over the top, we grit our teeth and plunge headlong into a relentless barrage of sub-Rhapsody warbling Euro metal. A cursory introductory classical piece raises hopes a little - the quality of the orchestration samples would suggest that mainman and synth player Phillipe Giordina has access to some top-notch gear – but they are quickly dashed on the jagged rocks of predictable, sterile material that follows. Shamelessly aping Rhapsody, Fairyland have very little of their own to offer and in a genre as cluttered and as stagnant as this one, that’s a big problem. It’s a depressingly familiar story. The drum sound is a ghastly, plasticised charade; the guitars more or less surplus to requirements; pseudo-Hollywood flourishes are abound; the solos sound like a bedroom Malmsteen; the choruses sound like the German national anthem; need I go on?
Giordina manages to surround himself with enough talent to ensure that ‘Score…’ does not entirely sink under the weight of its own misguided pomposity – indeed, lead vocalist Marco Sandron is in many ways the record’s saving grace, bringing an almost underserved passion to the table that is sorely lacking in the musical backdrop. It’s a shame to hear his old-school styled efforts wasted on such a synthetic, sterile project. And whilst our ivory-tinkling protagonist sprinkles a few moments of inspired neo-classicism across the proceedings it does very little to erase a crushing sense of familiarity and weariness. Unless you really can’t get enough of this kind of stuff and are chewing your own nails off in anticipation of a new Rhapsody (of Fire?) album, I can’t really recommend this - I’ve heard worse albums in this genre for certain but relentless blandness is still a crime. Score to a New Beginning? Score to the Same Old, Same Old if you ask me.
http://www.myspace.com/fairylandfantasia
http://www.napalmrecords.com
