KRILLOAN stories of times forgotten review

álbum REVIEW

Krilloan

Stories of Times Forgotten (2021)

Power Metal | Suecia.

Warrior Spirit

Krilloan, I’m totally sure, you’ve never heard this name before, but that will end today. From the cold lands of Sweden and the birthplace of important metal bands, comes a Melodic/Power Metal project with energy and quality behind it.

As members; Alex Vantrue, vocals; David Lanas, drums; Marco Toba, bass; Steve Brockmann, guitar solos; Jack Reynolds-Tom O’Dell, backing vocals track #1; Ferran Blazeborn-Matthew Corry; backing vocals track #3; and Klas Holmgren, composer, guitarist, music lover and the master mind of this project.

They are responsible for Stories of Times Forgotten (Spring-2021-May), an EP influenced by Helloween, Gamma Ray and Blind Guardian but with an identity of its own. Talking about these mythical bands gives us clues of what kind of sound we can expect; it is right; memorable guitar solos, fast riffs and sometimes bordering on technical moments, drums with its classic rhythm and out-of-tune pedals, and a voice with excellent highs. Now is available the single Fireborn (Bandcamp).

Here we go on this trip, with 5 tracks and 20 minutes in length.

Tracklist

1. Into the Storm
Majestic beginning with two-voice guitar, one performing the main melody with high notes, while the other helps with lower chords, in a total of 7 notes, to give entry to the riffs that have that magic that only Power Metal can offer; fast, captivating and full of heroism, while the verse is developing by the voice that maintains a classic essence, giving away those high-pitched screams trademark of Heavy/ Power Metal. It is worth mentioning that the chorus is so catchy that it invites you to sing continuously “Into the Storm”.
The drums have an important presence, highlighting the pedals, which give that sensation of speed, which is only used in certain bars to give dynamism; while the bass is the protagonist in each of the riffs, always as a shadow behind the guitar, to give it that deep voice that it does not have.
The guitar solos are good, fast, with scales, long notes and some fleeting arpeggios give an epic moment. In the absence of a keyboard, they have used human voices to replace the choirs’ effect, giving a fascinating “touch”. Almost to finish the first song, there is another instrumental moment, where the riffs stand out for a few seconds, giving a break before listening to the chorus for the last time.

2. Yggdrasil

3. Fireborn
With rain effects and horses riding, this is how the track begins, with a 4/4 time signature. The riffs are slow and simple for a few seconds, during the first minute of intro, there is a good variety of guitar melodies that are enjoyable. With a galloping rhythm between guitars, bass and drums the voice tells the wonderful story, which is adorned by melodic figures in the background, while the chorus is totally natural by human voices in the choirs style, which maximize the moment and give depth. It is a slower song than the previous ones, but this does not detract from its strength.
Reaching the middle of this single, again the appearance of these background voices give a “touch” of heroism, which allows the entry of the guitar solo that takes all the time prominence, to be abruptly turned off by the voice, and as if it were a war, again the guitar responds with a virtuous moment, to hear this magnificent voice that in the last seconds shows that it can reach high notes of excellent quality.

4. Moonblade
5. Times Forgotten

Conclusión

Unfortunately short, however this is the goal of an EP, to create that expectation for the LP and they have achieved it.

Memorable melodies, magical guitar solos and “a speed” that does not reach the extreme, but finds that point of balance. There is no doubt that the conception of this EP is a classic Power Metal, but with more strength, I do not mean that the classic bands do not have it, but the new productions give that “power” to the instruments giving energy.

The music is very pleasant, understandable, without experimentation and without taking risks in additions that alter the style, however, it would be appreciated, if in their future album they added keyboard to give an even more epic moments, but maybe Krilloan doesn’t want this for their music. Completely enjoyable and magical, without a doubt a promising future for this band that with this EP shows their technical skills, composition and above all attitude to enter a world full of great exponents.

#63:04|21