Starfall [Import]

Starfall [Import]

Track Listings

1. As Madness Took

2. Starfall

3. Calling My Name

4. In Perfect Harmony

5. Dream Seeker

6. Shores Of Our Land

7. Returning

8. To The End Of The World

9. Book Of Shadows Part I: A Story Yet Unfold

10. Book Of Shadows Part Ii: The Curse Of Qa'a

11. Book Of Shadows Part Iii: The Glendora Outbreak

12. Illusion (Bonus Track)

13. Rusty Nail (Bonus Track)

Editorial Reviews
Product Description
Japanese pressing of the Swedish melodic metal act's third album, scheduled to include one bonus track. Details TBA. Nexus. 2004.

Starfall,Dragonland,King,Heavy Metal

Average customer rating:

Good, but a bit too generic and predictable

Album of the Year

Wow

One of the best power metal albums this year!!!!

Good power metal with only a minor complaint.

Starfall
Dragonland
Manufacturer: Cleopatra
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Rock | Styles | Music
Progressive Rock | Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music
General | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music
Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Astronomy

The Battle in the Ivory Plains

Sonic Firestorm

Dust to Dust

Defying the Rules

ASIN: B0009VI4OE
Release Date: 2005-07-12

Tracks:

As Madness Took Me
Starfall
Calling My Name
In Perfect Harmony
The Dream Seeker
The Shores Of Our Land
The Returning
To The End Of The World
The Book Of Shadows Part I: A Story Yet Untold
The Book Of Shadows Part II: The Curse Of Qa'a
The Book Of Shadows Part III: The Glendora Outbreak

Product Description

1. As Madness Took Me
2. Starfall
3. Calling My Name
4. In Perfect Harmony
5. The Dream Seeker
6. The Shores Of Our Land
7. The Returning
8. To The End Of The World
9. The Book Of Shadows Part I: A Story Yet Untold
10. The Book Of Shadows Part II: The Curse Of Qa'a
11. The Book Of Shadows Part III: The Glendora Outbreak

Format: CD

Customer Reviews:

Good, but a bit too generic and predictable .......2005-12-20

Starfall is the third studio album of Swedish power metal band Dragonland, mainly led by guitarist Olof Morck and keyboardist Elias Holmlid who are backed up four other great musicians. Produced by Evergrey mastermind Tom Englund, the album falls in the classic Euro power metal style with considerable melodic metal and even AOR influences. Bands like Sonata Arctica, earlier Angra, Rhapsody, and even Europe all pop in in your mind while listening to this disc, which is basically very synth and guitar driven. It heavily focuses on melody and a typical Euro power metal singer named Jonas Heidgert. Besides the classic vocal stylings of the genre, Heidgert also uses more pop-oriented vocals, best explored on the short yet powerful title track. Beginning with AOR-like synth harmonies, the song takes on a very gripping mood the moment Heidgert enters it, but swiftly segues into a more classical-inspired piano passage and a somewhat atmospheric breakdown that allows the keys to take the lead. Ironically, things take a 180 turn with the following track "Calling My Name", perhaps most akin to the songs on Evergrey's The Inner Circle album, dealing with a relatively darker theme and featuring a good dose of Charles Manson type of spoken lyrics (hence the Evergrey similarity) along with traditional power metal singing. Tom Englund himself graces this tune with a mighty guitar solo that is immediately followed by a searing synth lead. Also, Englund does some lead vocals on this track, but they're quite different from his throaty, almost menacing style in Evergrey.

Guitarists Nicklas Magnusson and Olof Morck's guitar tone on "In Perfect Harmony" reminds me of the silky-smooth playing of Magnus Karlsson on both Last Tribe records and the recent Allen/Lande project. Neither Magnusson nor Morck opt for ultra-fast, technically challenging playing, though that's not to say they are unable to play that way. It's just they like to showcase a more restrained type of performance, trying to feed the songs with what they need, rather than boosting their own egos. Quite a few of the songs on this album are filled with well-played, expressive leads, such as "The Shores of Our Land", also featuring Evergrey's Henrik Danhage as a guest. Starting out as a very cliche happy-go power metal anthem, the piece abruptly breaks into a mesmerizing synth solo, picks up some beautiful female vocals, and then hammers back into a soaring twin guitar harmony. It's really well written and played. On the other hand, "The Returning" is a very straightforward power metal track with fast double bass drums, sweeping synths, and incredible tapping melodies on the guitar. However, as the album proceeds, it seems to slightly suffer from being way too predictable considering the potential these musicians and Tom Englund have. For a third release, they could have tried to be a bit more original. Considering the last three tracks on Starfall, comprising the "The Book of Shadows" trilogy, this band no doubt could explore a more experimental, and perhaps darker too, songwriting. It begins with a brief instrumental piece where Holmlid's synths produce ethereal melodies and then bleeds into Part II where Egyptian scales and more female vocals are heard. The finale, however, is simply breathtaking. Conjuring up images of an intense battlefield, save for a few seconds of female vocals, this is another instrumental track which encapsulates the band's, especially the two guitarists', strongest aspects. Constantly shifting between cutting electric leads and gentle acoustic passages, the song also features nice strings, classical piano interludes, and dense keyboard melodies.

Most power metal fans should enjoy Starfall a lot. Those who expect a bit more variety in music, however, might find what they want in their future albums. The last three songs are proof enough that they are capable of writing darker and heavier songs. Guess we'll have to wait and see what direction they want to go next.

Album of the Year.......2005-10-28

I agree..it's not the epic power metal album with cheesy orc battle and magic and stuff. But that's because Dragonland denounced fantasy metal. If you want fantasy, listen to their previous record "Holy War."

That said, this record is a bloomer. With each listen you discover a little bit more, something beautiful and hidden behind everything else that is going on. You can hear that it is a record that took time and effort to write and arrange.

If you like fantasy-style metal, but sometimes can't stomach hearing about battling over the ivory plains, give "Starfall" a try.

Wow.......2005-10-09

With a name like Dragonland, I was expecting some seriously epic power metal in the vein of Rhapsody, Luca Turilli, or anything else involving dragons and wicked solos. This was far from it, and its not that this is necessarily the worst music I have ever heard, it's just that they should be named something else, like 'Generic Nu-metal Band With Metal Street Cred.' I have no idea why anyone who likes metal, or power metal, would like this. It sounds like an angsty american nu-metal band, with not much tecnical prowess, from what I could gather. The songs are in a structured verse chorus verse form, and far from growling, high pitched singing, or anything metal, the vocals can only be classifued as annoying. I'm glad I only downloaded this bands album, because with Dragonland as their name, I was ready to go out and buy it outright. Don't bother with this if you think it is metal at all--

One of the best power metal albums this year!!!!.......2005-09-09

This is a monumental piece of chaotic power metal, so technical and brilliant executed. The twin guitar assault courtesy of Olof and Nicklauss are out of this world. This guys really play!!! Also recommended Wizard, Pagan's Mind(with a touch of progressive) and Demons and Wizards.

Good power metal with only a minor complaint........2005-08-19

Don't expect to listen to Dragonland's "Starfall" and hear anything unique or groundbreaking. They follow the same basic structure of almost every other power metal outfit on the market today, the difference is that Dragonland do it really well. The band consists of Olof Morck (guitar), Nicklas Magnusson (guitar), Jonas Heidgert (vocal), Elias Holmlid (keys), Christer Pedersen (bass), and Jesse Lindskog (drums). Olof and Nicklas really sound great together, their twin guitar attack and their solos scream out throughout the entire album, and Jesse's keyboards give such a great atmosphere to the album (fans of Evergrey will like this guy). My only complaint, and the only reason that this album received a 4 instead of a 5, is that sometimes Jonas' vocals seem to flow out of tune with the band, or perhaps it is the other way around, either way it is a small flaw in what I will consider a contender for album of the year, so do yourself a favor and check this one out.

Average customer rating:

Starfall

ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

Hard Rock & Metal | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B000AL5OXW
Release Date: 2004-11-02

Album Description

Japanese pressing of the Swedish melodic metal act's third album, scheduled to include one bonus track. Details TBA. Nexus. 2004.

Average customer rating:

Starfall
Dragonland
Manufacturer: King
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

Progressive Rock | Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music

Hard Rock & Metal | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B0002YD8NA
Release Date: 2005-01-04

Tracks:

As Madness Took
Starfall
Calling My Name
In Perfect Harmony
Dream Seeker
Shores Of Our Land
Returning
To The End Of The World
Book Of Shadows Part I: A Story Yet Unfold
Book Of Shadows Part Ii: The Curse Of Qa'a
Book Of Shadows Part Iii: The Glendora Outbreak
Illusion (Bonus Track)
Rusty Nail (Bonus Track)

Album Description

Japanese pressing of the Swedish melodic metal act's third album, scheduled to include one bonus track. Details TBA. Nexus. 2004.

Album Details

Japanese Release featuring Two Bonus Tracks: 'rusty Nail' and 'illusion'.

Average customer rating:

Starfall

ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

Hard Rock & Metal | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B000A2GVV0
Release Date: 2005-04-05

Average customer rating:

Starfall /Zvezdopad

ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: B0009REM1W

Product Description

Tracks: 1. Pesnya krasnoarmejtsa 2. Pesnya o tsirkache 3. Na dal'nej stantsii sojdu 4. Shla vojna 5. Zvezdopad 6. Veter severnyj 7. Gorod detstva 8. Na vsyu ostavshuyusya zhizn' 9. Slovo - Tovaricsh 10. Karavella 11. Beloe bezmolvie 12. Krasnyj kon' 13. Pesenka pro chernuyu guash' i nadezhdu 14. Solntse vzojdet 15. Ya prinyal reshenie 16. Svoj sredi chuzhikh

Average customer rating:

Starfall
Dragonland
Manufacturer: Century Media
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: B000LX84FO

Music Track: