Album Review: "Score to a New Beginning" by French Power Metal Band Fairyland

I know that France isn’t known as a typical powerhouse by most fans when it comes to the genre of heavy metal but Fairyland is one of the good heavy metal bands in France. Their 2003 album Of Wars In Osyrhia was their solid debut made even better by the soothing and powerful vocals of Elisa Martin. In 2009, Fairyland released their 3^rd studio album called "Score to a New Beginning."

However, this French band in 2009 had Italian born vocalist Marco Sandron doing the lead vocals. Fabio D’amore plays the bass guitars in this album. The first track called Opening Credits is just a short, symphonic piece that is similar in style to Dark Moor. Perhaps it is no coincidence that the former vocalist of this band was the lead singer of Dark Moor from 1994 to 2003. It is very possible that when she joined the band that they allowed her to express the creative input for the songwriting process. The end of the Opening Credits also has a sort of dark, spooky feel to it similar to the band Cradle of Filth.

Opening Credits is a good and logical way to begin this album because the symphonic instrumental nature fits in with what you will hear on the rest of the album. There is also a piano part which leads into the next song.

Then comes the song called Across the Endless Sea Part 2. In terms of the song structure and the lyrics, these guys are clearly similar to Italy’s Rhapsody of Fire. The song is about a journey that a group of brave men that go across the sea by ship where they will not be left behind as the story is told. The gods will give these warriors their blessing as they sing and rejoice. The album is a concept album and these kinds of albums have a story to tell the listener. The next song in this saga is called Assault on the Shore. In this song, we hear the story of these brave men who have finally reached their destination which is the shores of the new land. However, this land is cursed and these men are required to fight back against the waves. They have already been through a very perilous journey so the only thing left to do is make a brave stand against these waves and other foes that may attack them.

In the symphonic influenced song called Master of the Waves, the warriors turn back to flee the cursed land that they had reached before in order to reach a new destination which the song does not tell us the name of that place. However, the safe route to that destination is blocked and these men have to stand and fight the monster called the Leviathan. There is a guitar part in this song that is melodic enough to sound like Italy’s Eldritch. In addition, some of the keyboard parts are influenced by Dream Theater. Will these men make it safely to their new destination? Or will they be eaten up by the Leviathan?

A Soldier’s Letter starts with a piano part that resembles the influence of New Age musician Yanni. The song is about a soldier that writes a letter to the woman that he loves so dearly. He really feels that he will die when he reaches a faraway land. He really misses kissing the one he loves and he thinks that he will miss this the most when he dies. As the brave soldier stands on this battle field ready to fight, he is convinced that his son will be what good things the future brings for the kingdom that he bravely fights for.

Godsent is a typical power metal song but this obviously continues the saga of the album. The song is about the soldier always having wanted to return to his home. However he is just a human being and the gods control his destiny. This same concept is often said by many people in real life. I’ve always been told that God has a plan for all of us and that we really don’t control very much in our lives. The song is a type of philosophical way of analyzing what the purpose of each human being is on this Earth. Or is this song really the weakest song on the album? Listening to it again, you may at least appreciate the symphonic beginning of this song and in terms of style it is really similar to the band’s first album.

Rise of the Giants is the first decent length instrumental song. It starts with the pounding and the chiming of the bells. Score to a New Beginning is a song about the soldiers and warriors finally being able to build what they call their “holy land” being united as one group to embark on this task. The song can also be a way for the listener to realize that they are ready for a new chapter in their life that is going to be more loving, positive, and filled with success. As the heavenly light shines in our souls, we will be “the masters of our lives” as the lyrics in the song say. There is a definite Angra influence in this song. End Credits, the last song in this album is a song about the soldiers finally having accomplished their dream of establishing a new kingdom that has banished the horrible nights. A sort of utopia has been created and even the children of the kingdom are rejoicing. Score to a New Beginning is a good symphonic power metal album but it still is not as good as the band’s debut album. Even so, the country of France definitely has something to smile about when they listen to the music in this album.