Power metal outfit The Storyteller formed in the Swedish town of Gävle in 1995 when, two friends L-G Persson and Fredrik Groth, decided to start playing acoustic songs with medieval influences together. This project soon evolved into more electric stuff in the form of a band known for its melodic power metal with medieval and folk music spices mixed in.
From the very beginning the band cut out its own niche in the overcrowded power metal genre with adding medieval instruments and inspiration along with very strong choruses and huge choirs to back them up. The bands reputation as a live act grew and the amount of fans increased exponentially in the next few years. They released a string of very strong efforts including 2003 highlight ”Tales of a Holy Quest”. Joining the band for that release was Jacob Wennerqvist on lead guitar replacing Martinsen. Being a concept album based on the shameful persecutions of innocent victims by the church in Sweden branding them as Witches in the 18thand 19thcentury.
The Storyteller opened up for bands like Helloween, Gammaray, Stratovarius and Hammerfall. They played two times at the famous and prestigious Sweden Rock Festival in the early 00’s but being on a small record label meant limited marketing and financial backing. By 2005 the band was on the verge of a larger breakthrough being offered the support slot for a major band and a tour of Europe. Disagreements arose with the record company over the cost of the tour and disappointed in not getting this chance to prove themselves the band went on hiatus indefinitely. Band leader L-G Persson then formed a new band called Crystal Light with long time Storyteller guitarist Jacob Wennerqvist, guitarist Marcus Backlund and bass player Marco Lehto. A demo was released in 2008.
The Storyteller now unleashes their 6thalbum showing they´re back for good and they mean business! ”Sacred Fire” comes with all the usual trademarks you expect from The Storyteller, pounding double bass drum, massive hooks supported by big choirs, medieval inspired and thoughtful lyrics and the superb raw vocals of main man L-G Persson. This time the band has drawn a lot of inspiration from ancient Greek mythology. For example the song ”The Ferryman” is about the Greek God Charon transporting dead souls across the river Styx. With this being said The Storyteller is not your regular power metal band that you can find down the street!
The Storyteller – photo by Mikael Svensson |
Now follows what I would say is maybe the strongest song on the album called ”Sons of the North”. The song starts off in a very fast pace, very similar to Running W
ild, but then again becomes heavy and epic in the build up for a melodic and enchanting chorus supported by a huge choir. I found myself toe tapping and singing along to this song without even noticing it at first. This song also has L-G Persson singing his heart out and delivering the vocal performance of the album.
The Storyteller – photo by Mikael Svensson |
I am harshly being awakened by the thumping bass and pounding drums of ”The Army of Southerfell” which is an upbeat song with a huge chorus again. This song is about the English legend of a spectral army marching this ridge on midsummer’s day 1745. The album continues with another upbeat song, ”Curse of the Seven Seas”. This song is about serving as a ghost on a ship, cursed for a 100 years. I guess the lyrics were inspired by the legend of the Flying Dutchman. A great song with a really strong lyrical content.
The album finishes off with two more typical power metal and upbeat songs called ”Let Your Spirit Fly” and ”God of War”. “God of War” deals with the battle of Troy and the struggle between the God Ares and his sister Athena. These songs are in no way groundbreaking but great songs very typical of the Storyteller.
To sum it all up this is the strongest effort since ”Underworld” was released in 2005. I would give this new album a rating of 8 out of 10. Not as prominent as 2003´s masterpiece ”Tales of a Holy Quest” but pretty damn close. The Storyteller are back and they mean business! They continue to tell us about legends and stories of the past as they easily could have done by the campfire. They just do it in a metallic setting. If your not familiar with the band before they are definitely worth checking out.
The Storyteller on the web:
www.storyteller.nu
https://www.facebook.com/thestorytellersweden?fref=ts
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