With only their second album under their belt now, Beyond the Reach of Enchantment, Iceland’s Power Paladin show the metal world why they are climbing the rungs of the power metal ladder. I reviewed their 2022 debut, With the Magic of Windfyre Steel, and was pretty blown away. I need my power metal fast and aggressive, alongside the cheese that is this metal genre.
The band has remained intact, and with eight songs in 49 minutes, the songs are a little longer than your average metal songs. No fancy intros, and the riff to “Sword Vigor” opens the album with some well-placed guitar harmonies and solos. Rather than go right into a fast song, this is a mid-paced gallop with soaring vocals, which is how they opened their debut album, come to think of it, as that was not a fast opener. Atli Guðlaugsson has a set of pipes on him that will rival any of the best power metal singers out there. Bjarni Egill Ögmundsson still strikes the keyboard with flair, and it adds to the blips and bloops of a variety of sound textures. Bjarni Þór Jóhannsson and Ingi Þórisson are even more blistering with their guitar work, scorching!! Nice album opener, however, I wanted a faster song to open the album.
My wish is granted with the second song, “Glade Lords of Athel Loren”. This is where drummer Einar Karl Júlíusson earns that big paycheck. Truly a monstrous blistering thrashy power metal song. His drum work, especially the double bass action, is perfectly executed. Midway through this 6 ½ minute number, there is some whimsical atmospherics, and the fast moment, erupting with the double bass, will knock you on your arse. Then the vocals get into a bit of a gruff death metal tone; this guy surely appreciates that. The song must be in their live set. Amazing.
“The Royal Road” is up next with a cheeky spoken word clip and right into the thrashy speed. The song gets groovy, with isolated instrument moments, and Kristleifur Þorsteinsson, with his bass guitar, starts plucking on our heartstrings, with the emotive Maidenesque melodies. This has crazy soaring vocal tones, and while we attempt to catch our breath.
“The Arcane Tower” swoops in and erupts fast. The slower elements take over with the keyboard action. The keys are never overbearing and are there as another instrument. They do, however, enhance the soundscape. The speedy elements get going with a monstrous chest collapsing double bass. Over-the-top vocals abound and even get higher in the mix. During these moments, and trust me, I love the vocals, the mix should have been slightly scaled back, as they do overwhelm the other instruments, ever so slightly. After some atmospherics, the speed and guitar solos kick in, and I am glad to hear the instruments do their thing and the vocals take a back seat for a bit.
“Aegis of Eternity” is a damn good song with terrific opening guitar harmonies and solos, then right into the fast, speedy power metal. The keys are piped in a bit louder as they seem to be doing their own solo. This is a real fun moment. The song slows down with a classic 80’s metal feel to it. The song speeds up again, like the beginning, with the keyboards almost acting like a third guitar. I love it. The 3.12 moment, with the wild keys, swirling drums, and then the guitars kicking in, will bring any power metal fan a smile from ear to ear. This is another killer song. The next several numbers are devoid of any real speed. There’s a lot of mid-paced action, and the last song, “Valediction”, at close to ten minutes, I would have liked some more speedy action happening. The song is good with thunderous, mid-paced moments, but a song this long screams for faster moments, rather than just the beginning, short, fast moment. Overall, it is a good song.
Beyond the Reach of Enchantment is a damn good album from Power Paladin. The fast power metal moments are rooted in thrash metal, with the heaviness, and I love these songs the best. For me, I think a mix-up of the song order would have been better for placement and listening purposes. However, with each song kinda going in order of telling a story, maybe that was the challenging part the band faced. The production and mix, overall, are really good for this type of music. I previously mentioned my quips. I would like to see the band spread out the faster songs throughout the album, so they don’t shoot their load so early on. I love the fantasy-laced album cover, and anytime there is a dragon in the background, count me in. Fun album.
