Bags of promise and tons of talent.

Has it ever been tougher to be in a metal band than it is right now? No I don’t mean the diminishing sales, tightly gripped record company budgets and soaring expense of hiring a studio. After all the real challenge for a metal band these days is standing out from the ridiculously over populated crowds already ploughing power, symphonic or folk metal furrows. To those metallic masses we can now add Italy’s awfully named Fogalord and, while they truly deserve their moment in the sun, whether they can stretch that time into a gloriously long and warm summer (oh for one of those...) remains to be seen. As with almost every other band in this sphere, the musicianship is beyond question and the songs themselves are well constructed, strongly produced and polished to perfection. Grand, bold, brash, aggressive, refined are all words to describe this album – original is not. However that in itself is no final nail in the coffin, with countless outfits making a lasting impression through a bit of copycatyness. So if you have a hankering for a band who offer up more in the way of DragonForce histrionics, Edguy atmosphere, or Rhapsody (Of Fire – or not as the case may be) forcefulness, then clear some space on your shelves, for ‘A Legend To Believe In’ will be an edict you’ll happily follow.

Once (or maybe even also) of Synthphonia Suprema, singer Dany All (who also handles keyboards extremely well here) has a stupendous range with suitable power to match, while drummer Francesco Zanarelli powers everything along on a crescendo of double bass drum bluster. Add to that, strident, furious guitar work courtesy of Stefano Paolini and bold bass bashing from Lorenzo Costi, and Folgalord only need stunning songs, or a new angle, to shine brightly in the morass. Neither truly appears and while nothing on ‘A Legend To Believe In’ is less than good, in only the oddest of occasions do things rise above steady. Add to that a propensity to add short keyboard sections to link, or introduce other songs and things do lose momentum in between the relentless solos, drum blastings and stratosphere searching singing. However let’s not dismiss this quartet out of hand completely, what with the sprawling fifteen minute epic ‘Of War And Retribution’ that closes this album proving that when Fogalord put their minds to it, they can vary their attack, reign in the excesses and offer up – if not an original take on the genre – a decent stab at something less expected.

Bags of promise and tons of talent are enough for Fogalord to initially grab your attention, but it will take much more of the guile and craft that is lurking beneath the surface of their music to keep you coming back for more. Album number two will provide a better indication of future ambitions.

Steven Reid