Year : 2023
Style : Melodic Power Metal
Country : Finland
Audio : 320 kbps + all scans
Size : 130 mb
Bio:
Excalion is a Finnish metal band led by Jarmo Myllyvirta that has released three albums since 2005.They are a largely a studio-based outfit that has only toured around their native country.The band was formed in December 2000 in Konnevesi, central Finland. The name came from a misspelling of Excalibur, suggested by ex-bassist Timo Sahlberg.In the autumn of 2001, Excalion recorded their first demo, Forlorn. The next two years, the band played a few gigs while working on their material. In autumn of 2003, Excalion made a second demo titled Obsession to Prosper. At the end of 2003 the band signed a deal with Sound Riot Records, and the recording of Excalion's debut album was finished at Studio Watercastle in September 2004. The debut album, Primal Exhale, was released through Sound Riot Records in autumn 2005.It was released by Stay Gold/Art Union Records in the Japan.Early 2005, before the release, the band went through some line-up changes. Kimmo Hänninen left the band and bassist Timo Sahlberg left shortly after. When the band found a new guitarist, Vesa Nupponen, the decision was made that Tero Vaaja would switch to the bass, and Excalion would continue as a five-member band with one guitar.In May 2006, the band began to record their second album, Waterlines. The material for this album was more melodic with a greater emphasis on the vocal lines.The recordings once again took place in Watercastle Studio while the band decided to move to Limb Music (except Japan) after issues with the previous record company.It was released March 2, 2007.On 29 January 2010, the new album called High Times was released, again in Limb Music.n 2014 it was announced that Nupponen and Pääkkönen had left the band and were replaced by Marcus Lång on vocals and Aleksi Hirvonen on guitars.
Album:
I need to stop awarding scores of 9/10 with the assumption that a band has reached their creative pinnacle. Because, when they inevitably make an even better new album, I will eventually run out of superlative adjectives…and, ultimately, numbers. Such is the case with Excalion and their brand new effort Once Upon A Time which, in my humble opinion, is another step up from 2019’s Emotions… and that also earned a 9/10 from me. After the success of 2017’s comeback record Dream Alive, the Finns leaned in a more thematic direction. For example, Emotions thrived because each song successfully encapsulated an individual emotion. Here in 2023, however, Once Upon A Time shines because it does not have a prevailing theme, and yet feels totally cohesive – despite being two tracks longer than the previous effort. The mix, at least, is superb. Considering how many layers and timbres there are to reveal here, the production quality does a great job of letting everything have its space.Opening track “Keitele” is a big part of why this album succeeds on its storytelling aspect. It’s the length of a full song, yet feels like an extended intro; with one verse, an expanded solo section and a haunting melody carrying the whole duration. This settles the atmosphere perfectly so that the ‘real’ opener “Resolution” can knock you on your ass with the speedy momentum we all love about European power metal. This track might have a great chorus and a non-stop energy, but it also introduces one of the elements that elevates this above most Excalion records: hefty riffs. I found myself pleasantly surprised throughout most of this LP that the Finns really weren’t shying away from dropping down to the deepest depths of the fretboard to churn out some heavy riffage – always welcome in this genre. “Resolution” gets the heads banging with its opening and closing riff, necks start snapping in the middle of “Amuse Me” (a power metal breakdown?!), and entire spines are destroyed in the outro of “Band Of Brothers” – surely one of the most curious endings to a power metal album, but damn I love it! Lead single “Soulbound” was a cracking choice to release to the public ahead of the release. A top-speed rager with a furious chorus and a great overall summation of what Excalion sound like at their best. I’ve always praised these guys for writing melodies that aren’t instantly catchy, but grow on your brain after multiple listens, to the point where you can’t believe you never knew it. They never settle for ‘good enough’ when writing tunes, and that really shines in choruses like “Words Cannot Heal” that flows up and up like a reverse river. The hint of menace and melancholy that hangs over the whole album is a very Finnish trait, and it oozes through the first half of the record thanks to Marcus Lång’s amazing vocal performance. I thought I preferred him in Force Majeure but he outdoes himself here, filling the first 6 tracks with rough-edged attitude, then switching to a more reflective mood after the title-track. The latter half of the album shows off the smoother, more harmonious side of the Finns, with a double-bill of balladic numbers in “Eternals” (beautiful chorus) and “When A Moment Turns Into A Lifetime” (proggy soft-rock goodness).That’s not to say they can’t still piledrive through cuts, like the fantastic “I Am I”. This song has the best chorus on the album, and is a contender for one of Excalion’s fastest numbers ever – easily one of my favourite songs of 2023. A close runner-up is the fist-pumping anthem “Radiant Halo” which refuses to leave my head (‘NEWBORN GOOOOODDDSSS!’). The musicianship is second to none throughout the whole record. Keyboard sounds are varied and multi-layered, battling the guitars for status, and ultimately coming across as playful. Once Upon A Time is well structured, thoughtfully positioning slow, mid and fast-paced tracks across its runtime. Flashy solos galore, catchy choruses a-plenty, and a general top-notch quality that definitely gives Stratovarius a run for their money. Scarlet Records should count themselves lucky to have a veteran act like Excalion on their roster, especially if they keep churning out high standards like this. Put the full hours-worth of attention into this if you’re at all into European power metal, and it will probably leap to the top of their already impressive discography. Until the next one, obviously.
Line Up:
Marcus Lång - Vocals (2015-present) - See also: Force Majeure
Aleksi Hirvonen - Guitars
Onni Hirvonen - Bass (2016-present) - See also: ex-Head in a Jar
Henri Pirkkalainen - Drums (2000-present) - See also: Social Disease
Jarmo "Jappe" Myllyvirta - Keyboards (2000-present)
Tracklist:
01. Keitele
02. Resolution
03. Soulbound
04. Words Cannot Heal
05. Amuse Me
06. Once Upon A Tim
07. I Am I
08. When A Moment Turns Into A Lifetime
09. Radiant Halo
10. Eternals
11. Band Of Brothers
Download links for all albums only on our blog here: http://goodmetalandhar.do.am/
