Review | Fairyland – The Story Remains

Frontiers Music

Fairyland is a French symphonic power metal band and ‘The Story Remains’ is their fifth studio album. After the passing (October 21, 2022) of Fairyland’s founder Phil Giordana, the band now features a new line up consisting of old members Wildric Lievin (guitars, bass), J.B.Pol (drums) and newcomers Archie Cane (vocals), Gideon Ricardo (keyboards) and Brieuc De Groof (guitars). ‘The Story Remains’ is again packed with high paced epic power metal and orchestral tracks and fans of bands like Rhapsody Of Fire, Kamelot and Sonata Arctica will love this album for sure!

MILESTONE OF THE ALBUM

After the short cinematic, orchestral intro called ,,Downfall”, Fairyland bursts into ,,To Stars And Beyond”, being the new single, a track featuring their typical massive symphonic sound, with lots of orchestration and a catchy chorus indeed. ,,A New Dawn”, which sometimes even sounds folky, features spectacular choir passages and musical peaks reminding me of Blind Guardian, while ,,Hopeless Still” is a rather progressive – like track featuring more than excellent vocals by newcomer Archie Cane. The milestone of this album is without a shadow of a doubt the longest track called ,,Unbreakable”, where you can enjoy a great musical battle between the keyboards and the guitars! That ten minutes, almost epic song, certainly has influences from notorious bands like Kamelot and Rhapsody Of Fire.

FAIRYLAND – THE CONCLUSION

Singer Elisa C. Martin, who also appeared on Fairyland’s ‘Of Wars In Osyrhia’ album, brings the power-oriented track ,,Suffering Ages” to life with her sophisticated vocal skills, ending this album in a more than excellent way. ‘The Story Remains’ wonderfully incarnates Fairyland’s trademark sound and tracks like ,,Unbreakable”, ,,Karma”, ,,To Stars And Beyond” and ,,Suffering Ages” are impressive examples of this splendid album that will make every symphonic power metal heart beat with 100% excitement!

Needless to say, you must play this album at maximum volume to really enjoy it!

Listening tip: ,,Karma”.

Release date: 13 June 2025