By Stefan Nilsson, Roppongi Rocks
Metal band The Lightbringer of Sweden teams up with German vocalist Herbie Langhans, of Avantasia and Firewind fame, to create a fab 1980s metal-influenced album. A very pleasant and unexpected surprise.
What a pleasant and unexpected surprise this was! The Lightbringer of Sweden, a new band from my old Swedish hometown, teams up with German vocalist Herbie Langhans (Avantasia, Firewind) and together they proceed to deliver a fabulous metal album. Guitarist and songwriter Lars Eng started work on The Lightbringer of Sweden project on his own in 2017. He eventually got a complete line-up of solid Swedish musicians, including drummer Tobbe Jonsson (whom I shared a rehearsal space with in our hometown back in the 1980s). Some of you will now Jonsson from his many years with melodic rockers Angeline. Having originally lined-up Niklas Stålvind from Wolf as singer, Eng had to look for an alternative when Stålvind became too busy with Wolf. And what a replacement he found! German vocalist Herbie Langhans has the pipes to deliver and he has the experience of recording and touring the world with different acts. The album contains a great blend of traditional heavy metal with some serious power metal influences. This is 80s-sounding metal at its best, melodic yet riff-happy. But the Swedish band manages to deliver this without sounding dated. It sounds here and now, a contemporary sound built on a rock-solid foundation of 1980s metal. “The Beast Inside of Me” and “Heaven Has Fallen” are the obligatory power ballads on the album. They work very well, although personally I care more for faster and heavier tracks such as “Fallen Angels”, “Skeletor” and “Into the Night”. The straightforward metal track “Lightbringer” is perhaps my favourite track on the album as it manages to sound like a terrific melting pot of equal parts Helloween and Accept. “Shadows of the Night” is another standout track which sounds a bit like Avantasia.
The Lightbringer of Sweden’s album “Rise of the Beast” will be released on 15th July.