Fairyland – Osyrhianta

Label: Massacre Records
Releasedate: 22.05.2020

Fairyland is a symphonic power metal band from France created by songwriters Philippe Giordana and Willdric Lievin in 1998. After going through several line-up changes in the 2000s, the band turned into a one-man musical project, when Giordana parted ways with the rest of the band in 2007. He subsequently released Score to a New Beginning in 2009 as Fairyland, with guest musicians and singers.

In 2015, Fairyland became a full band once again, with Giordana being rejoined by Fairyland co-creator Willdric Lievin, who had left the band in 2004, and by new members Francesco Cavalieri, Jean-Baptiste Pol, and Sylvain Cohen. The group immediately went on to work on their next album. On May 31, 2016, the first song from the album, “Heralds Of The Green Lands”, was released on YouTube. In February 2018, they revealed the tracklist for their next album, Osyrhianta, another concept album that will serve as a prequel to their original trilogy.

The first track ‘The Age of Birth’ starts with a vocal intro accompanied by epynomous music – as you would expect when starting to watch a movie. Flowing into the second track ‘Across the Snow’, which immediately kicks off with fast, dual-pedalled drums. Slowing down after the first minute when the vocals surface. All in all a solid compilation which gives you a slight insight what to expect on this album.

‘The Hidden Kindom’ consists of fast and operatic backing vocals accompanying this composition, a bit Nightwish-esque if you ask me. The vocals are strong and clear. The fourth track ‘Eleandra’ continues this trend, albeit the symphonic element retreating to the background and it transforms into a more heavy metal track with female vocals.

‘Heralds of the Green Lands’ is a very fast, almost thrashy track in which musical instruments and vocals almost ‘battle’ for the prime position. Solid composition showcasing their abilities. ‘Alone we stand’ is another wink to other symphonic metals band as it sounds VERY similar to other tracks in this genre. ‘Hubrus et Orbis’ continues along the same track as the previous track, sounding very familiar.

The next 2 tracks ‘Mount Mirenor’ and ‘Of Hope and Despair in Osyrhia’ will set you back 20 minutes, as they are 7m15s and 12m2s respectively. Two eponymous tracks guiding you through the fantasy fairy landscape of the fictional land of Osyrhia. ‘Mount Mirenor’ is an instrumental track in which you could imagine flying over Osyrhia, feeling free and astonished by the views. ‘Of Hope and Despair in Osyrhia’ gives the impression it continues, but it transforms into a fast track including vocals with guitar solo interludes.

‘The Age of Light’ has a very soft intro with female vocals, making it feel very dreamy. As the song continues you are taken on a slow flowing flight and the female vocals draw you in.

This was an album I will probably return to for some easy listening. I can only describe it as nice, nothing that really stands out though.

Line up:

Philippe Giordana – keyboards, backing vocals (1998-present), acoustic guitars (2007-present)
Willdric Lievin – guitars, drums (1998-2003; guest: 2009), bass, backing vocals (2003, 2015-present)
Francesco Cavalieri – lead vocals (2015-present)
Sylvain Cohen – guitars (2015-present)
Jean-Baptiste Pol – drums (2015-present)

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