Planeswalker – Tales of Magic
PLANESWALKER – “Tales of magic” (21 January 2022 self -release)
- Tales of Magic
- The Spark
- Shadow of Emeria
- Blackblade
- The Forever Serpent
- Oath of the Gatewatch
- A Million to One
If I had to describe the album with one sentence that would be: “a debut almost flawless that doesn’t need more than a paragraph to be reviewed”. I don’t have something negative to discuss, something that was off and felt strange. The praises can’t go a long way before they feel empty and pretentious and I don’t want to spoil the excellent impressions that the “Tales of Magic” leaves. So, this will be a short review.
Planeswalker is the new metal project by Jason Ashcraft and Michael Sozos, releasing their debut album, “Tales of Magic”, on the 21st of January 2022. The album will be consisted of 6 original compositions, “Tales of Magic”, “The Spark”, “Shadow of Emeria”, “Blackblade”, “The Forever Serpent”, “Oath of the Gatewatcher” and 1 cover to the famous Kiss’ song, “A Million to One”.
To the fans of the franchise the name of the band probably rings a bell. Along with the title, “Tales of Magic”, the concept of the album is now obvious. However, for those ignorant-I was too and now I am hooked with the game, the album is based on the lore of the popular trading card game, Magic: The Gathering.
Although, Planeswalker are from the U.S.A, the influences by the European school of power metal are prominent. Melodic lead guitars infused with neo classical inspirations, shredding guitar solos, wide verses with huge choruses, epic passages and amazing clean vocals, conclude the “Tales of Magic”. There is not much to say, Planeswalker decided to be straightforward with their musical approach while showing their incredible composing skills through their fresh and vibrant musical gaze. Because one thing is certain, the album sounds extremely relevant and at the same time brings something of the traditional era of power metal.
Being only the one seventh of the record, the cover of “A Million To One” plays a more important role than I actually imagined. At first thought that would just a cover that can go either good or bad, but I never thought that the power metal interpretation of a song by Kiss would be so great. Planeswalker managed to compliment every single element with their power metal approach, composing a cover that is neither good nor bad but a song that while connected to the original has its own feeling.
Save the date, the 21st of January, since we are only a few days away of the release of “Tales of Magic” and you would really want to listen to it as soon as possible.
Review by Mr Athens ’79
Planeswalker links:
Band/Artist location – Sacramento, California
Facebook – You Tube – Bandcamp – BC Merch – Merch –
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