Power Paladin – Beyond the Reach of Enchantment

Let’s talk power metal now. Power Paladin‘s sophomore album specifically.

Dear reader: how many power metal bands do you know from Iceland? If it’s zero, keep your hands down; if you still have your hands up by now, you’re either lying, searching Metal Archives for obscure bands, or you know about Power Paladin. Their 2022 debut album With the Magic of Windfyre Steel was more than decent, but on their new effort Beyond the Reach of Enchantment they hit the holy ball of steel™ right out of the heavy metal ballpark.

Power Paladin gives us a much needed barrage of heavy power metal hitters in a rather dire year within the genre (it has been one for me, at least). It’s big, bold and fun and wears its influences clearly on their sleeves. There are hints of Helloween, Hammerfall and Gamma Ray all over the record, and its speedy, almost speed metal approach to these eight songs is a breath of fresh air within a genre that’s either trying too hard to diverge from roots by trying to either blend in other genres or dumbing it down for mass appeal. There’s a singular vision at work here when it comes to speed, catchiness and simplicity.

If you’re into the bare basics approach to the genre, Sword Vigor will grab you by the balls from the get-go. It’s stupid fun with a big roaring chorus, plenty of proper shredding, rolling double bass drums and a heavy dose of keys to dial the epic up to eleven. Glade Lords of Athel Loren puts pedal to the metal even further and hyperspeeds its way into the Warhammer universe without ever looking back once. This is lightning fast, proper speed metal the likes of which I haven’t heard in a long, long time, and it had me grinning from ear to ear throughout. The same goes for Keeper of the Crimson Dungeon, which will have you screaming along from your couch or gaming chair in no time.

The Arcane Tower is another highlight, and it features Majestica’s Tommy Johansson. With what might be the catchiest chorus on this entire record, it’s a song you can send to people over and over without them ever being bored or accusing you of having sent it before; it’s that good. And Tommy is an absolute powerhouse of a vocalist after all. Aegis of Eternity’s chorus will also lodge itself firmly into your cerebral cortex after the first listen. The absolute highlight of the album is its epic closing track Valediction, which features a great but all too brief guest spot from the great Sara Rut Fannarsdóttir, whom I’d very much would like to have heard more. It changes things up just enough from the rest of the material and serves well as an album closer.

Coming in just under fifty minutes, Beyond the Reach of Enchantment just breezes by. The only real criticism one could lodge at it, is that the songs are same-y and that the album would have benefited from a rug-pull halfway through in the form of a power ballad or a proper mid-tempo song, just to change things up. Then again, we also remember what that did for Majestica’s Megatrue on their Power Train record so perhaps it’s best that these Icelanders stuck with what they excel at. Peak power metal, this. Peak.

Buy it here: https://shopeu.reigningphoenixmusic.com/en/Artists/ROAR/Power-Paladin:::120747_120477_120535.html

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