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Excalion: Emotions
Excalion - Emotions Music Review

Excalion: Emotions

Melodic/Heavy/Power Metal
4.0/5.0

Last we heard from Finland's Excalion it was been after a seven year absence from the studio. 2017's Dream Alive was a fine return to the band's melodic, sometimes progressive, power metal. Now returning with a stable lineup, the band returns for their fifth album, Emotions. According to press material, the album has a thematic thread: taking the listener "on a journey through hate and trust, sorrow and joy" where each song explores a singular emotion.

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Excalion

Otherwise, musically speaking, Emotions picks up where the last album left off. Excalion once more offers some traditional European melodic metal blending heavy, power, progressive, and symphonic metal in their musical mixer. With founding member and keyboard player Jarmo Myllyvirta the main songwriter, you can expect his synths to have a strong presence. His input ranges from orchestral embellishment, giving any song a dense and bombastic feeling, to bright synth solos which give guitarist Aleksi Hirvonen a run for his money. But like the last album, songs like Trust or Lost Control finds Myllyvirta and Hirvoven joined at hip when they offer tandem solos. Alternatively, with a song such as The Mercy Racers, I'm not sure if I heard a solo from either one. Vocalist Marcus Lang also remains in fine form. On the rising metal anthem his voice is both melodic and soulful. Conversely, within the roaring power metal of Nightmariner he can sound more assertive, even raging and rough. Basically, with Emotions, Excalion is on winning path, offering another engaging and entertaining album of their melodic and symphonic power metal. Recommended.


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The Bottom Line

With Emotions, Excalion is winning path, offering another engaging and entertaining album of their melodic and symphonic power metal. Recommended.

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