First things first, as I always say here. All the tracks of “Destiny Calling” I received in the file had the tag ‘radio’ in it. The first thing that came to my mind is that I suppose they were planned to be played on the radio. Ok, right. But, wait a minute! This is 2024, is there anyone who listens to the radio the way we used to do back then? I mean, as a very old guy who lived the golden era of FM radios which used to play Metal bands all the time. It’s so true that some bands used to write songs for those FMs. Well, I ought to believe Knightfall might know what they are doing. Second of all, “Destiny Calling” is an album with so many special guests. Some tracks of the album give the impression they don’t belong to it as, for instance, “The Musketeer” and its Rainbow’s 1982’s “Straight Between the Eyes” era contrasting a lot with the Symphonic Power Metal which is the line that connects the tracks. It’s the price to pay to be bold sometimes. Well, being a project by Keith Dombrowski, who actually plays the keyboards and is responsable for the composing parts and the orchestrations that would be natural.
I have no doubt “Destiny Calling” is an album with a very carefull and neat production. Instrumentwise, the music in here is really something that stands out especially when it comes to vocalists. By my counts, there are eight of them female and male to give a sense of belonging to all tracks in the album. The choice of having so many vocalists works fine if the album has something to connect them all. Album warmer “Children of Time” and following “Warcries” do have a sense of belonging to the same album. “Remember My Name” makes a shift in the mood so far by having a feale/male vocal duet. The song has a unique power that is still to be deciphered. The impression this is a concept album stands still. With that in mind, “The Hero Walks Alone“ adds one more vocalist with a gutural voice in the aforementioned duet. The outcome is a track with lots of energy. The dark energy that connects the album. “Waiting For You“ breaks the idea a little having a more pop approach than the other tracks. Even though, it connects perfectly with the aforementioned “The Musketeer” and its Rainbow’s 1982’s “Straight Between the Eyes” era.
Maybe, just maybe, the epic and fantastic Symphonic Power Metal Knightfall follow is another line that connects all the songs. It’s possible to follow the idea all along the album. But what still remains is that “Destiny Calling” was planned to be a concept album. Now the idea saw here throughout the album makes the whole sense. From where I’m standing, that would help a lot to see each track as a chapter of a whole.
Knightfall “Destiny Calling” was released on March 29th.
Track Listing:
- Children of Time
- Warcries
- Remember My Name
- The Hero Walks Alone
- Waiting For You
- Destiny Calling
- The Musketeer
- Raise Your Fist
- Starfall
- Farewell
- Invincible
Watch “The Hero Walks Alone” official music video here:
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