The Saberlight Chronicles
Fellowship open the doors wide on The Saberlight Chronicles. Big choruses, clear singing and busy guitar melodies make this a notably welcoming power metal album. The fantasy setting is colourful, but beneath it sit songs about uncertainty, persistence and allowing yourself some kindness. That gives the cheerful sound a useful emotional centre.
Until The Fires Die quickly shows how well the band brings melody and momentum together. Matthew Corry sings with an open, warm tone. He does not need a rough edge to sound convincing. The guitars add movement around his melodies, while orchestral layers expand the sound without taking up all the space.
There is enough variety to give the record a shape of its own. Oak And Ash pushes hard, its fast playing keeping the energy high. Hearts Upon The Hill takes more time over its melody and shows that Fellowship can make an impression without constantly racing ahead. The piano ballad Silhouette gives the voice a quieter setting. These changes matter on an album that could easily have become one long procession of triumphant choruses.
The main drawback is the quantity. More than an hour of such sweet, eager music asks quite a lot of your attention. Every chorus does not make the same impact, and a shorter route would sometimes help the record. At more than nine minutes, Avalon underlines just how much ground the band wants to cover.
Even so, the mix of enthusiasm and carefully written melodies makes this a very convincing debut. The technical passages serve the songs, finding room to shine without taking over. Fellowship are happy to sound warm and optimistic while keeping enough weight in the guitars. For anyone looking for power metal that invites a proper singalong, there is plenty here worth returning to.
