Having released two albums in quick succession 2022’s Throne Of Gold, and 2023’s The Lion’s Road, Swedish metallers Sarayasign have been on something of a roll. Such was the success of the band’s creative vision that their sophomore effort drew the attention of two leading figures in the rock firmament – Jakob Hermann (Devin Townsend, Evergrey), who recorded the drums; and Jacob Hansen, who mixed and mastered the album – and the results took them to new stages around the world, picking up legions of new fans along the way. Now back with Shadows Of The Dying Light, Sarayasign are set to continue their ascent with a suitably over-the-top power metal odyssey.
Setting the tone, the album’s opening number, World’s Apart, emerges from a swirl of dense, hypnotic keyboards, although razor sharp guitars aren’t far behind, with the resultant track treading a fine line between the explosive hard rock of latter-day Europe and the more narrative-driven metal of Queensryche. With Stefan Nykvist’s powerful vocals at the track’s heart, it’s a strong opening to the album and it’s followed by the equally expansive Watching It Burn Away. With keyboards once more laying the foundation, what follows is a mid-tempo hard rock monster that nods to the soaring, operatic metal of Steinman-era Meat Loaf. It’s ambitious, even overblown, but it’s cool to hear a band eschewing the streamlined approach that modern streaming services have sought to dictate, and you can’t help but admire the passion and professionalism with which they tackle the arrangement.
With the opening tracks having laid strong foundations, the tightly wound Euro-metal of Shades Of Black could easily be drawn from one of Europe’s recent offerings, the massive chorus clearly written with arenas in mind. In contrast, the lengthy Shadows Of The Dying Light takes its time to haul itself from banks of keyboards, revealing itself as an epic-length power ballad that combines the melodicism of Bryan Adams with the guitars of Iron Maiden, the electronics adding a contemporary sheen to an anthem that could otherwise have been written in 1984 as now. For sure, it’s a touch on the cheesy side, but for those who love their power ballads, it’s executed with skill.
Two shorter, sharper tracks see out the album’s first half. First up, there’s the hard-hitting From Ashes, which finds the band deftly mixing pop, blues, and hard rock, creating one hell of an addictive track in the process. Then there’s The Wanderer which harks back to Operation Mindcrime with its “I remember everything” introduction and strong narrative thrust embedded in the lyrics.
Opening the album’s second half, One Last Cry finds the keyboards once again leading the charge and, honestly, it’s an approach that starts to wear a little thin, especially when the main track largely dispenses with the opening melody. The song itself, however, is one of the album’s strongest efforts, with a massive riff, layered vocals, and stadium-sized drums all getting the blood pumping nicely. With another short segue briefly disrupting the flow, The Nameless Ones finds Stefan doing a rock-solid Brice Dickinson impression over a pop-metal backing before the band return to ballad territory for Coming Home.
Picking up the pace, Walk Alone is built around a choppy riff and defiant vocal and it’s followed by the similarly expansive Bleeding Hope, which once again nods to the explosive operatics of Meat Loaf, all building to a heroic lead break that brings the track to a climax. It all wraps up with Throne Of Gold Part III – The Hidden Portal, an epic length piece that once more finds the band throwing everything but the kitchen sink at the arrangement, more often than not hitting their intended mark. Paradoxically, it’s the wonderfully unrestrained nature of it all that makes the track work and, for those willing to embrace such a sumptuous piece of music, it makes for a fine conclusion to the album.
How much Sarayasign will appeal to you depends entirely on how willing you are to suspend your disbelief and simply let the grandiloquent concept flow over you. Musically, the band hark back to the mid-80s, with the most obvious touchpoints being Europe and Queensryche, with elements of Iron Maiden, Bryan Adams, and Kiss thrown in for good measure. Melodic, massively overblown, and beautifully produced, it’s music as pure escapism, and it’s good to hear a band approach this style with such power and class. That said, it’s not perfect. The band’s insistence on adding keyboard segues to the start of almost every song becomes increasingly distracting, and there’s a sense that some of the songs could have done with a little more editing at the arrangement stage, as it would have resulted in a tighter album overall. Nevertheless, it’s impossible to deny the sheer scale of the band’s ambition and there’s something comforting in allowing yourself to be swept along by it all. 7.5/10
