Starfall (album)
Starfall is the third album released by the power metal band Dragonland, and the first not to deal with "The Dragonland Chronicles". The music for Starfall was mainly written between June 2003 and May 2004 after arriving home from their 2003 Japan tour. The song, "To the End of the World", from this album, was performed during that tour, before it was even recorded. A demo version of "As Madness Took Me" can be found on YouTube.
| Starfall | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 27 October 2004 | |||
| Recorded | June 2003 - May 2004 at Division One Studios, Gothenburg, Sweden | |||
| Genre | Power metal, symphonic metal | |||
| Length | 45:20 | |||
| Label | Century Media (Europe, North America), King Records (Japan) | |||
| Producer | Tom S. Englund of Evergrey, Arnold Lindbergh | |||
| Dragonland chronology | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    [1] |
Track listing
All tracks are written by Dragonland, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "As Madness Took Me" | 3:57 |
| 2. | "Starfall" | 3:19 |
| 3. | "Calling My Name" | 4:49 |
| 4. | "In Perfect Harmony" | 4:41 |
| 5. | "The Dream Seeker" | 5:32 |
| 6. | "The Shores of Our Land" | 6:46 |
| 7. | "The Returning" | 4:41 |
| 8. | "To the End of the World" | 4:40 |
| 9. | "The Book of Shadows Part I: A Story Yet Untold" | 3:13 |
| 10. | "The Book of Shadows Part II: The Curse of Qa'a" | 2:51 |
| 11. | "The Book of Shadows Part III: The Glendora Outbreak" | 4:51 |
| 12. | "Rusty Nail" (Japanese Bonus Track, X Japan cover, also in Korean release) | 5:47 |
| 13. | "Sole Survivor" (Japanese Bonus Track, Helloween cover, also in Korean release) | 4:06 |
| 14. | "Illusion" (Korean Bonus Track, original demo version of "Starfall") | 3:20 |
Thematic meanings
In a 2004 interview with Metal Rules, guitarist Olof Mörck talked to Anders Sandvall, and in the interview Mörck goes into detail about "The Book of Shadows" trilogy and the story behind the songs:
- "The Book Of Shadows is a story told in three chapters, being an adventurous epic with a movie script like feel to enhance what’s going on in the music. It starts out in Oxford, Great Britain in the late 19th century with the finding of an ancient tome, known as The Book Of Shadows. The stories and secrets it contains eventually leads to sojourns to Egypt, and the terrible findings unleashed there, once again springs to life in the last part, which is set in modern day USA. The story I wrote for it is archaically momentous, containing more writing than both previous albums lyrics combined."
The song "Calling My Name" contains sound clips by Charles Manson from the 7 March 1986 San Quentin Prison interview with Charlie Rose for CBS News Nightwatch.
"The Shores of Our Land" tells the story of a group of Vikings returning home after a successful battle. It includes a feast scene in the middle, which was recorded by a very intoxicated Dragonland.[2]
Personnel
- Jonas Heidgert - vocals
- Olof Mörck - lead guitar
- Nicklas Magnusson - rhythm guitar
- Christer Pedersen - bass
- Elias Holmlid - keyboards, synthesizers
- Jesse Lindskog - drums
Guest musicians
- Johanna Andersson - female vocals on "The Shores of Our Land"
- Tom S. Englund of Evergrey - guitar solo and backing vocals on "Calling My Name" and "The Shores of Our Land"
- Henrik Danhage of Evergrey - guitar solo on "The Shores of Our Land"
Production
- Mixed and Engineered by: Arnold Lindberg
- Mastered by: Dragan Tanaskovic at Bohus Mastering, Sweden
Credits
- Cover Art by: ToxicAngel
- Band Photos by: Olle Carlsson
References
- Henderson, Alex. Starfall at AllMusic. Retrieved 2015-05-16.
- Metal Rules. "Interview with Olof from Dragonland". Retrieved 2007-10-27.