Album Review: Wind Rose - Trollslayer
Reviewed by Chris Taylor
It’s always a difficult dynamic when a band you have enjoyed for years becomes well known for what’s essentially a cover. Okay so “Diggy Diggy Hole” isn’t a cover ‘exactly’, but it was a move that launched Wind Rose to viral status. Deservedly so, as the Italian symphonic power metal group had long deserved attention for their unique take on the genre focusing on everyone’s favourite fantasy race of dwarves (you might think elves are your favourite but be honest…). With their Sabaton-like vocal delivery, epic choruses and jovial attitude it’s a power metal band that has routinely been slept on and have far more to offer than one viral cover.
Wind Rose no doubt are grateful for the success of their viral hit but, as any band has to do after they find success, one has to keep moving forward. As such, Wind Rose have brought their sixth studio album Trollslayer.
Power Metal is as reliable as it is brilliant. You know exactly what you are getting from this kind of music and if that is what you are into you will have so much to love on Trollslayer. Wind Rose know what they do well, and they know how to make it better every time. This is a band who continue to refine their work with every release and the same is true on Trollslayer. It’s hard to view the band as veterans given how they have never reached the lofty heights of Powerwolf or Sabaton, but they truly are. The opening two tracks Of Ice and Blood, and Dance of the Axes are as rousing as any from the top bands of Power Metal. When the final chorus of Dance of the Axes comes charging in, it causes hairs to stand on end.
As well as being epic, Wind Rose maintain their more jovial spirit as well. The Great Feast Underground is very reminiscent of Korpiklaani with its fast rhythm and party vibes that will no doubt be a live staple. Older fans of the band who remember stand out tracks like To Erebor from 2017’s Stonehymn, will be right at home with this album’s Rock and Stone and To Be a Dwarf, which bring back Wind Rose’s signature sound of stompy rhythms and chanty refrains.
The folk inspired orchestration is as much a highlight on this album as anything else. It gives tracks like Trollslayer an incredible sense of pace or it can build anticipation and scope such as many moments during Legacy of the Forge.
But the stand out aspect of Trollslayer is of course it’s melodies and choruses. This being Power Metal, that should be the priority and Trollslayer has plenty of them. The previously mentioned Dance of the Axes starts off the album brilliantly, but the back end of the album especially is full of truly epic melodies. The ending chorus of Home of the Twilight is one of the most stirring moments of any album so far this year, Legacy of the Forge is brilliant from start to finish and the seven and half minute epic No More Sorrow brings much more emotional depth than anything proceeding it making it a track that more than justifies being the conclusion to the album.
Wind Rose have refined their formula once again to create quite possibly the album of their career. Trollslayer is everything fans of Wind Rose could want, done to such a high standard and is up there as one of the top Power Metal albums of 2024. The band are about to embark on a European tour with Hammerfall and Powerwolf as support. While they may be in the small font on that poster, with an album as good as Trollslayer, Wind Rose’s music can stand side by side with either of those legends.
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