Lynd – Twilight Force ‘Heroes of Mighty Magic’
Twilight Force is a band that may have only walked the earth for five years, but ultimately they are old, old true keepers of the eternal flame of epic and power metal! If you haven’t had the pleasure of delving in to the enchanted world of Twilight Force, picture Rhapsody with a dash of the magic of early Helloween and the imagery painted by the likes of Running Wild and Skyclad. Twilight Force is a metal outfit that creates image-scapes to escape within, and they are masters of melody and virtuosity. They are a six piece led by their front-man Chrileon, they hail from Sweden and embellish their epic soundscapes with a stage show fit for the imagery they orchestrate, with costume and presence to match.
The bands second release, Heroes of Mighty Magic is out on the 26th of August through Nuclear Blast and I was fortunate enough to catch up with Lynd, lead guitarist, to discuss all things Twilight Force.
How would you describe the music of Twilight Force to the uninitiated?
Well it is a close your eyes and listen. If you feel a sense of adventure and the need for an escape we are for you. It is a very fast paced make your own adventure and enjoy the ride!
So how did Twilight Force come about?
It was me and the keyboard player, who thought there was something missing in the metal world. A lot of bands have been playing a lot slower and darker, and we are bringing back the golden age of power metal. We really wanted to hear it again. So it was the metal that we wanted to hear again and that is what we did with the first album. With the second album we have tried to evolve and develop our permanent style in to it so to speak. We have tried to bring a motion picture to the tracks and the music. There are a lot of bands that have experimented with this but not quite in the same way we have. Most bands like his have a more classical approach and we are more contemporary film and mixing this with metal.
What influences does the band have?
I mean we love the early Rhapsody albums, but in the end we should say John Williams (film score composer) and not so much metal. But I am sure it is the golden age of power metal and all of the heroes of the genre. We are also inspired by emotions rather than music itself, and we want to create a classic journey and an adventure with music as the medium.
Your second album Heroes of the Mighty Magic, is this an extension of your debut Tales of Ancient Prophecies or is it any different?
I think it is quite different. The first album was pretty straight forward, simple power metal. The second is a lot more musically complex. But we have always had a big focus on melody and we will always have that, so in that sense they are similar, but at the same time they are very different. We have experimented with longer song structures, two songs on the album are ten minutes each. It is quite exiting to experiment with long songs as you can complete a different musical journey over this time rather than a short song. So ultimately, it is like comparing a two hour movie to a short film.
How does Twilight Force create new material?
I usually start with a piano, personally I never write music on a guitar, everything comes from a piano. Just jamming out until I found something I like then work it out into a song. It takes a lot of time and from there the metal just adds on. So piano and orchestration is the first step and it is so detailed as much as possible. I usually work through the arranging with the band, you know what to play on each instrument. We have been rehearsing the new songs now and it is not easy but the early shows are going well.
The story of Heroes of the Might Magic, is it something that will evolve over further releases or is it a tale within itself from start to finish?
It will evolve. This time we have the lyrics around the Twilight Kingdom, each band member is a character and we will expand on this as much as we can. This is mostly because it is fun to have our own story and it is easy to write lyrics around a story that you have.
Do you have a long term plan or direction for the band or is your journey something that you are going to let evolve organically?
Everything has happened so quickly and things have been amazing since our first album. We want to tour as much as possible and we have some big things about to come out. We don’t have long, long term plans, but we want to do as much as possible and we are not stopping anytime soon it has only just begun.
I know that you have an upcoming tour with Sonata Arctica in Europe but is there any chance of making it to Australia?
Not at the moment but we would love to come to Australia and play. We would love to come to Australia as soon as we have the chance. We would love to do this. This may happen in the not too distant future. We are going on tour with Sonata Arctica in October and we have toured with them before and they are great guys.
Lynd is a very interesting and focussed individual; it was a pleasure to talk with him. If you are a fan of power metal, symphonic metal, folk metal or just old school melodic metal from the 1980s, Twilight Force are worth a listen. Check out their sophomore album Heroes of the Might Magic through Nuclear Blast released August 26.
Interview by Mark Snedden
