UMUR
"The Fiction Maze" is the 4th full-length studio album by Swedish power metal act Persuader. The album was released through Inner Wound Recordings in January 2014. Persuader released three albums in the years 2000 - 2006, but during that time experienced two of their labels declared bankrupt. Especially the bankruptcy of Dockyard1, that released the third full-length studio album "When Eden Burns (2006)", was a hard blow for Persuader, who lost momentum and the desire to carry on with the band. So the long pause between "When Eden Burns (2006)" and "The Fiction Maze" has a natural explanation. Thankfully for fans of the band, Persuader opted to continue despite past struggles.
The music on "The Fiction Maze" is power metal in the more hard edged vein. A reference to mid-nineties Blind Guardian is valid. It´s especially the voice and singing style of lead vocalist Jens Carlsson that are reminiscent of the voice and singing style of Hansi Kürsch (Blind Guardian) but also the excursions into speed and thrash metal territories that Persuader often take, remind me of the prolific Germans. Persuader focus less on epic choirs and progressive song structures than Blind Guardian though and they are generally a bit more direct in their approach. The songwriting is still quite sophisticated though and the music doesn´t lack neither grand multi-layered sing along choirs nor epic atmospheres, which is pretty much a must in this genre of music.
Persuader successfully vary pace and style (within the boundaries of the power metal genre) throughout the album, from fast power/thrashing like "InSect" (if the vocals on that one had been growling, there are even sections that could be tagged melodeath) and "Falling Faster", to the slow and epic "Deep in the Dark" to the mid-paced heavy riffing of "Sent to the Grave". It keeps the listener entertained throughout and provide "The Fiction Maze" with a good dynamic flow.
The songwriting is simply top notch, but that´s not the only great thing about "The Fiction Maze", which also features high level musicianship and a powerful and edgy sound production, which suits the music perfectly. Regarding the musicianship the instrumental part of the music is very well performed with a focus on guitars, bass and drums. There are occasional use of keyboards, but they are seldom a dominant instrument in the band´s soundscape. It´s lead vocalist Jens Carlsson that takes the prize though. He is an incredibly powerful vocalist and he delivers his rusty vocal lines and choir vocals with great conviction and passion.
Although it´s not really his fault that he has a voice that sounds a lot like the voice of Hansi Kürsch, there is an inevitable clone factor that´s impossible not to notice and comment on, and when the music on the album is also somewhat in the same vein as the music of Blind Guardian, that clone factor grows even stronger. I know this is an issue to some people, and I can´t say it´s not a slight issue to me too, but objectively seen "The Fiction Maze" is quite a fantastic power metal release, and it deserves to be judged on that merit, and not the fact that it sounds a lot like the band who most likely influenced it´s makers. Therefore a 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.