AXENSTAR: Chapter VIII

Release year: 2023
Label: Inner Wound Recordings

Power metal is one of those genres I usually don’t give the time of day to. I had a brief stint in the late 90’s and early noughties, when I dabbled into the genre, but quickly discovered it wasn’t my cup of tea. I think that in my entire music collection, there’s one power metal artist and two of their CD’s: Sonata Arctica, whose debut album Ecliptica is brilliant, and the following minialbum Successor features the superior first version of San Sebastian. But apart from that, power metal and I have best gotten along by keeping a safe distance between us.

And yet, here we are. Axenstar from Sweden are definitely power metal, to the point of cliché. Less than surprisingly, Chapter VIII is album number eight for the Swedes, and considering they’re tightly ensconced within the power metal scene, never having broken out to a wider audience, I think we can safely say we’re dealing with a deep excursion into hostile territory for yours truly.

But sometimes it’s good to go out of your comfort zone. And truth be told, already for a while I’d been hankering to listen to some good old, cheesy and clichéd power metal. Just for the heck of it. So when I found this album in my promo email folder, I was quick to jump at it. Good, bad, whatever – it was just the thing to quench that thirst.

Right from the start, it is obvious that Axenstar is Power Metal with a capital P and a capital M. They don’t hide the fact that all the clichés, all the conventions and all the traditions of the genre are their musical core. And at the same time, they feel sort of retro: I can well imagine an album sounding exactly like this on all fronts having been released in the late 90’s.

Surprisingly, I find this mostly to be a draw for myself. Yes, in being clichéd and conventional, Chapter VIII doesn’t offer one iota of originality. But in being so honestly what they are, Axenstar are kind of endearing. From the first track on the album, Heavenly Symphony, onwards, Axenstar play with an open hand.

In other words: speedy galloping tempos, soaring synths, heroic guitar melodies, and vocals that fly high as an eagle. Sparkling twin guitars. Choruses with that catchy pop-mentality. The whole nine yards from the cookie cutter power metal canon.

Safe to say, if you get a rash from power metal, you will get a rash from Axenstar. If generic power metal has lost its appeal to you, Axenstar won’t have much of interest in store. But, on the other hand, if you never got over that rush of the first time you heard Rhapsody and imagined brandishing a magic sword in a magic fantasy land as a magic fantasy hero, then… well, Axenstar is safe, easy and snug. And very likely up your alley, at least for a few spins’ worth.

You see, beneath the lack of originality and the almost total adherence to all the conventions and traditions of heroic power metal, Axenstar ply their craft with a certain sense of taste. Maybe it’s a bad taste, at least if you think generic power metal is in bad taste, but it’s a style appropriate bad taste. And certainly, there’s no lack of the musical chops required to create and play power metal of this style. From the energetic riffwork to the typically high vocals of Magnus Winterwild, Axenstar get a good grade as far as technical proficiency goes.

I find myself surprised at how much I enjoyed listening to this album. “Let’s pick a random, generic power metal album by a random generic power metal band”, I thought, “I probably won’t like it, but whatever.” And here I find myself wondering if I haven’t committed a mindcrime towards the entire genre all this time. Or maybe age has given me a certain ability to appreciate the fun and appeal in this sort of cheesy metal. (And undeniably, it is a bit cheesy.)

Because, yes, I truly enjoy Chapter VIII. I recognize the album is generic and unoriginal and probably therefore of somewhat passing interest for more dedicated power metal aficionados. But for someone like me, who can’t even say he occasionally dabbles into the genre, this is fun.

I might have to pick more power metal albums from the promo downloads folder in the future. Listening to music like this… well, it puts me in a good mood.

Visit Axenstar on their official website, Bandcamp or Facebook