"There is quite a bit of room for improvement, but I must say that the band has the talent and songwriting ability to make this huge improvement a reality on their next opus. I look forward to hearing the progress the guys make."

For any of you who remember my review of Fantasy - Realm of Legends last year, that is how I concluded that review. So, why do I start my review of Fairyland - Of Wars In Osyrhia with those two sentences? As you can see by my score, this album is fantastic and will be at or near the very top of my "best of 2003" list. After the release of Realm of Legends, Fantasy changed their name briefly to Fantasia, and then to Fairyland. Of Wars In Osyrhia is the band's first official release, and it contains several songs from the Realm of Legends demo.

The two major gripes I had with the Realm of Legends demo were the almost non-existent production and the struggling vocalist. The band has addressed both areas and the changes have paid off very, very well! The old vocalist is out and ex Dark Moor vocalist Elisa Martin is in. Martin fits the style of the band like a glove and therefore injects new life into the entire album. As per the production, the demo quality production is washed away in favor of a very professional and well-balanced production for this album. Ride With The Sun was my favorite track from the demo. After an instrumental intro, Of Wars In Osyrhia kicks off with the revamped version of this song. Those of you who thought the demo version of this song was impressive will certainly be blown away now that it is well produced and sung by a talented vocalist!

Picking up where the demo left off, Fairyland still play symphonic metal with excellent songwriting that you might expect from veteran bands of the genre. The melodic orchestration is simply top notch: even giving Rhapsody a run for their money. I've listened to this album at least 30 times now, and I will dare to say that I prefer the songwriting on this album over that of Rhapsody. For sixty-four minutes, these eleven songs will engulf you into a medieval frame of mind. Even balledesque Rebirth bursts with emotion with its keen melodies and well thought orchestration. The riffing on this album is powerful, not to be overshadowed by the orchestration however. This album maintains proper balance throughout: the guitar work provides the power and energy for the songs while the orchestration add this wonderful, enchanting atmosphere. The harmony vocals are huge, putting an exclamation point on the melodies and intensity of the songs. The album go out with a bang; the epic title track which clocks in at nearly eleven minutes in which Elisa Martin turns in perhaps his best performance of the album. Each of the songs had been carefully crafted like the perfect homemade beer, and executed by four very talented musicians.

Fans of symphonic metal cannot go wrong with this album. The quality of the song structures will keep this CD in your stereo nonstop. If these guys get some promotion at all, I think they will win a lot of fans with this amazing debut.