Sweden’s STYGIAN FAIR honor their country’s amazing Metal heritage with an album that will certainly please fans of Candlemass, Grand Magus, Wolf and other legendary Swedish acts.
STYGIAN FAIR lead towards a more progressive sound than some of their fellow countrymen, singer/guitarist Andreas Stoltz even has some traces of Rush’s Geddy Lee in his tones. They are mostly likely fans of the earlier Rush material and the 70’s Prog scene. Lyrically they are very accomplished as well, very interesting, deep and retrospective.
The band is extremely tight too, I would put “amazing musicianship” at the top of their accomplishments. They play in the pocket, they can change time signatures with ease and play as a cohesive unit.
What I appreciate about the band is there ability to tell stories through music and lyrics. I don’t pretend to know what each song is about, but I’m curious to learn more. It’s the sign of an album that will stand the test of time and require multiple listens to catch everything.
I tend to gravitate towards more accessible songs (probably my radio experience) so I liked the single and title track ‘Aradia’, ‘Ancient Lies’, ‘Let It Go’ and ‘Unto Oblivion’ the most. Some of the other tracks I’m going to have to keep listening to completely grasp them, and that’s a good thing! This is truly an “album” of songs that flow together brilliantly. It has the feel of a “concept” album although they I’ve seen no strong claims that it is.
I’m going to give this a solid 8/10 “Flaming Fists”. It’s strong on every level and I feel the Progressive Rock/Metal crowd will probably even rate it higher.
“Aradia” is due out on August 25th, 2023 via Rockshots Records and is available for pre-order at https://bit.ly/StygianFairAradia
Track Listing:1. Ancient Lies – 4:022. Masters of the Sea – 4:063. Aradia – 4:574. Tapping of the Vein – 3:435. Let It Go – 4:026. Panoptikon – 3:447. Unto Oblivion – 3:408. Grief Collector – 5:049. Tainted Dream – 3:2210. Devil in the Details – 4:16Album Length: 41:00
Album Credits:All songs and lyrics written by Stygian Fair.Cover art and design by Anders Hedman.The album was recorded and mixed by Nils Johansson at Ballerina Audio, Umeå.
Stygian Fair is:Andreas Stoltz: Vocals, GuitarEmil Holmqvist: GuitarAnders Hedman: BassP-O Jonsson: Drums
More info: Rockshots.eu | Facebook.com/stygianfair
