Swedish symphonic power metallers DRAGONLAND have completed work on their fifth album for a late 2011 release via Germany’s AFM Records. Several different studios were used to track this utterly ambitious CD, with Jacob Hansen adding his magic touch to the mix at Hansen studios in Ribe, Denmark. Twelve songs were recorded during the sessions, and the music itself is based on a deep and emotional story, picking up where the band’s second album, “Holy War”, left off nine years ago. The effort also includes a guest appearance by the legendary musical stage actor Fred Johanson.

Commented DRAGONLAND guitarist Olof Mörck: “After ‘Astronomy’, we knew we needed to explore our music further not to risk becoming a band that releases music every year cast in the same mold, so the idea from the beginning was: what would it be like with a metal album based in fantasy that respects the literary genre, that actually tries to be mature and that enriches said fantasy world with inspiration from millenias of human mythology?

“To make a neoclassical album filled with overly bombastic clichés of steel clad warriors was out of the question — instead we explored the themes and sounds around various fantasy movies, new and old, and also countless computer RPG soundtracks to infuse the musical aspect with a genuine fantasy feel, and as previously stated, heaps and stacks of tomes on every mythological tale from Gilgamesh to the Aeneid provided a genuine and credible backdrop to the story.

“The album is genuinely a concept album in every aspect, and we will collaborate with some truly gifted artists who are experts in this genre to bring our world to life visually.

“Prepare yourself to be engulfed in a world of enchanting phantasy and songs of swirling magic later this year!”

Songtitles set to appear on the new album incude “The Tempest”, “A Stranger I Know”, “The Shadow Of The Mithril Mountains” and “A Thousand Towers White”.

Source: Blabbermouth.net

“The Shadow of the Mithril Mountains” full-length demo: