XML FeedsToby's band of the week - Twilight Project
By Toby on Jun 3, 2010 | In Background, Features, Features, Features | Send feedback »
Right; if you thought last week's trip to France was a little bit obscure, our sojourn to Sweden today will most definitely leave you scratching your skull. And if I’m going to be honest here, I don’t really know much about the band either. My attempts at research yield next to nothing (other than they were previously known as Zaragone) and all I have to go on is the music and their name: Twilight Project.
What I do know however, is that they released a storming 4 track 12” EP in 1986 before disappearing into a sauna, never to be seen again. But what an EP it is!
It sounds typically like other Swedish/Scandi-metal material of the era - reminiscent of Silver Mountain, Yngwie and even Europe. This is probably something to do with the heavy use of keyboards, which make up large chunks of the arrangements (even coming across as quite brash in places).
The star of the show is undoubtedly guitarist Roger Ljunggren, who shines throughout, delivering some real technical wizardry. I can’t help but wonder where he is now, as he clearly is/was a talented individual. It would be a great shame if this man is not still playing guitar!
On the other hand, vocalist Claus Hernegard is certainly not the greatest singer, but his voice works very well alongside the trumpeting keyboards and shredding Ljunggren. His lyrics are a little on the clichéd side (the chorus from ‘Lord of the Rings’ - ”ride on the rainbow/fly like the wind” acts as a good example) but it all adds to the Project’s charm.
Quite frankly (as much as it pains me to say it), Twilight Project are very much in power metal (with a dollop of AOR) territory and would stand up well these days next to something like Stratovarius or Royal Hunt. So if that sounds like your bag, get hold of this long-lost gem if you can.
You can also hear low-quality audio at the brilliant Vibrations of Doom site.
As for further info; I can offer you nothing! If you have more yourself, please send it to me, particularly if anyone knows of Claus Hernegard or Roger Ljunggren. I’d be very interested in speaking to them!
Next week, I promise I’ll bring things back up to date....
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As always, you can email thoughts/insults etc to: ageoftaurus@googlemail.com
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