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RINGLORN
Tales Of War And Magic

Steel Gallery (2025)
Rating: 5.5/10

Here’s one of those albums that bristles with nostalgia for me, simply because of its warm fantasy nature. There are yarns spun within this arena that take me back to my teenage years, more specifically the 80s when listening to heavy metal music meant adorning my school text books in sketches of band logos, swords dripping blood, bizarre mythical creatures and Lord Of The Rings inspired verse.

Okay, so an allegedly mature adult decades later the novelty of fighting fantasy metal has certainly worn off, but every now and then I get a twinge of excitement when a band emerges with an obvious taste for, as the title states, “tales of war and magic”.

This debut full-length album from Crete, Geece-based Ringlorn follows on from last year’s EP Chapter 1, although all four tracks which featured (‘Death With Honor’, ‘Ringlorn’, ‘Beautiful Witch’, ‘Warlord’) are present here alongside another four cuts: ‘Royal Guard’, ‘Ars Moriendi’, ‘Hallowed Swords’ and ‘Black Veil Of Death’.

The trio behind such an assault is vocalist Mark J. Dexter (Dexter Ward), bassist Gabriel Kouliakis and guitarist Takis Jnm, and together they’ve pieced together a vibrant and often anthemic heap of steel which Greece has become known for over the last few years. Tales Of War And Magic kicks off with the sound of a brewing storm before ‘Death With Honor’ gallops with a rather generic yet pleasant rhythm, the trio not quite as grandiose as I thought.

To an extent, the rest of the album follows suit, fluid but without any real power which is quite disappointing in the grand scheme of things. Dexter’s voice runs like a relatively deep bellow accompanied by smooth yet beguiling axe work and a general sense of the Gothic. The pace is brisk but is lowered for the mid-paced ‘Royal Guard’. Again there’s a rather safe stability to proceedings, although even with the mystical lyrics I’m underwhelmed by a sound that hints at the Teutonic alongside Manilla Road but without the intensity.

I guess at their most brooding Ringlorn serve up ‘Beautiful Witch’, which is less formulaic in its steely rumble, but it still resorts to that archetypal chest-pumping cheesiness. Even so, there is variety here. ‘Hallowed Swords’ is delightfully upbeat in its journey but again it does reach that level of cringe, as does ‘Ringlorn’, although it’s here that the band scrapes the barrel of generic power metal. Of course, the flickers of nostalgia do emerge, more so in the lyrics, but it’s far less commanding and convincing than I would’ve liked as I find myself reaching instead for my Warlord or even Riders Of Rohan albums instead.

There are still plenty of moody introductory pieces and theatre (‘Ars Moriendi’), but musically the whole drama is lukewarm, epitomised by the closing ‘Black Veil Of Death’ where again the introduction is dark in contrast to the standard fare of the music. So, this isn’t up there with a lot of the Greek bands doing the rounds, but there is still a warmth which draws you in.

Neil Arnold

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