MAGIC KINGDOM has always been a favorite of mine since the very first time I heard them. First and foremost, I really hope they get rid of the extreme 'death' vocals. They almost single handedly kill this album. I absolutely hate growling vocals on a Power Metal release. Fans of the genre like me love Power Metal precisely because of such things not being in the genre. We certainly don't love it because of the growling. This is very annoying. I hope they get rid of this new direction or I won't be able to listen to them anymore.Now that that is out of the way, how good is the album? It is great if you can get past the black Metal vocals. The songs are absolutely awesome. You get some of the fastest Power Metal possible, this side of DRAGONFORCE.

MAGIC KINGDOM manages to pull off the superfast songs without sounding gimmicky. That is something DRAGONFORCE doesn't even try to hide. They play super fast and don't care if you don't like it. MAGIC KINGDOM does the ultra fast tempo thing without sounding cliché. It simply fits the songs better. The vast majority of the album is up tempo. Exactly like a Power Metal band should be.The solos are breathtaking, especially on "Evil Magician". We are talking world class shredding here and even some keyboards soloing. The song often features some stellar harmony dual vocals, both of which are clean.

It is so good to hear Olaf Hayer again. He is the vocalist on all of Luca Turilli's solo albums. I absolutely adore both of these guys. Luca is my favorite Power Metal musician of all time. So I am very glad to hear Olaf once again. He is also the vocalist of the great DIONYSUS.

The fact that Olaf was the new vocalist for MAGIC KINGDOM is what made it so massively disappointing to hear the death growls. They simply don't fit with a vocalist of Olaf's stature. The man is legend in Power Metal circles. The genre needs more dynamic performers like him. The song topics on "Symphony Of War" are as Power Metal as they can possibly be. You get the magic, the knights, battles, quests and wizards. The production is wonderful. All the instruments can be heard. Nothing is buried in the mix. Every note is as plain as day. Aside from what I have already noted, the album is stellar. The keyboards are tastefully done, and Olaf has never sounded better. Also, Dushan Petrossi works his typical magic. He is a very talented musician responsible for so many great works of power metal; IRON MASK is another great band that he is the main member of.He also writes most of the material and IRON MASK sports his name his almost every time you see it listed.The band exists as a solo project for Dushan.

Overall, if you don't mind the dirty vocals, then you will love this album. If you are a power metal fan in part as a way to escape such things, then you will not love it. Or you won't love it as much as you would have without them. I recommend this release to all that are able to deal with death growls.