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It's been something like 11 years since I checked out anything new by Freedom Call – at the time their second album, Crystal Empire. With a name like Land of the Crimson Dawn, I was expecting more fantasy-themed stuff from beginning to end, but it turns out that this album is – for the most part – a massive cheese-fest, and a fun one at that. You have some of the expected fantasy-themed stuff such as the title track, but what really caught my attention on this one are the more "party metal" tracks that can be found here.

Songs such as "Rockstars", "Hero on Video", "Rockin' Radio" and "Power + Glory" have a strong 80s vibe to them, sounding thematically like crossover "party-ish" stuff, while musically mixing a bit of hard rock, classic Heavy Metal and even a little hint of glam, all blended together with a Power Metal sauce for an insanely catchy result. "Hero on Video" could have fit on the bastard child of Def Leppard's Pyromania and Hysteria – very melodic and catchy, but with enough of a metal-ish edge to save your virtue if you get caught listening to it.

Other than that, this is not unlike the Freedom Call that I remembered (having spun Stairway to Fairyland a few times recently) – very happy, "spirit-lifting", polished Power Metal that packs enough crunch in its guitars to keep this metaller interested. Land of the Crimson Dawn is a lot more varied thematically and musically and the band's accumulated experience is audible. It's been a while since I had this much fun listening to an album, and the positive vibe sure came at a good time. ;) You won't catch me dead blasting this in my car while driving around the city, the cheese factor is too much off the charts, but at work or at home this one can brighten a gloomy day.