A Grove of Ashes and Aspens

Now Playing: The Endless Night by Hans & Valter

So I enjoy some good cheesy symphonic power metal. (I am, after all, a Twilight Force fan.) However, I’m also a low baritone singer. So when I was informed (via this Reddit comment and this further reply some months later) that there was a new Twilight Force esque band with low baritone vocals with a debut album on the horizon, I was all over that.

Now exactly how cheesy is their music? See inspired by Twilight Force. That should tell you all you need to know about the levels of cheese you should be ready to experience. The main tracks are interspersed with some narration tracks as well that are also part of the story, and I think that’s very cool.

For a bit of info on the band themselves, Hans & Valter is a symphonic power metal band out of Sweden. The band is composed of Hans III (Liam Strand) on vocals and keytar (objectively one of the funniest instruments ever), Valter (Oskar Heikkinen) on drums, Dark Lord Renius (Olle Renius) on guitars, Questlord Sean (Victor Ersson) on costumes and backing vocals, and The Narrator (Alexandra Pettersson) doing costumes and narration, along with Findus Pettersson credited as “cat” under the title of “A Demon Spawn.” (Findus is just about the cutest demon spawn you ever done did see.)

Now that we have that established, onwards to the album proper.

The Legend of the Oakensource is an introduction to the following track and the album as a whole. It sets up the whole idea of lore within the universe of the band, and ancient stories of heroes. The way it’s told also kind of feels like you’re a traveller coming to a tavern or something, and there’s just something in my little nerd soul that absolutely adores that.

Land of the Free was the first single of the album and the debut single of the band as a whole. Immediately, it shows the capacity for a more proper lower baritone range to sound really cool over some symphonic power metal, which can be hard to come by. It’s just a fun power metal track.

The King’s Call is a narration track, establishing the plight of the Flour King, who needs heroes to come to his aid. It also serves fun way to introduce the next song.

Warriors Without a Quest is a song more directly about the heroes themselves, as well as hinting at why the Flour King needs their help. Acting as backstory for the titular characters of the band, it makes backstory actually feel fun, which can be tricky to do.

A Dark Road is another narration track, introducing some of the tension of this first arc within the Hans & Valter musical universe. It brings in the idea that maybe our titular heroes aren’t actually the chosen ones, and that maybe there’s more to the story than we thought. (Because, as Brandon Sanderson taught us through Kelsier, there’s always another secret.)

In the Name of the Oak brings a slightly darker, melancholic sound to the album in the verses, balancing out some of the lighter and more traditionally power metal upbeat sound of previous tracks. It still has some of that lightness, but it’s definitely a little more balanced as a track. It tells of our heroes trying to invoke the Oakensource, but not knowing how, and worrying because the quest they were given can’t delay. The plot thickens.

The Scene of Life is the final narration track of the album, describing the sticky situation in which the heroes find themselves. It is darker, more somber. It serves to introduce the final chapters of this story, including how the heroes come to saving the realm.

The Stranger is far more somber with a piano introduction, being the tale of Hans and Valter finding Questlord Sean. It then comes to a more epic sound expected from symphonic power metal, as a way to continue the story. It serves as a beacon of hope for the story, the turn from a low point and a way forward. However, it does foreshadow that maybe the efforts of this band of heroes were in vain, unsure of what’s to come next.

The Endless Night is the end of this particular arc, split into four sections. The first section is on the side of approaching frantic, as the Endless Night, the feared event comes to pass, despite the best efforts of the heroes. They then approach the Dark Lord in a series of fights, with Questlord Sean as their only hope. Section 2 brings in the taunts from the Dark King. Here, the three heroes fall to the might of Dark King Renius, and all hope seems lost, leading into the much sadder, more ballad-like section 3. This section, eventually accompanied by a saxophone solo of all things, is sort of the traditional “revelation” or “ordeal” of sorts, if we’re using the Hero’s Journey as a model here. (I know I’m just randomly throwing this in here seemingly out of nowhere, but I couldn’t think of any other way of describing it, work with me here.) This section is the brilliant comeback, rising again to defeat Dark King Renius once and for all, leading into the final section, which tells the story of the final blow that wins the day and the end of this arc of the story. As a 10 minute long song, it can seem quite daunting to anyone who doesn’t usually listen to symphonic power metal. (Or bands like Elvenking.) However, it works beautifully for the story, and it doesn’t feel like there’s a moment wasted throughout. It feels vaguely reminiscent of Twilight Force’ Blade of Immortal Steel in the way it’s set up structurally, but with this band’s unique spin on the genre and sound. (It also doesn’t help that I tend to enjoy long songs that tell a story, but we can ignore that for right now.)

Now, the last song, Hefleth the Pirate, is the one song that isn’t technically a part of this arc. But consider that this is a band that Has Lore. If you know anything about me, you know I love a band that Has Lore. This song got a music video with the release of the album, and at the end of that music video, we got a very special announcement: the story of the Hans & Valter Musical Universe continues next spring. So this leaves a few possibilities. Is Hefleth, the titular pirate of the song, the villain of the next arc? Is it going to be something to do with his ship that sunk and cursed him? Why is The Stranger his mortal enemy? What happened? We want answers! (We will get them eventually.)

Anyway, as an album overall, this is cheesy as all hell and I love it. There is definitely a bit of that Twilight Force flavour in there, but it’s also done in a very unique way that I enjoyed thoroughly. I’m excited for whatever these guys have planned for the spring of 2026. I get the sense it’s gonna be good, if this debut album is anything to go by.