Having a great singer is beneficial to any band, unless that singer to no fault of his own sounds a lot like another popular singer. For years, Persuader has often been written off as a poor man’s Blind Guardian due to Jens Carlsson’s uncanny vocal resemblance to Hansi Kürsch. Personally, I would say this is the wrong way to approach the music of the Swedish band. Despite all the resemblances, the Swedes do have a sound of their own, which especially comes across during the heavier and more aggressive moments. These seem to be quite plentiful on their fourth album ‘The Fiction Maze’.

While I cannot truthfully say that Persuader sounds nothing like Blind Guardian, they have always had a sound that was a little more modern and aggressive. It is remarkable how swiftly Persuader often shifts from Blind Guardian soundalikes in their higly melodic choruses to a relatively bombastic modern metal band with a singer who sounds like Hansi Kürsch in the verses. To their credit, Persuader has been trying to move away from that contemporary power metal sound by incorporating melodeath elements on ‘When Eden Burns’ and almost Nevermore-ish riffing on ‘The Fiction Maze’, though I have no idea how deliberate this is.

Upon release ‘The Fiction Maze’ kind of misled me, because opening track ‘One Lifetime’ is a bit too tame for its own good. It’s a decent, catchy track, but the album does not start proper for me until the melancholic, yet aggressive tones of ‘War’ start, one of the best tracks on the album. For the next forty-odd minutes, the band makes its way through a dynamic mix of uptempo aggressive tracks and darker, somewhat more atmospheric midtempo tracks. Downtuned guitars are more prominent than usual on a power metal record, but Persuader is more creative and varied with them than average.

The faster tracks are the ones with the most immediate impact. ‘InSect’ and ‘Sent To The Grave’ are some of the band’s thrashiest post-‘Evolution Purgatory’ moments, while the title track may just have the best riff work on the album outside of ‘War’. The particularly aggressive, yet melodic ‘Falling Faster’ is a great closer. On the darker side of the spectrum, ‘Heathen’ is probably the most surprising track. While Persuader’s arrangements are generally busy, their compositions are hardly as complex and multi-faceted as that track. ‘Son Of Sodom’ is another excellent mid-tempo track with a semi-symphonic arrangement, though it would work equally well without the subtle synths.

My advice would be to approach any Persuader album with an open mind. Sure, their choruses and Carlsson’s voice will occasionally bring to mind Blind Guardian, but at the same time, Persuader is far more aggressive overall than Blind Guardian ever was. And unlike on many albums of the latter, you don’t have to be afraid of the bombastic elements drowning out Emil Norberg’s and Daniel Sundbom’s guitars. Persuader is first and foremost a metal band. And a really good one too. Highly recommended to those who like the aggression of thrash metal, but also the melodic touches of power metal.

Recommended tracks: ‘War’, ‘The Fiction Maze’, ‘Sent To The Grave’