Reviewed by Alex Figgis

You may remember Sweden's Modest Attraction - the spoof '70's psychedelic revival band a la Spinal Tap - whose '96 opus came-and went without so much as a ripple within the Christian hard-music scene. Well, Christian Liljegren (vocals) and Carljohan Grimmark (guitar) went on to form Narnia in the late '90s; signed to Nuclear Blast, the band's debut album 'Awakening' ('98) was very well received by fans of the genre within the mainstream market. Having toured with Dio (Rainbow/Black Sabbath), Narnia return with another gem in the form of 'Long Live The King'. Both Christian and Carljohan are joined once again by Andreas Johannson (drums), Martin Claesson (keys) and Jacob Persson (bass) to produce this winning set of well crafted and finely executed pieces of music. 'Long Live The King' boasts some powerful songs evoking positive emotions within the listener, whilst simultaneously sharing the life affirming truth of the Gospel of Christ with punching power chords, interspersed with inspiring solos and passages of progressive metal. Whilst any comparisons with other bands may be misleading at best, for those unfamiliar with this Swedish five-piece their sound is reminiscent of both Asia and Deep Purple, though it would be a mistake to label them clones of either. Refreshingly original, it is good to hear that Narnia are going from strength to strength.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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