NARNIA – X

vote
7.0

• Bands:
  NARNIA
• Duration: 00:42:41
• Available from: 05/29/2026

Narnia reach the tenth studio album of their career and choose a very simple “X” as the title. The Swedish band maintains its Christian inspiration as always, with lyrics that flaunt more than ever references to the Bible or to the figure of Jesus, while the style tends to seem a little more homogeneous compared to the latest releases, focusing on neoclassical metal with evident traits of Swedish hard rock and even some use, albeit sporadic, of Hammond.

We have always referred, in the past, to the skill of the musicians, but this time we must necessarily dedicate a special mention to the guitarist and leader of the band, Carl Johan Grimmark, really in great form, both with his sharp riffs and his stupendous solos; Also worth highlighting is the work of keyboard player Martin Harenstam, certainly not flashy in his performances, but truly an added value with reference to the extraordinary ability of the Swedish band to create atmospheres capable of capturing exciting passages of great intensity.
The songs are quite captivating from the first listens and show that they find a good compromise between power and melody: among these, for example, “Heaven's Calling” stands out, as well as “Walk On Water”, which with its choirs made us think a little of Shadow Gallery, while “Every Breath” is a piece with a strong Rainbow flavor.
We also note the presence, at the end of the tracklist, of a reference to “The War That Tore The Land”, a song included in “From Darkness To Light” of 2019, of which this represents a hypothetical continuation, with the solo being reprised in particular; finally, a second part of “The Man From Nazareth” is also proposed, a song from the 2006 album “Enter The Gate”, although, to be honest, this revival does not seem to equal the first, at least in terms of the structure of the song and the ability to excite.

In general, perhaps some driving pieces capable of standing out in the setlist are missing, but we can say that, once again, Narnia have created a classy album, with songs full of grit and passion, although at the same time imbued with that veiled but typical slightly melancholic Scandinavian vein, which gives the songs a particular and fascinating effect.
A record therefore that all in all is not essential compared to releases of the genre, but which certainly carries forward with conviction and credibility the tradition and name of this band, capable over the years of having created a very respectable discography.