Fairytales and Reality is the third album of the Scandinavian/German band Dionysus. The Greek God (Dionysus) is also commonly known by his Roman name: Bacchus (cheers ). The band members are no strangers in the hardrock/metal-scene; singer Olaf Hayer is well known as the vocalist of Luca Turilli’s (Rhapsody) solo albums, keyboard player Kaspar Dahlqvist already backed up artists like Yngwie Malmsteen, Ronny Milianowicz was drummer in Sinergy, guitarist and bassist Johnny Öhlin and Nobby Noberg both played in Nation. In 1999 Milianowicz founded the band, it proved to be a real band with a solid line up in the past few years. One thing is for sure the sound on Fairytales and Reality is outstanding, a great production. The music is best described as melodic hard rock with influences of Malmsteen, Europe and Rhapsody. All these influences do not surprise me at all considering the projects that some musicians participated in. When I put the CD in my cd-player I was totally surprised; I thought was listening to Iron Maiden.

The comparison with the Maiden song Brighter than a thousand Suns of the album A Matter of Life and Death (2006) and the intro of Illusion Of Life is remarkable; as the song continues it is obvious that it isn’t Maiden but Dionysus. The songs on Fairytales and Reality are very melodic, singer Olaf Hayer sounds sometimes like Joey Tempest (Europe), they both have a great, crystal clear and powerful voice; listen to Spirit, I like it. Instrumentally these guys really know their job; the guitar and keyboard solos are reminding me of Mr. Malmsteen, fast and melodic. Most of the songs are great hard rock songs, sometimes up-tempo (The Orb, The World and True at Heart) then again slowing down (Spirit). My favorite songs are Illusion of Life, Blinded and The End. Conclusion: Fairytales and Reality of Dionysus is a great hard rock album, with superb sound, great solos and a singer with a marvelous sound. The songs are of a high level, there are no minus points.