The Fiction Maze
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17 January 2014 (EU)
21 January 2014 (US)
| The Fiction Maze | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 25 December 2013 (JP) 17 January 2014 (EU) 21 January 2014 (US) | |||
| Recorded | Garageland Studios, Umeå (rhythm guitars, mixing)[1] | |||
| Genre | Power metal | |||
| Length | 52:43 | |||
| Label | Inner Wound Recordings | |||
| Persuader chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metal Temple |   [2] |
| The Monolith | [3] |
| Sputnikmusic |   [4] |
| Sound Scape | [5] |
| Hollywood Metal | [6] |
| Hard Rock Heaven | [7] |
| Powermetal.de | [8] |
The Fiction Maze is the fourth studio album by Swedish power metal band Persuader.[9] The band describes the album as "the perfect mix of everything we've done so far, expanded on the Persuader sound while keeping the core that is the band" and "a beast of an album, the true pinnacle of our career so far."[10] In an interview with Swedish newspaper Västerbottens-Kuriren, Emil noted that the album is "a little more aggressive and a little heavier" than their previous work.[11] The album is Persuader's first release in seven years.
On 11 September 2013, Persuader announced they had signed with Inner Wound Recordings.[10]
The album experienced multiple delays in its recording and anticipated release date. The band had been working on the album since at least May 2008,[12] and cites personal lives and work with Savage Circus and other projects,[13] as factors in the repeated delays.
In an interview with HighWire Daze, Efraim explains the theme behind the album:
The maze idea can be applied to most of the lyrics, but it's not necessary a concept album. The idea is that finding the real truth in things, whether it's in religion, the news on TV or your own mindset can be like finding your way through a labyrinth.[14]
Recording
According to Persuader's studio blog, the album has been recorded in multiple locations, one of which was described as "an old haunted house just by the shore of the mighty Kvarken... It's cold, dark and pretty filthy so the ambience for the new album is set."[15]
On the band's previous two albums, Piet Sielck of Iron Savior contributed backing vocals. For this album however, the band decided to have Emil and Efraim do the backing vocals. The result, according to the band, is a rawer sound compared to their previous two records.[16] Previews were released on the band's studio diary. "Son of Sodom's" working title was "Behemoth", and is a heavier track.[17] "Deep In the Dark" shows "a bit softer and atmospheric side of Persuader."[18]