[spoiler]  Gloryhammer have mastered the art of pulling themselves in two directions at once. Space 1992: Rise Of The Chaos Wizards is poncier, sillier, and more deliciously absurd than Tales From The Kingdom Of Fife, and yet it simultaneously pushes itself to expound and improve upon the power metal formulas majestically lampooned on the debut. Anyone familiar with Christopher Bowes’s work (not only Alestorm, but asdfgfa, Gaylord Tennis, and his very sophisticated, high-society Christmas album) knows that there is no distinction between the larky send-up and the serious effort for him. These guys will gallivant across all corners of ludicrousness, but they will never half-ass it. It’s all systems go for Thomas Winkler Angus McFife XIII, who truly unleashes his vocal fire on this album, especially in “Hollywood Hootsman”; his unflappable war cry puts legions of competitors to shame. On top of that, insignificant though it may be, I absolutely must point out that the selection of words and syllables for the chorus of “Rise Of The Chaos Wizards” is extraordinarily aesthetically pleasing. People tend to discount the importance of language in the overall impact of a song, but those are some very well-chosen phonemes, let me tell you.As the legendarily fantastic single “Universe On Fire” indicates, this album incorporates some more “techno-friendly” elements – and by that I just mean a larger, more interesting, and occasionally more experimental keyboard presence. After all, you can’t have a mighty, epic war set in space without some futuristic sound effects to accompany it. It even finishes with a soothing ambient piece. Ordinarily I would call it an outro, but at four-and-a-half minutes, a spacey Enya blanket is no longer a set piece; it’s just a short ambient song. Fans who were discouraged by the robotic, modernized sheen of “Universe On Fire” may rest assured that Space 1992 follows closely and gloriously the glorious standards of power metal glory, but should nonetheless reconsider their false opinions about that song.I’ll not go so far as to say that Space 1992 is a major improvement over Tales From The Kingdom Of Fife, because you can only do so much to make better what was already pretty kickass to begin with. At the moment, I still think it edges out its predecessor, but no matter; what we have here is a duology of fierce power, mind-melting melody, and genuinely intriguing mythology that is somehow unique and gripping in its ultra-clichéd stupidity. [/spoiler]