DRAGONLORD
Black Wings Of Destiny
(Escapi Music)
44:35min

Almost three years after the release of DRAGONLORD’s debut album "Rapture", mastermind Eric Peterson (guitar / vocals) proves all those critics wrong who at the time considered the band as just another superfluous side project with no real future or whatever. Next to Peterson the line-up nowadays features drummer Jon Allen (best known for his work in SADUS), guitarist Steve Smyth, bassplayer Derek Ramirez (who already played on TESTAMENT’s "Demonic" record, replacing Steve DiGiorgio) and Lyle Livingston on keyboards. "Black Wings Of Destiny" was recorded at Studio Fredman in Gothenburg, Sweden with producer Fredrik Nordstrom, a studio that (for this type of music) is without a doubt one of the premier addresses at the moment. The album kicks off with a moody intro which directly leads into the opener ‘The Curse Of Woe’, to be followed by six more own compositions and two covertunes by MERCYFUL FATE (‘Black Funeral’) and THIN LIZZY (‘Emerald’). Musically DRAGONLORD is still totally obsessed by the Scandinavian symphonic Black / Death Metal style, more varied sounding than on their debut though but still with a big reference to genre leaders DIMMU BORGIR of course. There’s a lot of traditional Metal elements to be discovered as well, especially when it comes to the harmonies in the band’s twin guitar attacks. Apart from the typical "black" vocal delivery, Peterson also incorporates some more experimental, clean passages this time, best reflected in the tracks ‘Until The End’ or towards the end of ‘Sins Of Allegiance’ and even though I could easily live without that, he definitely does a convincing job. The MERCYFUL FATE cover was successfully incorporated into the DRAGONLORD style, while the THIN LIZZY track (even though done very cool) sounds a bit out of place here. But anyway, as a whole "Black Wings Of Destiny" has become a very strong statement of symphonic blackened Metal that genre lovers shouldn’t really miss out on! More info at www.enterthedragonlord.com, www.escapimusic.com.

Frank Stöver

Frank Stöver

Related reviews / interviews:
DRAGONLORD - Rapture (Frank Stöver )

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