I’ve always have a love of Metal in the sounds of
Progressive, Symphonic, Doom, and Power. As a geek, combining between the music
of Symphonic, Prog, and Power along with the elements of Fantasy and Swords and
Sorcery, it is a perfect match and the music as well. And one of the
bands that I’ve always enjoyed is Italian Progressive Power Metal band, Dragonhammer. This year, they have reissued
their debut album released 14 years ago called, The Blood of the Dragon along with their follow up, Time for Expiation. The first album sold 6,000 copies and it’s
still one of the mind-blowing debut of a band who can take it into a higher
level.
With their debut album, it is a new edition featuring a new
digital treatment including a new artwork done by Antonio Pannuilo, and the
music itself is still amazing to capture the essence and the beginning of
Dragonhammer’s music as they were just beginning. The opening track, Legend, has these amazing touches
between a sing-along anthem, power chords and riffs, and not to mention Alex
Valdabrini’s mind-blowing keyboard solo thrown in to give it a perfect
introduction to the start the album off with a bang.
It’s War begins
with the effects of the battlefield with thunder, screams, laughter, and
slaughter as it segues into Dragonhammer.
It has a beat per measure of 159
featuring some rapid guitar and drum beats done by Max Aguzzi and Milko Morelli.
But it’s Aguzzi’s voice that not only just plays the guitar in rhythm and lead,
he also sings as well. He sings in the styles of Blind Guardian’s Hansi Kurch
as if he is paying tribute to him.
There is also an intense midsection that Max does to give it
the scenario of what’s happening that is like a movie inside your mind to give
that scenery of the battlefield between good and evil. The sing-along
compositions always come in handy for the audience to follow with the band to
give it their all and mighty and its evidential on the booming and angelic
sounds on You Kill while they go into
a mid-fast tempo on the rhythm section and the keyboards on Black Sword before both guitar and
keyboard go at it a duel as if it’s a battle to see who will win.
But then, Dragonhammer go into the headbanging mode for the
listener to really get into the mood for as the fight to the death begins as
the war is starting for the music go into the action, drama, and the tempo as
Aguzzi goes into his guitar styles of Iron Maiden, Brian May, and the duo
guitars and Valdabrini. And the duel between them is spellbinding to see who
will make it and win, but they are winners on Blood in the Sky.
The two bonus tracks is their live performances they did
last year in Barcelona and in Rome in which they were on their European tour
with Freedom Call and you can tell the audiences were in amazed and being in
awe of what they have experienced as they performed Dragonhammer and Scream. Dragonhammer
have really come along way and having a blast of listening to their debut album
around six times now, I am still blown away of their music and its majestic,
stunning, intense, and incredible at the same time.
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