Dragonlord - Black Wings Of Destiny
- Released: 2005
- Label: Escapi Music
- Rating:
It seems that Eric Peterson got bored during Testament’s long hiatus. Four years ago he got an all-star cast together to record what would be an amazing piece of black/thrash metal. Along with his bandmates Steve Smyth (Nevermore), Steve DiGiorgio(Borknagar), and Jon Allen (Sadus) released Rapture, which not only blew me away but also helped me reunite with my estranged father.
Now they’re back for round two, and what a follow-up it is! DiGiorgio is now gone, but in his place is Derek Ramirez (ex-Testament). I must say, I never thought this band would release a second album; even more unbelievable is that it’s actually good. I put Dragonlord off as just another temporary side project to quench somebody’s thirst. I guess Dragonlord is here to stay and that’s a good thing.
Eric put this band together because of his love for black metal. Listening to this album it must be symphonic black metal because Black Wings Of Destiny has many more symphonic elements in it than Rapture did. The music on here is much different than their debut; it has more of an European sound radiating from it. Trust me when I say that this is as good as anything that comes outta there.
The riffs are cold, grim and are backed by some incredibly dark keyboard melodies that add so much to the music. The dark atmosphere is established right from the start and adds that much more to this awesome album. I can also hear that they haven’t fully abandoned their thrash metal roots, as some of the riffing is pure thrash, and that’s always good.
Every single track is progressive too. It never stays in one place for too long and always has more than one thing to offer the listener. The opening track, “The Curse Of Woe,” is a wonderfully epic piece with incredibly dark melodies playing in the back-ground and is followed by “Revelations,” which features a murderous riff and grim feel but progresses into something so much more than just your basic black metal track. The following tracks show a habit of starting off epic and majestic, but as you listen, they turn into something raw and brutal or vice versa.
I have to say that I love the misanthropic nature of these lyrics, but then again, I guess every black metal band has lyrics like these. I don’t know why, but these just do it for me. They just go along with the atmosphere to make it that much darker. Lyrics consist mainly of the end of the world and Satan, but are written with class.
The vocals are a hit and miss for me. Erik handles the vocal duties and he has a damn good black metal shriek. It sounds like your usual blackened shriek, but with a touch more power behind it. I would like to here more diversity either through growls or whispering or something; it gets just a little grating listening to the same damn shriek in the same damn fashion over and over again. There are clean vocals used, but they fail miserably for me. I just don’t like Erik’s clean vocals, it’s weak and sort of whiny. In conclusion…they get the job done.
The production must also be commented on. Peterson did a bang up job getting this sound perfect. The drumming, the keyboards and even the bass are all perfectly audible and sound crystal clear. And the riffs? Fucking awesome.
A lot of people may be asking if it’s better than their debut. Honestly, I enjoyed this slightly more, although its sound is different. Despite a few shortcomings, this album is still a great piece of music. If you enjoyed their debut, or are just a fan of good symphonic black metal, you should have this album in your collection. If not you will be spat on by everyone you meet until you die. You don’t want to be spat on…do you?
Link: enterthedragonlord.com
Brent C. | 07/05/2006