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│ METAL CLASSICS ARCHIVE │
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│ P R E S E N T S │
│ │
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│ + Drakkar - Razorblade God + │
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│ │
│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Information ║ │
│╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Release Date.May-22-2012 Encoder......L3.97 -V2 --vbr-new ║ │
│║ Genre........Heavy Metal Graber.......EAC ║ │
│║ Year.........2002 Khz/Bitrate..44,1/ Br ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Ripper.......anthem Songs........10 ║ │
│║ Covers.......Yes Url... Myspace ║ │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Notes ║ │
│╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Artist : Drakkar Rating : You Decide! ║ │
│║ Album : Razorblade God Label : Dragonheart ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Description : ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ http://www.myspace.com/drakkarweb/ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Drakkar is the second of three Italian bands ║ │
│║ that I bring to the review table this month. If ║ │
│║ you are interested in the Italian scene or ║ │
│║ sound, then I suggest you also check out my ║ │
│║ reviews of Doomsword and Heimdall from this ║ │
│║ month.s ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Drakkar made their debut in 1998 with their ║ │
│║ first full-length, QUEST FOR GLORY, followed by ║ │
│║ GEMINI in 2000. Both albums are of the typical ║ │
│║ Italian style, melodic and symphonic power ║ │
│║ metal, solid, though not overly impressive. ║ │
│║ Following the release of GEMINI, Drakkar ║ │
│║ underwent massive lineup changes, replacing ║ │
│║ every member of the band save for two founding ║ │
│║ members, guitarist and songwriter Dario Beretta, ║ │
│║ and drummer Christian Fiorani. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ On RAZORBLADE GOD, Drakkar take a new path ║ │
│║ separate from most of their Italian colleagues, ║ │
│║ this time playing a heavier, speedier, more ║ │
│║ aggressive, and riff-based flavour of power ║ │
│║ metal. With the new blood comes new life, ║ │
│║ including a powerful new vocalist Davide ║ │
│║ DellÆOrto, who would just as easily fit well ║ │
│║ into a classic 80s metal band, his voice having ║ │
│║ the edge that is complementary to DrakkarÆs new ║ │
│║ style.s ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ The change in DrakkarÆs style is evident from ║ │
│║ the opening riffs to the leadoff title track, a ║ │
│║ straightforward power metal track. Not leaving ║ │
│║ the symphonic element completely behind, this ║ │
│║ track features some nice synth fills courtesy of ║ │
│║ new keyboardist Corrado Solarino, as well as a ║ │
│║ fairly typical Italian catchy chorus. The style ║ │
│║ carries over through the next track, ôMan and ║ │
│║ Machineö until ôTo The Future,ö one of the best ║ │
│║ songs on the album. This song opens with a ║ │
│║ deceptive, mellow piano intro before blasting ║ │
│║ into some killer speed metal. Beretta and ║ │
│║ Solarino trade some mean guitar and keyboard ║ │
│║ solos towards the middle of this track. ║ │
│║ DellÆOrto really shines on this one, as does ║ │
│║ Daniele Persoglio with his prominent basswork. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Unlike DrakkarÆs previous two albums, RAZORBLADE ║ │
│║ GOD is not a concept album. The lyrics on this ║ │
│║ album range from the sci-fi ôMan And Machine,ö ║ │
│║ and ôThe Matrixö the voyage of Lief Erikson on ║ │
│║ ôTo The Future,ö Dante on ôThe Inferno,ö and pay ║ │
│║ homage to Tolkien on ôGaladrielÆs Song.ö Almost ║ │
│║ surprisingly, the ballad ôGaladrielÆs Songö is ║ │
│║ one of my favourite tracks on the album; the ║ │
│║ lyrics, acoustic guitar, and delicate keys ║ │
│║ creating a mournful track fitting for the Elf ║ │
│║ Queen. My other favourite track on the album is ║ │
│║ ôWitchesÆ Dance,ö which opens with a catchy bass ║ │
│║ intro before blasting into an excellent ║ │
│║ riff/synth combo to get my head banging ║ │
│║ instantaneously. Closing out the album is a very ║ │
│║ cool cover of the classic Magnum song, ôKingdom ║ │
│║ of Madness.ö ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ The production on RAZORBLADE GOD is clean, ║ │
│║ though I feel it could be crisped up a bit more ║ │
│║ in some places. Also, while the songwriting has ║ │
│║ improved considerably from the first two, I feel ║ │
│║ that a couple of the songs tend to sound the ║ │
│║ same and run together after a couple of spins. ║ │
│║ Still, this album is a huge step up for Drakkar. ║ │
│║ With hope and luck, this lineup will remain ║ │
│║ stable, and we will have more releases to come ║ │
│║ from these true Italian metallers. The packaging ║ │
│║ on the CD is very nice overall, despite being in ║ │
│║ digipak format (which I abhor), and includes the ║ │
│║ music video for ôTo The Future,ö which is a ║ │
│║ great touch. Fans of classic, speed, and power ║ │
│║ metal as well as any fan of the Italian scene ║ │
│║ would do well to check out DrakkarÆs third and ║ │
│║ strongest release. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Dario Beretta - Guitars ║ │
│║ Corrado Solarino - Keyboards ║ │
│║ Davide Dell'Orto - Vocals ║ │
│║ Christian Fiorani - Drums ║ │
│║ Daniele Persoglio - Bass ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Tracklist ║ │
│╚═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════ │
│ │
│ 01 - Razorblade God [05:23] │
│ 02 - Man And Machine [04:36] │
│ 03 - To The Future [04:49] │
│ 04 - Inferno [04:55] │
│ 05 - The Matrix [05:18] │
│ 06 - Galadriel Song [04:22] │
│ 07 - Lo Shan Shen Long Pa [05:05] │
│ 08 - The Next Generation [05:08] │
│ 09 - Witches' Dance [05:56] │
│ 10 - Kingdom Of Madness [03:37] │
│ │
│ Total Length : [49:09 minn │
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│ ╔═════════════════════╗ │
│ ║ Greetings To: ║ │
│ ╚═════════════════════╝ │
│ │
│ Too all people who contributes to make this │
│ archive of good music in a exceptional conditions │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│■ ■│
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