Maximum Metal Rating Legend

Dragonlord - “Black Wings Of Destiny” - Escapi Music -2005

Track Listing1. The Becoming Of 2. The Curse Of Woe 3. Revelations 4. Sins Of Allegiance 5. Until The End 6. Mark Of Damnation 7. Blood Voyeur 8. Fallen 9. Black Funeral 10. Emerald

Testament's Eric Peterson is a Metal heavyweight on his own due to numerous contributions to the genre with that legendary Bay Area band. Steve Smyth is also someone who continually raises the bar on what guitarists are able to do in his band Nevermore and recently the two have shown just how wide the scope of Metal delivery can be. Hot off the heels of the original lineup reunions of Testament and touring for Nevermore’s incredible release “This Godless Endeavor” the pair bring us the mighty Dragonlord. Knowing these musicians past in the Power and Traditional genres of Metal led me to anticipate something similar to what I already knew. I had no idea that it would be a journey down the roads of Black Metal and that I would enjoy it as much as I ended up doing. At a number of points the group mirrors what one can expect in the recent material by Norway’s Dimmu Borgir and that is due to Peterson’s growl reminding me so much of Shagrath himself.

Certain musical runs also hold in kind to what the Dark Norse Gods have brought to the table, but with them being one of the top acts in that form it was a welcome sound to find on this release. There are some Symphonic elements due to the keyboards and as a result Dragonlord shows not only the love of Black styling’s but inside the music a little deeper is a profound level of musicianship that shows a wider range than some others might showcase. It is a tight quartet who does not seem to lose any momentum as the record plays through. Joining Peterson and Smith is Derek Ramirez (bass), Lyle Livingston (keyboards) and Jon Allen (drums). There is such a great display of their abilities in these songs that makes them appear to be a good live lineup or at least interesting to watch in concert.

I had a number of favorite tracks on the CD with “The Becoming Of” starting me off. “Fallen” is a lightning quick number that shows Jon Allen delivering “blast beat” drumming at several sections for proper assault. I also enjoyed the moderate tempo of “Until The End” as it was a nice show that everything did not need to be sped through on the album. “Revelations” also appealed to me on a number of levels. To change it up the group also brings a couple of covers to the recording. The first is a cover of Mercyful Fate’s “Black Funeral” and despite the closeness musically it is done vocally in the Black style growling. I admit that this aspect of it did not seem to fit in my book. The other cover was a surprise in the spot on version of Thin Lizzy’s “Emerald” which was more Hard Rock than Metal even. This is a great CD and I found myself playing it a couple of times before I commented the review. It is difficult to turn off once it begins. I think there is a lot here for a lot of Metal heads to enjoy and it makes a nice side-project CD for your collection should you only want to see what Peterson and Smith have done outside of Testament and Nevermore.

Rating: 8/10


Official Website: www.EnterTheDragonLord.com

--Ken Pierce for PiercingMetal.com