Limb Music (2012)

For some of us who care about first impressions in metal, you can remember the snickers surrounding those cringe worthy band names that didn’t make any sense- or the cover art to match: Metal Blade’s Predator with “Easy Prey” anyone (the stalker after a scantily clad bikini beach woman)? Just when I thought Custard for a power metal band couldn’t dive any lower- these Austrians change their original moniker from 2007 The Dragonslayer Project into the unfathomable Dragony.

Now that the first sin of shame has been cast, let’s delve into the six piece’s brand of symphonic power metal on this debut album “Legends”. Tales of battlefields, dragons, elves, and swords reign supreme lyrically- along with bright keyboards, Helloween-like syncopated twin runs, and a vocalist who’s overly dramatic for his own good. Primal Fear’s Ralf Scheepers makes a guest appearance on the up tempo “Burning Skies”- but even this “Theater Of Salvation” Edguy-ish cut remains riddled with cliché melodies that follow the chord changes a little too close for comfort.

Main vocalist Siedfried Samer attempts to soar to the highest regions of his range on “Dragonslayer” but is nowhere close to the class of a Tobias Sammett or Michael Kiske. Keyboardist Georg Lorenz isn’t all flash and dash- he puts in some appropriate electric piano parts for “Vaults Of Heaven”. Thunderclouds and horseshoe steps signal the start of the 8:30 “The Longest Night”- containing the right balance of theatrical bombast and multi-layered chorus choirs along with a perfect mid-tempo gallop rhythmically.

I suppose those who love Helloween, Edguy and others in that power metal style will worship Dragony with the same amount of reverence. There are too many predictors within Dragony’s arrangement outlook to fully recommend their execution. Too average without the flash necessary to really win over my ears (aka Luca’s Rhapsody), “Legends” isn’t quite up to the veterans standards at this point of their career.

www.dragony.net
www.limb-music.com

Rating: 3 / 6

Composed by Matt Coe