DRAKKAR – Run with the Wolf review

 DRAKKAR – Run with the Wolf

My Kingdom Music

https://www.facebook.com/drakkarmetal

DRAKKAR belong to the bands that have put the Italian metal scene in the heavy metal charts in the late 90’s. They might not be as famous as DOMINE, DOOMSWORD or RHAPSODY, but believe me they have earned a cult status in the underground scene, especially with their debut album entitled “Quest for Glory”. I admit that I am fan of the band and I have all of their studios albums so far and once again I am happy to see that they are about to release a new album.

THE COVER: It is really impressive because it looks like an oil painting and mainly uses the black and white colors. It is minimalistic you might say, but yet it is very impressive. It shows a Viking running with a wolf and it is obvious it depicts the title of DRAKKAR’s new album.

MUSICAL STYLE: If I want to be quick about it then I would say that DRAKKAR play epic power metal and this is true. The fact, though, is that the band combines many different influences in its sound that come both from traditional heavy metal and European power metal. Also in their latest releases they have surprised me pleasantly because they use keyboards that have a 70’s sound and bring to my mind bands like URIAH HEEP and DEEP PURPLE. The fact, however, is that DRAKKAR have a sound that is distinguishable and quite original.

COMPOSITIONS: The new release comes as a two CD set with the first CD having 10 new compositions and the second one 5 tracks that come from the band’s past and are re-recorded with the new line-up. Once again DRAKKAR stay faithful to their history and offer us traditional heavy/power metal with a strong epic feeling. I think that they can be compared with such bands like HEIMDALL, RUNNING WILD, IRON MAIDEN, BLIND GUARDIAN and HELLOWEEN. They also use the 70’s sounding keyboards that give a hard rock touch to their songs and this spices up a bit more the whole release. As for the re-recorded songs, they sound nice, but I prefer the original ones.

CONCLUSION: DRAKKAR play the kind of music that I enjoy to listen to as a fan and because of that they won’t disappoint their fans. Being a fan of the band I have to say that I have enjoyed the album and it might not be as great as their first 2 releases, but yet it is good and I think that every fan of epic heavy/power metal will enjoy it.

Nick “Verkaim” Parastatidis