Press Text
Born in 1995, Drakkar is one of the prime movers of the Italian Power Metal scene, together with bands like Rhapsody Of Fire, Labyrinth and Domine. With guitarist Dario Beretta at the helm, the band published two demotapes in 1996 and 1997, which led to a deal with Dragonheart Records, a young metal label under the wing of Audioglobe, one of the biggest music distribution companies in Italy.
The debut album, “Quest For Glory” (1998) and the sophomore release, “Gemini” (2000), were well received not just in Italy, but internationally, and are nowadays regarded as prime examples of the creativity and passion of the first wave of Italian Power Metal. The third album “Razorblade God” came out in 2002 with a new line-up. The new members, including new singer Davide Dell’Orto, helped Drakkar to create an even more personal sound, incorporating some thrash and 70’s hard rock influences in the epic-power mold at the heart of the band. After such a good streak of albums, though, the band was confronted with a series of issues, both personal and musical, that forced them to slow down considerably. Their next effort would only see the light in 2007 in the form of a digital-only (which was quite rare at the time) 4 songs-EP called “Classified”, freely distributed through the band’s website.
But the real comeback would have to wait a bit more. It finally materialized in 2012, when My Kingdom Music put out “When Lightning Strikes”. Still with guitarist Dario Beretta and singer Davide Dell’Orto leading the ship, the album marked the beginning of a new era for Drakkar, as it was not only the first full-length after 10 years, but also the first collaboration between the band and producer Mattia Stancioiu (Labyrinth, Crown of Autumn and many others). The record was very successful and was followed by other two releases under the flag of MKM: “Run With The Wolf” (2015) and the EP “Cold Winter’s Night” (2018).
The band spent 2019 writing and recording a new full-length, which was supposed to be released in 2020. Come early 2020, they were ready to fire on all cylinders when… a world pandemic happened. The decision was taken to wait for 2021 to publish the new album. However, not to leave their supporters without new music, they quickly recorded a new EP called “Falling Down” which was finally released in November.
2021 saw the release of the delayed full-length: “Chaos Lord”! Once again recorded by Mattia Stancioiu at Elnor Studio, the album was a slab of pure, unapologetic heavy metal with all the trademarks of the band: powerful riffs, aggressive guitars, and singalong choruses with an epic feeling! It also marked the beginning of a new partnership for the band, which found in Punishment 18 Records the perfect label to support their efforts.
True Veterans of the Italian Power Metal scene, Drakkar have reached in 2024 the amazing milestone of publishing their seventh studio album! Three years after the critically acclaimed “Chaos Lord”, the band is back with “Spread Your Wings”: a new conceptual record, based on a novel called “Claire Voyant: Helliger Quest” which is set for release – In Italian language – at the same time as the album. Written by the Italian author Diego Delpiano and based on an original idea he conceived many years prior together with Drakkar’s guitarist and mastermind, Dario Beretta, it’s a science fiction tale about a futuristic metal band coming from an 1980s-stylized Earth colony in space, whose members end up tangled in a huge power struggle among forces they can barely comprehend. Musically, the album explores an even more 80s-based sound and feel to go with the concept, without ever coming across as dated or fully nostalgic thanks to Mattia Stancioiu’s usual powerful and very much modern production. Dario Beretta said: “Doing a concept album is always as challenging as it is rewarding. Gemini was a whole story, start to finish, in the same setting; When Lightning Strikes was a collection of tales from different eras and places, woven together into a single, cohesive narrative; this one is totally different from both. In the novel from my friend, Diego Delpiano, the first incarnation of the futuristic ‘80s power metal band called Claire Voyant is killed before they can finish their most important record to date, called – as you probably already guessed – Spread Your Wings. So, what we set out to achieve here was the creation of an album which is the real-world version of the one which is part of the narrative… Morphing, so to speak, Drakkar into Claire Voyant: a futuristic ‘80s band with an epic and tragic destiny to fulfill. It has been a very interesting process – especially writing all the lyrics from the point of view of one of the characters in the novel was, like I said, challenging and rewarding at the same time. We had a lot of fun with this record and we recommend you get the physical version to really enjoy all the little touches we put in the booklet. And, of course, read the novel, if you can read Italian!”.
On top of a fascinating chance to travel into another world, “Spread Your Wings” offers the usual trademarks of Drakkar: catchy melodies with singalong choruses, powerful riffs and epic atmospheres, with an approach that is 100% classic power metal. In an age where the label of “Power Metal” is often associated with bands that have foregone the genre’s complexities and nuance in favor of an all-out pop sensibility, Drakkar stay very much true to the roots by refusing to dumb down their compositions and oversimplify their riffs, and instead take the road of true heavy metal once more, staying with their feet in the dirt while gazing at the stars.
Artwork : Alessandro Bragalini (Ephyra, Eregion)
Mixing, Mastering, Recordings: Mattia Stancioiu at Elnor Studio (Jorn, DGM, Crimson Dawn, Labÿrinth, Sunstorm, MadHour, 3 Dreams Never Dreamt)
Distributors
- Italy: Goodfellas
- France: Season Of Mist
- UK: Plastic Head / Goodfellas
- USA and Canada: MVD
- Russia: SoundAge Productions
- Grecia and Romania: Sleaszy Rider Records
- Slovenia: On Parole
- Worldwide: Goodfellas
Tracklist
01. Thunderhead
02. Spread Your Wings
03. Knife In The Dark
04. Ode To Polaris
05. A Man In Black
06. Forged In Fire
07. Stand By You
08. Shields Of The Brave
09. Ancestral River
Line-Up
Davide Dell’Orto: Vocals
Dario Beretta: Guitar
Marco Rusconi: Guitar
Simone Pesenti Gritti: Bass
Guests musicians
Daniele Ferru (Drums), Johannes Frykholm (Keyboards), Michael Stavrakakis (Lead Vocals on “Ancestral River”)
Photos
