The band with the strange name
Dragonhammer is a newcomer on the Italian scene, Time For Expiation being their second effort.
According to the promotional information, this band is different from the rest of the Italian scene, offering operatic vocals, classically inspired keyboard work and fast drums. Well, in a world where this is standard -especially in the Italian scene- I have a hard time seeing how this is new or special?
Well, not only is this typical Italian Power Metal, it is also of the watered down, predictable and standardised kind.
Vocalist
Max Aguzzi, who bears strong similarities to Olaf Hayer (Dionysus, Luca Turilli) is a good singer, but oh boy, does he sound uninspired. His performance is without any spark of fire, like stripped down talent, without any suit of integrity or enthusiasm!
The music is faultlessly performed, polished and seems arranged and written after some scheme, offering no room for any kind of artistic freedom or something as dangerous as thinking just a little outside the box.
Sometimes this can actually work, in my opinion, if it's spiced up with cool details or performed with raging energy, but with Dragonhammer, the result is sterile, generic and lacks intensity.
Time For Expiation is not talentless in any way. The singer is clearly capable of the job, the musicians are technically good, and the keyboard and guitar work even shines momentarily, with it's bombastic undertones and neoclassical influences.
The problem is, that the songwriting is so generic, the performance seem uninspired, and the record as a whole comes across as very tame and without visions to me.
The tempo is pretty slow (now, I think compared to the bands I would say these guys are otherwise comparable to, like Stratovarius, Sonata Arctica, Rhapsody, etc.), the drums appear as extremely monotonous, and the same parts are repeated over and over for what seems an eternity.
The album starts with an intro, followed by
Eternal Sinner, which starts out somehow promising - fast-paced, harmonic melody, catchy refrain, all sounds fine. But after a few minutes, the song has nothing more to offer, but to repeat a few of it's parts and throw in a bit of keyboard and guitar parts.
And the boredom sets in.
Believe is one of the record's worst songs. Unimaginative, with it's slow tempo, stretched out chorus and overly monotonous feel, only abrupted by few halfway interesting keyboard and guitar harmonies.
Fear Of A Child is probably the best song here. A little more heaviness in the rhythm department, and fine work behind the keyboard. The melody works, the chorus is all right, and everything seems a bit more diverse. A fine dual keyboard/guitar lead is present as well, and this one just passes the test.
The titletrack is, together with
Fear Of A Child, the only two song I'd say I like. A little more drive in here, than in general on the record, and a somehow captivating melody.
Though not a terrible record, you could use your hard earned money on a lot of better things. Being technically able to perform and having a few interesting parts is just not good enough, with so much great music out there.
These guys can play, now is the time to concentrate on coming up with a few interesting musical ideas, or at least spice it all up with a bit of enthusiasm.
Written by
Nina Wednesday, September 22, 2004
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