Drakkar – Cold Winter’s Night

[schema type=”review” name=”Drakkar – Cold Winter’s Night” description=”Label: My Kingdom Music” author=”Imppu Karila” pubdate=”2018-04-27″ ]

Drakkar is a Power / Heavy Metal quintet spreading mayhem from Milan, Italy. Their history dates back to 1995 but for some reason they never surfaced to me until I got listening to their latest EP: Cold Winter’s Night, which gives us a total of 4 tracks, of which one is a live one.

Three years have passed since the Italian quintet released their previous album, Run with the Wolf (2015). Sadly, I didn’t get into it before writing this review so I can’t tell what direction they’ve ventured after that but I was eager in making the band a new acquaintance.

The first song of the EP is a calm and a melodic one, which lulls the listener into a tranquil serenity with a piano intro, hinting of us getting to hear a ballad. A moment after a guitar lead joins the piano and we have a true power metal intro into the first verse. The verse is a calm once more, which perfectly gives room for Davide Dell’Orto’s powerful voice and I’m awestruck! It doesn’t surprise much that the guitar lead returns in the chorus but the C- and solo sections stirs it up with some progressive vibes and a rock organ, which I believe to giving a nod towards 70’s Hard/Havy Rock.

“Black Sails” have a more rocking attitude with an inviting chant to begin with: Black sails! First verse begins soon after and this time it’s more straightforward with riffs, that reminds of early Hammerfall. Fast paced with action, this is set a real killer when played live and I’ll be really disappointed if I don’t get to pump my fists up in the air while shouting ‘black sails’ from the bottom of my lungs. This is a real good-mood-track and now I’m really waiting to hear more of them, as I realize there’s only one new track lefft.

Like every time, the good must end sometimes and it ends to the heaviest and most aggressive track of this EP: Leviathan Rising (Death from the Depths, Pt. 1). The song is most like the latest full album and it’s loaded with some aggressive guitar & double bass groove without any frills around it and sadly the anti-climax of the EP. While mr. Dell’Orto has a voice suited to the music, it alone isn’t enough to keep up the intrest especially after a pair of melody-filled songs. The C-part flirts with Iron Maiden, trying to balance all the crunch with some melodies but they’re still not quite enough to save the game.

Finally, we get a live version of Invincible, which originally was released on the 2015’s album: Run with the Wolf. The song itself is a melodic and catchy with simple melodies and something you could easily enjoy hearing at a festival on a warm summer day. For me, live albums and versions of songs have never been a thing so I don’t really have much to say about it. Maybe it was only added as a filler?

Overall, we get some pretty solid metal, from a band which gives us a combination of styles. An appetiser that leaves a desperate hunger for a new album, this EP got me hooked and lifted my hopes up high in getting more of that perfectly executed melodic metal.

Line-up:
Dario Beretta – Guitars
Davide Dell’Orto – Vocals
Emanuele Laghi – Keyboards
Simone Pesenti Gritti – Bass
Daniele Ferru – Drums
Marco Rusconi – Guitars

01. Cold Winter’s Night 02. Black Sails 03. Leviathan Rising (Death from the Depths – part 1) 04. Invincible (live)

Links:
Drakkar Facebook