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Hic Svnt Dracones

    
       
       
       
     
             
Dragony are a symphonic power metal band from Austria, formed in 2007 as The Dragonslayer Project, changing their name to Dragony three years later and releasing five albums to date - 'Legends', (2011), 'Shawdowplay' (2015), 'Masters Of The Multiverse' (2018), 'Viribus Unitis' (2021), and 'Hic Svnt Dracones'...    
             
...emerging in 2024 featuring eleven new gems in the Austrian bands arsenal! The six-piece band from Vienna have been on an upward trajectory for the last few years following the success of the bands 2018 album - international tours supporting bands such as Gamma Ray and Serenity, along with appearances at some of the worlds biggest metal festivals, Wacken Open Air, Masters Of Rock and 70,000 Tons Of Metal to name just a few. And now the band are back to pulverise listeners, fans and followers with more dramatic symphonic power metal, Dragony's new album fifty minutes of majestic elegance - the one and a half minute instrumental 'From The New World (1584)' setting a highly epic and anticipative atmosphere ready for 'Dreamchasers' to come barrelling down the Alps at pace with a tonne of gusto! The sound of music pouring outta the album opener is simply sensational, further enhanced by the presence of female vocals courtesy of Xandria singer Ambre Vourvahis - Dragony and 'Dreamchasers' oozing a perfect blend of melodic, symphonic power metal which ranks as one of my favourite things in the world! And when I say things, I really mean styles of metal music, yet back in the mid eighties when I was sixteen going on seventeen, symphonic metal didn't even exist! But it does now, my heart blessed with the sound of symphonic metal music!    
             
A truly sensational opening gambit to drop the jaws to the floor of every listener around the world, Dragony march on with increased elegance courtesy of 'Silver And Blood'. Striding straight through the heart of symphonic metal territory, 'Silver And Blood' proudly boasting the biggest swagger of any song I think I've ever heard from the Viennese sextet - the bands newest album simply getting better and better! 'Dragon Of The Sea (Sic Parvis Magna)' is heavier than either of the two songs heard so far, Dragony leaning heavily in the direction of emphatic mid tempo anthemic power metal, the ground shuddering under the bands feet as they continue on with their magnificent march! And the march rises to a whole new level of elegance as 'Ill Met By Moonlight' strolls in with shoulders back and head held high, the band very much at the top of their game right now, producing some of the best, if not the best music of their career - a career that's nearing its twentieth anniversary! Twenty years eh, seems like only yesterday I was reviewing the bands 'Masters Of The Multiverse' album and describing it as "glorious symphonic metal with a huge cinematic edge" - Dragony's current release eclipsing that by the biggest ever country mile!    
             
'Perfect Storm' sees the return of the emphatic anthemic march heard earlier, the band oozing a majesty that even royalty can't match, the elegance, flair and grace pouring outta the album much higher than the Danube Tower in Vienna! And the exhilaration level from sliding down the tower's forty metre slide at speeds up to eighteen kilometres an hour in less time than it took Jamaican sprint sensation Usain Bolt to run, win and set a new world one hundred metre record at the 2009 World Athletics Championships in Berlin, must pale in comparison to the exhilaration on offer here! I'm not actually a hundred percent sure as I've never been down the slide to compare - but if anyone has, please let me know! At nine minutes in length, the title song 'Hic Svnt Dracones (Here Be Dragons)' is the longest on the album featuring the bands incredible cinematic edged symphonic power metal mastery - Dragony could easily sell out theatres with just this one song and receive a standing ovation longer than the actual song! And shelving symphonic metal tendencies for just a moment, the band pummel listeners with a thundering power driven old school "foot on the monitor" slab of traditional heavy metal - 'The World Serpent' one of the sweetest, most gorgeous overly energetic metal gallops you're ever likely to hear this year! And if you only ever wanna hear one - this is the one!    
             
I have listened to an immense number of albums in my forty plus years as a devout metalhead, perfect albums popping up as regular as night follows day! The list is endless but includes the following gems that basically got me into heavy metal, Angel Witch's self titled debut, AC/DC's 'Back In Black', Black Sabbath's 'Heaven And Hell', Motorhead's 'No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith', and 'Iron Maiden's 'The Number Of The Beast' - I could go on but it's likely that I'll be here for the next forty years listing 'em all! Well now there's another album to add to the ever growing list, 'Hic Svnt Dracones' from Austrian metal band Dragony, the symphonic power metal masterclass marching on with 'The Einherjar (What Dreams May Come)'. Bringing a little touch of balladry to the fore along with just the smallest hint of a hymn-like swagger, 'The Einherjar (What Dreams May Come)' is a magnificent mid tempo march that transcends musical boundaries to bring fans of a myriad of metal genres together as one - clenched fists and lighters sharing the same air, as Dragony continue to stun and amaze a worldwide audience! And even though the album is cruising to an end, it's still getting better and better, 'Twilight Of The Gods' lurching forth with an element of the recent "power pop metal" phenomena of bands such as Battle Beast, Beast In Black and Metalite - Dragony still expanding the weaponry in their vast arsenal! Surely the band are gonna need a new armoury to store it all in - we wouldn't want it all exploding at once now would we! Oh wait - too late, 'Hic Svnt Dracones' coming to a close with the biggest explosion of pace and power seen, or should that be heard! Either way, the album's final hurrah 'Beyond The Rainbow Bridge' is a bombastic blast featuring the highest level of head bang ability of any song on offer.    
             
Overall, a sensational array of symphonic power metal, immensely infectious, majestic and elegant, Dragony are on fire!    
             
             
Review by Iron Mathew Collins    
             
Reviewed for Metal-Roos    
             
Review is also featured at Metal Gods TV    
             
             
Other Reviews    
             

           
           
Lords Of The Hunt E.P.      
           
"a superb collection of old and new Dragony, passionate and epic, glorious in delivery, with appeal for both current and new fans of the band" Read Review      
     
     
     
           
             
             

           
           
Masters Of The Multiverse      
           
"atmospheric and glorious symphonic metal with a huge cinematic edge, Dragony have delivered a catchy and infectious album" Read Review      
     
     
     
           
             
             
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