Dragonheart - The Battle Sanctuary (2015)

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Dragonheart - The Battle Sanctuary (2015)

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There has generally been a fairly limited level of exposure for Brazil's Dragonheart. Truth be told, the author of this review was only made aware of them through their connection with Dragonforce as the reason for their change of name following their 2000 demo. One might have been tempted to infer a similarity in style between the British shred machine and this seemingly similar styled Brazilian outfit that came into existence a few years prior to the former, but apart from the similar name, any comparison would be extremely limited and peripheral in nature. Far from being a coked-up, keyboard and guitar solo happy answer to Helloween, Dragonheart winds up in an older mode of power metal that has more in common with the heavier, more speed metal informed approach of German acts such as Paragon and Mystic Prophecy, and also to an extent the harder edge yet somewhat more epic equivalents in Sweden in Hammerfall and The Storyteller. Their latest studio outing The Battle Sanctuary, a good 10 years coming since their last effort Vengeance In Black, is a fairly consistent reaffirmation of what said bands have brought to the table since the turn of the Millennium.

Hitting the pavement with a massive stomp, this album puts a heavy emphasis on aggression and a punchy impact that still manages to be catchy and in line with the melodic, hook-driven trappings of the power metal style. The guitar tone is meaty and shares about an equal footing with a thunderous drum production that is fairly comparable to the modern demeanor of the last couple Firewind albums, though the riff and lead work is a bit more in line with 80s German speed metal standards and doesn't get quite as fancy of technical. The vocals are also quite prominent and trade a varied degree of gravely grunts and rough-edged gang chorus work with a somewhat nasally tenor out of lead vocalist Andre Mendes that's heavily reminiscent of Paragon's Andreas Babuschkin, as well as Manilla Road's Mark Shelton for an older example. The only area that seems to slouch a bit is the bass work, which while generally audible and providing additional heaviness to the arrangement, tends to play it extremely safe and almost makes one question if Mauricio Taborda has pictures of Ian Hill all over his bedroom, though given the heavy similarities some of these songs share with Defenders Of The Faith era Judas Priest, it isn't an inappropriate limitation.

Though a fairly consistent nod to a less flowery and smooth approach to power metal than the one that has been more readily associated with Europe, Dragonheart proves not to be totally averse to throwing in some occasional soft elements here and there, though they tend to be few and fleeting. Perhaps the most obvious interlude outside of traditional German speed metal territory and Accept-inspired grit and heaviness is "March Under The Stars", which is a rather folksy tinged nod to Blind Guardian with all the acoustic guitar and flute sounds to simulate a roaring camp fire atmosphere out of some quest to save Middle Earth. Some of the more epic sounding numbers such as the opener "Far From Heaven…Close To Hell", "Time Will Tell" and "The Arcane's Palace" also veer a bit more close to the Helloween-inspired format with some occasional keyboard elements and even some orchestral moments here and there, but despite the slightly smoother demeanor and consistent speed, it ends up sounding more like Grave Digger with a hint of Manowar. For the most part, the rest of the album is more along the lines of a traditional heavy metal affair, with "Battle Lines" being the most memorable with it's bouncy riff set and Running Wild inspired goodness.

This album definitely has a very particular audience in mind, and it's definitely one that has more affinity with the harder side of heavy metal prior to the advent of thrash and more extreme formats. It definitely fills a void that has been apparent given the lack of output out of Firewind and Dream Evil of late, and it's about up to par in terms of quality with recent albums out of Mystic Prophecy and Paragon, though stylistically it's a bit more mixed up and seems to want to play up a slight bit of the lighter side of the coin in order to avoid turning into an outright Grave Digger and Accept emulation. If there's any flaw in the approach itself it's primarily in a slight disconnect between the extremely rough sounding vocal style and the smoother and almost spacey keyboards that come in and out, along with the seemingly random ordering of songs that are either old school in demeanor or more epic in character, though there is definitely a definitive beginning and ending that leans more towards the epic side of things. It's a bit more of a high medieval "knights and dragons" affair than it is a primeval barbarian affair, mixing in some chivalrous elements with the typical "Conan The Barbarian" battle hymns, but it gets the job done.

by hells_unicorn, metal-archives.com

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Dragonheart - The Battle Sanctuary (2015)

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Dragonheart - The Battle Sanctuary (2015)

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