Dragonhammer – Second Life Review

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It’s true that we had our share of Power Metal bands this year. It’s also true that we had our share of great bands that almost made me reconfigure my thoughts about Power Metal being predictable. Well, now I do think that the important thing isn’t to be predictable but what kind of predictable the band is. In fact, there are levels of predictability – ok, my child of the night, you know I’m making all this up just to have what to write, don’t you? Now really, it’s not nonsense. A band’s music can be predictable, but the way it performs it make it less or more predictable. We had our share of predictable bands this year, but some of them were really fantastic at being predictable. Their music was great in many ways. One of them was to be everything we expected. That comfy sound of the music we all know and for that reason we all like it. As I told before, even writing that Power Metal is predictable I love it.

Dragonhammer with “Second Life” are comfy. The kind of album that we all know what is coming but we do listen to it just be sure. It’s like my daughter and “Friends.” She has seen them zillion times, but she still does because she loves it. Dragonhammer deliver a strong Power Metal with Symphonic features. Many tracks have an orchestral arrangement that makes it shine a little brighter and higher to almost reach the dragon’s fly. Yeah, the to reach the dragon’s fly because any Power Metal band that means to be should have a dragon as a pet. Album welcomer, no to the dragon, “Prelude to Conquest” tells us so. After all, any Power Metal band that means to be should write songs about battles. Never forget medieval tales as in “The Rise” to be the cremè de la cremè. As usual, I was struck by the guitar solo. Interestingly, “Silver Feathers” has both features combined in order to give the song more of an emotional punch. Again I was struck by the guitar solo. Have I already said how I love guitar solos?

Ok, now is the time to talk about the tittle track which in general is the strongest and most noticiable track of an album. “Second Life” is everything fans would expect from a Power Metal band. It’s strong, it’s emotional, it’s full of details. Bottomline, it’s perfect. By the way, I was struck here not by the guitar solo but by the keayboard solo. Amazing. The grand finale meets the welcomer track. “Ending Legacy” is an orchestral song that meets the final idea of the album.

Dragonhammer “Second Life” was released on November 04th.

Track Listing:

  1. Prelude to Conquest
  2. Kingdom of the Ghosts
  3. Diamond of Peace
  4. Into the Warrior’s Mind
  5. Shattering Hope
  6. Fallen Brother
  7. Sickness Divine
  8. The Rising
  9. Silver Feathers
  10. Second Life
  11. Ending Legacy

Watch official lyric video here: