The Battle Sanctuary

Dragonheart

1. Far from Heaven… Close to Hell
2. Black Shadow
3. The Arcane’s Palace
4. Inside the Enemy’s Mind
5. Forged into Metal
6. Battle Lines
7. Marching Under the Stars
8. Circle of One
9. Kill the Leader
10. The Battle Sanctuary
11. Time Will Tell

I have listened to a lot of different metal bands in many subgenres over the years.  So much so, that, a lot of times, I can get an idea of what a band is going to sound like just by their name alone.  For example, most bands that have the word “mutilation” in their names are probably in the extreme metal category.  I also know that if a metal band has the word “dragon” in their name, odds are, they’re a power metal band of some sort, and Dragonheart are indeed a power metal band.  However, these guys are power metal in the truest sense of the term. 

Unlike a lot of the bands that many people think of as power metal, the music on here is not overly watered down with keyboards.  It is guitar-driven with a powerful rhythm section providing the backbone.  As far as the vocals go, they’re not necessarily what I would call the best as far as power metal bands go.  The high melodic vocals sound slightly off key at times and the more aggressive vocals sound like a cross between Marco Hietala of Nightwish and Gene Simmons on the heaviest Kiss songs. 

Unusual vocals aside though, I found myself enjoying this album quite a bit.  I highly recommend this album to any fans of power/thrash metal.

Release date: 02-10-2015
Reviewer: Lee Naylor
Score: 8

Lee Naylor

This author is no longer associated with Metal On Loud Magazine.

Leave a Reply

Check Also
Close
Back to top button