Run with the Wolf

Drakkar

March 16, 2015, DRAKKAR fans received the newest album from the 6-piece Italian Power Metal […]
By Logan Roach
April 2, 2015
Drakkar - Run with the Wolf album cover

March 16, 2015, DRAKKAR fans received the newest album from the 6-piece Italian Power Metal outfit, but they also received 5 remastered older tracks on the album's second disc with a new zest added to them. "Run with the Wolf" is laced top to bottom with with plenty catchy, rhythm-driven and melodic passages sure to grab any listener's attention along with ample Folk-derived elements that add perfectly to the fantasy realm setting seen in the mind's eye. Like most Power Metal bands, DRAKKAR implements keyboards into their music. However, they use two keyboardists! This makes for generous servings of "dual-keyboard" solos throughout the album. Quickly executed riffs on this album are very much kin to the likes of DIO/RAINBOW, SAXON, SAVATAGE, HELLOWEEN, BLIND GUARDIAN and even some older styles such as DEEP PURPLE. This album could easily be a soundtrack for gamers during quests on games such as The Elder Scrolls series, World of Warcraft or even Dragon Age, so it claims rites as a well-crafted Power Metal album. It's simple, but in a grandeur sort of way, and that really stands out.

Speaking of standing out, the tracks that stand out the most on "Run with the Wolf" are the title track, "Run with the Wolf"; catchy chorus, easy to sing along with, bold verses, keyboard tone matching an organ and an exceptionally well-timed, clean and melodic interlude with cheerful group singing to close out the track. "Ride the Storm"; filled with traditional Heavy Metal guitar and bass riffs and drumming. Yet another catchy chorus-ensemble sang start to finish. "Southern Cross"; starts with acoustic guitar and bagpipes. For a band from Italy, they'd have unaware listeners ever so sure they were another central or northern European band! They pull off the associated refrain, tones and general musical rhetoric of such parts so well- especially in this track. "Gods of Thunder"; vocal rhetoric similar to ENSIFERUM, though the tone is more similar to the likes of NWOBHM era bands more than ENSIFERUM. "Call of the Dragonblood"; clean, yet additional reverb guitar intro. A Valhalla homecoming anthem everyone with proud Heathen blood will want to hear. Definitely a frisson-inducing track!

This is certainly a Power Metal album I would recommend to any fan of the genre as well as being from a band I would definitely like to see play a live show. They've undoubtedly got the energy on album that you're sure to feel at a live concert!

8 / 10

Excellent

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"Run with the Wolf" Track-listing:

Disc I. (Run with the Wolf)
1. Rise of the Dark Lords (intro)
2. Under the Banners of War
3. Run with the Wolf
4. Watcher of the Wall
5. Ride the Storm
6. Burning
7. Southern Cross
8. Gods of Thunder
9. Invincible
10. Call of the Dragonblood

Disc II. (Coming from the Past)
1. Coming from the Past
2. Dragonheart
3. Eridan Falls
4. Pure of Heart
5. Galadriel's Song

Drakkar Lineup:

Dario Beretta - Guitar
Dave Dell'Orto - Vocals
Simone Cappato - Bass
Paolo Pirola - Drums
Emanuele Laghi - Keyboards
Corrado Solarino - Keyboards

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