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DRAGON THRONE
Dawnbringer

Self-released (2022)
Rating: 6/10

If Finnish epic metal is your thing then you might want to lend an ear to the debut full-length offering from this quintet. Personally, I can live without symphonic power metal, but it’s only fair that I expose new bands which land in my lap.

After the dramatic, cinematic intro you get treated to seven tracks boasting ancient and heroic tales whereby vocalists Antti Liimatainen and Santtu Korhonen cry to the heaven’s such dramatic words as “My domain! My throne! This is my kingdom, begone!” and “We will fight to the end! Fight, fight, fight to the end! Fight, fight, we shall not fail! Fight, fight, divine prevail!”, so I’m sure you catch my drift as to what this tapestry of bombastic tales is about.

To be honest it’s not as cheese-ridden as I expected, and musically there is flamboyance and speed with the combo providing ideal soundtracks to a screen exhibiting swooping dragons, scorched, smoking cities and great foaming seas carved by creaking vessels.

The clearer vocals are commanding and work well in tandem to the more grisly croons, but there’s a lot going on here. The band have been precise in their heavy metal role-playing and conjured up some rather vast dynamics dripping in old school metallic riffs, sweeping keyboards, hammering drums and boisterous choruses.

‘Awaken Zuruk Baal’ is grandiose, majestic and evocative, and conjures images of the mid-90s scene as mythology oozes from every pore. Meanwhile, ‘Serpent King’ sizzles and runs rampant mostly due to its excellent soloing brought to you by Juuso Korhonen, as the vocal commands ask, “How deep is your faith to the gods? How strong is your will and your heart?”. It’s chest-pounding, sword n’ sorcery masculinity that I do at times struggle to take seriously, but when it’s relayed in such fiery fashion I’m more than happy to hide my smirk and nod along with a tankard of ale as I stare into my dragon scale mirror.

There are flashes of Iron Maiden, circa Powerslave (1984), fused with Sabaton, even Manowar and of course Grave Digger, so at times the subjects do grate, as does the music. However, I like some of the Middle Eastern twists and varying encounters with mythology, particularly on ‘Sands Of Rasul’, while ‘Silver City’ speeds along in nifty fashion.

Vocally, the clearer tone lacks power at times and seems to be restrained, existing within its limitations a bit too much, and some of the songs are a tad too long. But maybe the guys feel that to be power metal you have to construct a snoozefest like the title track which feels as long as the opening credits to the vastly overrated television series Game Of Thrones.

However, I do have faith in this Finnish tribe and I’ll surprise myself by saying I am looking forward to the next instalment and hope they can iron out the creases on their voyage into mystical lands. To stand out from the crowd Dragon Throne will have to apply more heat and spice to their cauldron, because there are a lot of sound-a-likes out there attempting similar dragon-slaying designs without exposure.

Neil Arnold

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