DRAGONY
Viribus Unitis
NAPALM Austria’s symphonic metallers find the devil in the details
Vienna six-piece Dragony are fiercely proud of their Austrian heritage. The band’s fourth album isintroduced by On The Blue Danube, a classical waltz from 1866 by countryman Johann Strauss II, which then segues into Gods Of War, the first of a deluge of symphonically enhanced power metal anthems. Dragony have performed this music since 2007, and experience now renders them as skilled as just about anyone. Siegfried Samer has a strong, clear voice and the sweeping mix of strident headbanging anthems and overtly classical-sounding material such as Love You To Death keeps the listener on their toes. There’s even a storyline concept pertaining to black magic, demonology and the days when Emperor Franz Joseph ruled their homeland. Viribus Unitis may be a little too clean-cut, polite and occasionally clunky for some tastes, but it’s churlish to deny the craftsmanship involved. ■■■■■■■■■■