Review: Dragonauta – Entropicornio

Style: Black/Stoner (mixed vocals)
Review by: Dylan
Country: Argentina
Release date: 01-10-2018

NOTE: This album was originally included in the September 2018 issue of The Progressive Subway

After the experience with whatever that Crypt of Insomnia album was, I was frightened to have to review another 80 minute album. Luckily, Dragonauta surprised me, in the best way possible.

What am I looking for when investing 80 minutes of my time into an album? Proper sense of direction, good pacing and tight songwriting. If any of those 3 elements are missing on a lengthy album, it will become unbearable. There’s a reason for Crypt of Insomnia to get a 2.5/10, there’s a reason for Archspire’s albums to not exceed the hour mark, and a reason for late era Dream Theater to get bashed for being too wanky and lacking some good hooks. Thank God that Dragonauta accomplish all 3 of these tasks.

The sound of the album is stoner metal with an injection of black metal. This mix of genres sounds like it couldn’t work at all, like if they were water and oil. But they complement each other surprisingly well.

For starters, the production value is fantastic. The guitars are thick and punchy, the bass has got good room to breathe (especially when a the rhythm guitar isn’t replicating the bass), and the drums sound tight and thick. The riffs are catchy as hell, the drumming is sublime, and the vocals adapt perfectly for whatever mood each song is going for. It really has a bit of something for everyone.

As stated before, the pacing here is pretty much perfect. With a good balance of slower grooves, faster ones, chill sections, and extremely brutal ones, you’re never bound to get fatigued by this lengthy release. The last two tracks do have a noisy breakdown where you’re left wondering where the hell the songs are going, but even those end up having purpose to the track they are in.

Quite possibly one of my favorite releases from the underground prog metal side so far. Check it out.

Recommended tracks: Voivods of War, Orbital Coffins
Recommended for fans of: Enslaved, Elder, Hands of Despair
Final verdict: 9/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook| Metal-Archives page

Label: Noiseground – Facebook

Dragonauta is:
– Lucien Kurgan (vocals, bass)
– Daniel Libendisky (guitars)
– Leonardo Yegros (drums)
– Fede Averno (guitars)