Style: Power Metal, Deathcore (Mixed Vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Unleash the Archers, Brojob
Review by: Cooper
Country: International
Release date: 10 February, 2023
Don’t worry. Your vision isn’t failing you. You read those genre tags correctly, and despite how outlandish it may look on paper, the combination of power metal and deathcore that Dragoncorpse unleashes via The Drakketh Saga is not to be written off entirely as gimmicky genre-blending (even if that’s exactly what it is). Through the power of catchy song writing and an incredibly talented vocalist, Mardy Leith, Dragoncorpse have melded their disparate muses into a fun and engaging debut EP not without a fair share of flaws.
Although I have already used the term, genre-blending is not quite an apt description for Dragoncorpse’s style, so I instead propose the term genre-switching; where many bands would attempt to fuse elements of their genre inspirations into one unified sound, Dragoncorpse is content with devoting entire moments to just one of their influences. On first listen, this makes The Drakketh Saga quite the disorienting experience, songs completely switching styles before I ever have a chance to get comfortable. On repeated listens, this issue is mostly alleviated as through-lines become clearer, yet I still found myself gravitating towards moments where the boundaries between the deathcore and power metal were blurred. Besides that though, repeat listens were mostly negative for this EP; I found myself dreading particularly the interlude tracks that despite strongly conveying the emotion and story of the EP – “Interlude II (Nox Abbarath)” especially – grew tiresome in their quantity. Still, the novelty of the concept and skill demonstrated on actual tracks like “Blood and Stones” and “UNDYING” made up for these lulls.
By choosing to combine deathcore and power metal, perhaps the two most sonically and aesthetically distinct subgenres of metal, Dragoncorpse have created a bridge allowing deathcore fans to explore the world of power metal and vice versa, and it is this union that is the greatest achievement of The Drakketh Saga. Unfortunately though, I have already seen negative discourse surrounding this album from both sides with power metal fans citing the deathcore gutturals as their main complaint and with deathcore fans finding issue with the high, clean vocals. While I wish that we could all just get along and enjoy a very well put together EP, I can’t help but agree with many of the points made. If I’m in the mood for deathcore, I won’t be coming to Dragoncorpse for it, and the same goes for power metal. Thus, despite the clear skill and intent that went towards creating it, The Drakketh Saga is ultimately middling, trapped between two worlds, neither of which will ever accept it.
Recommended tracks: Blood and Stones, UNDYING
You may also like: Vesuvian, Helion Prime
Final verdict: 6.5/10
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | YouTube | Facebook | Instagram | Metal-Archives page
Label: Independent
Dragoncorpse is:
– Mardy Leith (vocals)
– Kris Chayer (guitars)
– Noah Nikolas Laidlaw (bass)
– Dale Urban (orchestrations)
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