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Dragon Guardian > Dragonvarius > Reviews > Oakenson
Dragon Guardian - Dragonvarius

Eclipterrific! - 85%

Oakenson, April 29th, 2010

It took nothing else but the totally sick, video game/anime-esque cover artwork from Dragon Guardian's 2009 effort Dragonvarius (sound a bit familiar, just maybe?) to spark my interest in this Japanese, one-man (?) project that, frankly, sounds more like a band than a solitary-bedroom-sort-of-effort. I put the question-mark in quotations from the previous sentence because the vocals sound to be done by a female and, considering Dragon Guardian's sole member is Arthur Brave (a great name, of course), it does not seem so likely that he sings, unless he sounds like a girl, alas; furthermore, seeing as Dragon Guardian's website is in Japanese, I have to rely on assumptions here but, all the same, whether Arthur Brave is man, woman, child or even alien, Dragonvarius is one damn fine power metal record!

I suppose you've figured out by now that Dragon Guardian is not aiming for originality here, considering the band's name could be taken as a mix of a number of famous power metal band's names (Dragonland + Blind Guardian - Land - Blind = Dragon Guardian, for example) and seeing as the album title is Dragonvarius, an obvious tribute to Finland's Stratovarius, it's no surprise that the music you get is reminiscent of the many Dragon- power metal bands as well as Stratovarius and, to a lesser extent, even the German masters themselves, Blind Guardian. Despite the fact that Arthur Brave wears his influences on his sleeve, I must say the atmosphere on this album is absolutely splendid and, frankly, rather unique, completely reminding me of the likes of Final Fantasy as well as certain anime series like Tsubasa or Moon Phase. Indeed, I must say the fourth song, for example - Koumachi Bacchus - reminds me of shopping around in Final Fantasy or Twilight Princess for a shield and some extra healing potions for those grueling RPG battles; the atmosphere here is, again, totally special and, as the cover artwork implies, very colorful, imaginative and uplifting.

The album's title-cut, which happens to be track six, is quite a mammoth of a song, going over all over the place - from gentle ballad-esque moments to boss-battle music on power metal steroids - whilst never, ever losing momentum or, more importantly, the magic; if I had to choose a favorite from the album, this would definitely be it. The second-to-last song - Jashin E No Chingon Uta - is quite cool as well, utilizing some more Gothenburg-esque riffing that is rather unexpected though, nevertheless, warmly welcomed. Oh, and the opener is pretty amazing too - totally classic!

Japan is a country that is certainly no stranger to the craft of amazing melodic metal (come on, X Japan for pete's sake!) and I am proud to say that Dragon Guardian is now upon the same list as Galneryus, Versailles and the like in my book, without a doubt. No, Dragonvarius is not the most original album out there, however, it is living proof that power metal is still alive and well - despite the rather ill direction some of the genre's titans have taken - with all of its atmospheric twists-and-turns and movie samples galore; indeed, this album is as colorful and inspiring as its artwork (I know this is the third time I've referenced the darn cover but, seriously, I just LOVE it) and I do suggest you take a bath or two in the beautiful rising sun, too, as it's certainly something your metal heart deserves! ... all right, back to analyzing Mushi and riding through Hyrule! - enjoy!