Волки Одина

I know Holy Dragons discography quite well, and developed as a music lover in parallel with the development of this group, which is the leading in its region in the genre of the old school metal, and one of the oldest active metal bands in the Central Asian region. And therefore, I understand well one or another motivation of this group at one time or another, which now, after the passage of time, may seem random or cause confusion.

This album was my favorite of the band before the "Zerstörer" album and later albums. Many will call their favorite album "Восход Чёрной Луны" ("Black Moon Rising") - I do not argue, a very strong album, perhaps surpassing "Волки Одина" ("Wolves of Odin") in all respects, but my heart is devoted to this very album, straightforward, speed-metal without frills, recorded in the manner of the first half / mid 80s.

Holy Dragons has two albums that are somewhat separate from the others. These are "Wolves of Odin" and "Сумерки Богов" ("Twilight of the Gods"). What distinguishes both of these albums from both subsequent and previous ones is that on them the group took a course in what is now considered the "canon" of the NWoTHM style, according to which such popular bands within the style as Enforcer (Sweden, debut full- length album - "Into the Night", 2008), Skull Fist (Canada, debut full-length album "Head öf the Pack", 2011) and Evil Invaders (Belgium, debut full-length album "Pulses of Pleasure", 2015). This is exactly the same generation of music, and the real "Head of the Pack" was the Holy Dragons. Of course, all this wave was on the shoulders of such releases as "Walls of Jericho" (1985) by Helloween, "Heavy Metal Maniac" (1983) by Exciter and many British, German and Belgian bands of the mid 80s.
But, unfortunately, the tradition of that time was interrupted in the 90s, the closest albums Rage and Blind Guardian of the 90s are still completely different in essence, and are based on later influences.

In those years, after devastating for the traditional heavy- and speed- metal bands 90s, there was a very acute lack of just such a simple, but extremely fast and honest metal. Yes, many bands of that time followed the "Keeper of the Seven Keys" Helloween style, like the Holy Dragons did in the 90s, but they still wanted something more radical. It seems strange now, because thousands of releases from the mid-80s are now digitized and available on the Internet in three clicks. At the same time, they stood on the shelves in the form of cassettes and disks, and the shortage of such music and the desire to hear new items in this style was enormous. We are tired of black, death and core.

On this wave of admiration for the "sacred eighties" were at that moment and the Holy Dragons. The earlier album "Сумерки Богов" now seems like a preparation for "Волки Одина" - more raw, not as fast, not as cocky as "Wolves of Odin". The same album can be called the absolute quintessence of style.

Almost all the songs on this album (except perhaps "Призрак Шабаша" ("The Ghost of the Sabbat")) can be called ideal speed-metal in the spirit of the 80s, with a dry sound of guitars, no frills in the form of keyboards and special effects, with fast tempos, really virtuoso solos in the spirit of Impellitteri or Joe Stump (I do not specifically mention Yngwie Malmsteen, since despite the similar speeds, there are no neoclassical harmonies on this album, except, perhaps, the song "Ragnarok", in which the guitar parts, as it seemed to me, have some affinity with "Trilogy Suite ").

The rich bass, clearly in the tradition of Steve Harris, distinguishes this album from many albums in the same vector. Vocals of Holger Komaroff is a fairly typical heavy- metal voice, with husky intonations, sometimes high screams, but generally not "high, thin and squeaky", as is the case with some bands. The Russian-language lyrics weaken the album a little, as it seems to me, as it makes it inaccessible to understand the lyrics outside the post-Soviet space. For some it is a plus, but I like releases in a language that is more familiar to heavy metal. The overall sound is exactly the sound that NWoTHM fans appreciate so much (here I go back to where I started the review).

Unfortunately, or fortunately, the band did not continue this vector of development on later releases. It is possible that if the band had not continued their "search for style" but continued to "churn out" speed-metal releases with viking lyrics and "raw" sound, they would have achieved much more popularity, since it is the "simplification" schemes that work well commercially. But we would never have heard the later interesting work, listening to the endless "Viking saga" - this approach works for many bands. Should I continue? The band answered with a firm “no”! I think it was right.

Holy Dragons is a power metal band from Almaty, Kazakhstan that is a lot better than its cheesy band name might suggest you at first sight. The band plays in fact power metal with grounded vocals and guts. They skip all unnecessary stuff such as narrations or interludes, symphonic elements, acoustic ballads and too cheesy ten minute epics about the usual exchangeable topics. These guys play quite fast and gripping stuff and take no prisoners with their fresh and unconventional approach. The band is sometimes closer to classic heavy metal or speed metal than to power metal itself. The musicians also got some talent. The guitar solos are perfectly executed. The riffs are energizing and true neckbreakers. The bass guitar is audible and has its strong lead moments. Imagine a faster and more technical mixture of Aria, Blind Guardian and Grave Digger. Listen to an energizing masterpiece such as "Рагнарек" and you know what I mean.

This sounds all quite promising but this honest band still has a big problem. The song patterns all sound quite similar and exchangeable and the whole strategy isn't quite impressive anymore after a few songs. The first six songs all sound too alike and the listener gets quickly bored. Just before the listeners decides to skip the rest, the band pulls off a few great songs towards the end like the very Russian sounding half ballad "Призрак шабаша", the aformentioned "Рагнарек" and the slightly more modern and darker "Волки Oдина" where some more high pitched vocals remind me of Iced Earth. These three songs are definitely the most outstanding tracks on here and definitely highlights of their genre.

Three excellent tracks still don't make a great record but the album is nevertheless enjoyable enough to sit it through and wait for a great second half after all. For all those who like honest power metal with guts and speed, this band and this release are a pleasent offering. Anybody else should give this release a few spins to see if it grows and if the unusual approach of the band pleases. I would though check out the band's other releases to see if the song writing has been or become more consistent as on this mixed bag before purchasing this album.

This is an amazing band. This album will show you this better than most, as it epitomizes their sound, and has production values which are better than their other releases.

If you're sick of gimmicks, sick of "melodic power metal" (i.e. flower metal) bands, silly exaggerated interludes, overly dramatic poor excuses for power metal and other such things, this album is the remedy for your woes.

This is stripped-down, gritty speed/power metal with a heavy emphasis on the speed and the punishing guitarwork. The only time you won't hear crazy duel guitars firing off hammer-ons and sweet leads, is through a refrain or verse. In which case the bassist will show he refuses to conform to what the guitars are playing, and cuts through with crisp metallic sounding bass lines that are very catchy. The vocalist wails insanely in his insane language. His voice is powerful, and even though I haven't a clue about the language, I still find it possible to remember these catchy songs.

You can tell this band eats, breaths and shits metal. These songs are blistering fast, raw as dirt, a metal gauntlet punch to the face of intensity, and quite catchy to boot. I hate to make the comparison again, but if Holy Dragons and Dragonforce went into the same studio, the latter would come out weeping. Because this band does everything right that Dragonforce does wrong. This music doesn't rely on simple poppy sing-a-long choruses and a scale-running guitar "virtuoso", it hooks you with blistering guitar work, power and a kick to the groin. Every fan of metal should hear this.