Born in 1995, Drakkar is one of the prime movers of the Italian Power Metal scene, together with bands like Rhapsody Of Fire, Labyrinth and Domine. With guitarist Dario Beretta at the helm, the band published two demotapes in 1996 and 1997, which led to a deal with Dragonheart Records, a young metal label under the wing of Audioglobe, one of the biggest music distribution companies in Italy. The debut album, “Quest For Glory” (1998) and the sophomore release, “Gemini” (2000), were well received not just in Italy, but internationally, and are nowadays regarded as prime examples of the creativity and passion of the first wave of Italian Power Metal. The third album “Razorblade God” came out in 2002 with a new line-up. The new members, including new singer Davide Dell’Orto, helped Drakkar to create an even more personal sound, incorporating some thrash and 70′s hard rock influences in the epic-power mold at the heart of the band. After such a good streak of albums, though, the band was confronted with a series of issues, both personal and musical, that forced them to slow down considerably. Their next effort would only see the light in 2007 in the form of a digital-only (which was quite rare at the time) 4 songs-EP called “Classified”, freely distributed through the band’s website.
But the real comeback would have to wait a bit more. It finally materialized in 2012, when My Kingdom Music put out “When Lightning Strikes”. Still with guitarist Dario Beretta and singer Davide Dell’Orto leading the ship, the album marked the beginning of a new era for Drakkar, as it was not only the first full-length after 10 years, but also the first collaboration between the band and producer Mattia Stancioiu (Labyrinth, Crown of Autumn and many others). The record was very successful and was followed by other two releases under the flag of MKM: “Run With The Wolf” (2015) and the EP “Cold Winter’s Night” (2018). The band spent 2019 writing and recording a new full-length, which was supposed to be released in 2020. Come early 2020, Drakkar launched their official Patreon page (shared with Crimson Dawn, the Epic Doom Metal band also featuring Dario Beretta and Marco Rusconi on guitars) and was ready to fire on all cylinders when… a world pandemic happened. The decision was taken to wait for 2021 to publish the new album. However, not to leave their supporters without new music, they quickly recorded a new EP called “Falling Down” which was finally released in November. Now, with 2021 on the horizon, it’s finally time for Drakkar to start getting ready for the release…
The dragonship sails on!