Review by Shadowdoom9 (Andi) for Dragoncorpse - The Drakketh Saga (2023)

Dragoncorpse... The name of this band would make you think of a blend of the speedy power metal of DragonForce and the brutal death metal of Cannibal Corpse. And you would be two-thirds right there! This is, for real, power metal and deathcore mixed together, a combo barely anyone has ever thought could, let alone should, be possible. But since Shadow of Intent, Lorna Shore, and Mental Cruelty have already projected their own respective brands of epic deathcore, well... Why the f*** not?!

Hailing from two separate continents, North America and Australia, Dragoncorpse released an EP that fans have been waiting for hearing the singles released the previous year. Those singles are included in the EP along with two new songs and 4 cheesy spoken-word interludes, the latter keeping the release away from perfect greatness.

Opening the EP is one of the two new songs, "Sunlover", featuring Jacob Wallace, formerly of Brojob. There's a decent balance between vocalist Mardy Leith's operatic singing and Wallace's crushing growling. The power metal sections are quite upbeat that make a cool yet struggling contrast with the heavier deathcore breakdowns. Despite that issue, it's still quite stellar, helped out by the epic chorus.

Next up is my favorite here, "Blood and Stone". The fast relentless power metal/deathcore blend continues, complete with a brutal chant of "Blood in, blood out". The following full song, "Terror Eternal" continues that combo, this time with some soloing by Dragonland guitarist Jesse Lindskog.

Then "From the Sky" has that sound yet again. This time with a superb catchy chorus that makes this song another stellar highlight. Finally, "Undying" is a special song. It features incredible vocals from two winners of a contest to guest appear in a song by the band, Jens Thommek and Stefan Gorski Prins. There is some more of Mardy's catchy vocals, along with Kris Chayer proving himself to be a true guitar wizard.

All in all, The Drakketh Saga is a solid EP for fans of power metal and deathcore who are curious to hear what those two genres sound like together. Give this offering some good listening and witness two separate worlds collide....

Favorites: "Blood and Stone", "From the Sky", "Undying"