Holy Dragons - Волки Одина / Wolves Of Odin (2005) - Inconsistent song writing with three highlights - 75% (07/02/13)

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.