Poetic concept with heavy, power and symphonic metal soundscapes - A review of Siegfried's Drachenherz

Siegfried's Drachenherz is the first part in a trilogy about Middle High German epic poem Nibelungenlied. The music can be described as powerful heavy metal with occasional atmospheric symphonic metal elements and melodic power metal passages. The project involves six musicians, including three different vocalists. Bruder Hagen Cle performs passionate growls that are however sometimes lacking skills and sound too loud in the production. Werner Bialek performs clean vocals that work well in the catchy choruses but sound a little bit bland at times and are missing charisma. Sandra Schleret who would later join symphonic metal band Elis completes the trio and offers the most variable, talented and gripping performance on this album.

On the positive side, the conceptual approach is quite entertaining and does the epic poem justice. The group's symphonic elements blend in very well and offer some cinematic soundscapes here and there. The guitar work is heavy yet melodic and should appeal to traditional heavy metal fans. Highlights include the catchy and gripping ''Rheingold'', the gothic ballad ''Hexenblut'' with its passionate female vocals and atmospheric keyboard layers, the diversified epic ''Rabenschlacht'' that summarizes the project's multiple strengths best and the melancholic yet heavy ''Schwarzer Engel''.

On the negative side, the production is sometimes underwhelming since the guitars sound at times too loud in the mixture. The three different vocal tracks are at times hectically overlapping. The lyrics are therefore often hard to understand. The songwriting is a little bit uneven as the different tracks meander from plain average to very good.

In the end, Siegfried's first record Drachenherz shows much promise and does the famous Middle High German epic poem Nibelungenlied justice. The album reminds of Grave Digger's conceptual medieval records of the nineties with a few more symphonic and gothic soundscapes. This project would have deserved much more attention but was perhaps hold back due to the underwhelming production and the rather unknown musicians involved back then. Anyone who likes heavy, power and symphonic metal and appreciates conceptual releases about legends, mythologies and tales should certainly give this good output a few spins.

Final rating: 70%