KEYDRAGON
"I Dance with Dragons" (Keydragon;
2022)
Reviewed by R. Scott Bolton
According to a review I found on the web, Keydragon is a Gothic/Power/Doom/metal band. If you can stretch your mind around that intriguing collection of genres, you might find "I Dance with Dragons" to your liking.
"I Dance with Dragons" plays a lot like the cast album of a big budget musical that never made it to Broadway. It's keyboard-heavy (I'm gonna say a lot of piano here) but it's got flickers of progressive metal, hard rock, new wave, pretty much any genre you can think of (okay, I didn't hear any country/western here).
No doubt, it's a little off-putting at first. Keydragon has apparently been around for a long time, but this is my first experience with the band. You know where my heavy metal mind was going: Dragonforce, Dragonfire, Dragon Slayer. When the piano started tinkling away on "I Dance with Dragons" my first thought was, "What did I get myself into here?" But, as I continued to listen, I caught the various genres and styles and atmospheres caught here, and I was intrigued. Yeah, there's a lot of piano. That's not a bad thing but it isn't the first instrument that comes to mind when you think of music here on RoughEdge.com. But it's got an eerie sound, a wicked sound, a sinister sound. It's like an Alice Cooper piano, if that makes any sense. "I Dance with Dragons" is a concept album, about extra-terrestrials who come to Earth to feed on humans ... just kidding. It's about fucking dragons, of course! And, it's a weird, sonic attack that is kept together by that theme, and stays strangely listenable from beginning to (almost) the end.
I'll admit, by the time I got to track 11 on this album, I had a little Keydragon burn-out. But I've played it through since then and felt better about sticking it out. Look, this album isn't for everyone, there's no doubt about that. But if you're looking for something a little different, something a little more experimental and mind-bending, this might be your cup of tea.
But if you're looking for Dio's "Killing the Dragon" with this record, you're shit out of luck.
Performing on "I Dance with Dragons" are Andrew Grant - lead guitars; Angel Z - Female vocals; KeyDragon, Rolo and Don Fornis - backing vocals; KeyDragon: Keyboard, Synth, Drum Machine.
For more information, check out http://www.keydragon.com/.
Rating Guide:
A classic. This record will kick your ass.
Killer. Not a classic but it will rock your world.
So-so. You've heard better.
Pretty bad. Might make a nice coaster.
Self explanatory. Just the sight of the cover makes you wanna hurl.
Copyright © 2023 by R. Scott Bolton. All rights reserved.
