Hailing from Oslo, Norway, Draken is a trio specializing in a potent blend of doom, stoner and progressive metal, and with elements of punk and hard psychedelia lending dimension to the heaviness. Hallvard Gaardløs plays bass and handles lead vocals, Even Hermansen is the guitarist, and Andre Drage pummels the drums. The three cohere into a whole that’s bruising yet smart on their second album, Book of Black, out digitally and on multicolored vinyl (a white and purple merge with black splatter) in an edition of 300 copies January 13 through Majestic Mountain Records.
Not to be confused with the handful of other outfits that have employed the moniker over the years, Norway’s Draken released their self-titled debut in April 2021, also on Majestic Mountain (with vinyl still available), a disc that established their template with aplomb. Undeniably heavy, the band avoided falling into a single stylistic camp; doomy ambiance was in surely evidence, along with stoner-sludge timbres, but Draken could chug along at a rapid clip that harkened back to the NWOBHM, but subtly so, and by extension, when they slowed it down, evinced ties to a few of hard rock and metal’s originators.
The psychedelic flare-ups strengthen ties to the roots, but Draken aren’t a throwback, as their thrust resonates with elements that if not exactly contemporary, do connect as a byproduct of the last 30 or so years (but without indulging in the more unfortunate tendencies of heavy rock’s more recent developments).
For example, Book of Black’s opening title cut has the sort of groove density and raspy throated ranting that really thrived back in the 1990s. Closing one’s eyes as it thunders forth can inspire visions of sweaty mosh pit tangles and baseball caps worn backwards. But as said, Draken don’t succumb to the merely repetitive, sidestepping largely through robustness of song structure, and even more extraordinarily so, as the cut reaches nearly seven minutes.
Additionally, the vocals, if decidedly ’90s vintage, are squarely derived from hardcore ranting rather than post-grunge emo-wailing. To be sure, overboard testosterone drenched shouting can wear thin with a quickness, but there’s considerable range in the vocals on Book of Black, e.g. the old school metal action (like a merger of Dio and Lemmy) in the up-tempo burner “Bastards,” which also dishes a sweet little burst of psych guitar.
“We Deserve to Suffer” does the opening reverse fade with an air of the sludgy and enough shifts in velocity to effectively underscore the trio’s aptitude for progressive metal, though Draken ultimately favor momentum over intricacy. And “House of Horrors” has a dark, indeed doomy veneer to its thud movement that recalls Ozzy-era Sabbath, or better said, the thousands of disciples of Ozzy-era Sab. Elements of the bombast do lend distinctiveness however, and the uptick in tempo in the instrumental break, halfway between Uriah Heep and Focus, is a nice touch.
As it barrels forth, “Symbiote” intensifies the prog metal angel, while “Devotees of the Faith” is a vessel of spring-action pound complete with echoey singing and more psych-tinged soloing. From there, in the record’s penultimate spot, “Relentless Sinners” brandishes patterns of attack that are a tad reminiscent of Led Zep’s “The Immigrant Song,” but simultaneously, they keep that impulse in check.
It’s in the ten-minute finale “Bloodguilt” that Draken most successfully mingles the doom, the prog, and the classic heavy rock elements, before transforming halfway through into a vessel of pure blast and blaze, and then going atmospheric in the waning seconds. Overall, Draken are far from groundbreakers on Book of Black, but they do manage to sound fresh and inspired throughout the set. And that’s worth a lot.
GRADED ON A CURVE:
B+
