Born in 1995, DRAKKAR is one of the prime movers of the Italian Power Metal scene, together with bands like Rhapsody Of Fire, Labyrinth and Domine. Thanks to a lot of hard work and passion, and a slew of telluric concerts, the band quickly gained a good reputation in the area of Milan, their hometown, and between '96 and '97 published two demotape, well received in the italian metal underground. Thanks to these demos, Drakkar was offered a contract by Dragonheart Records, metal label under the wing of Audioglobe, one of the biggest distribution companies in Italy.
The debut album, "Quest For Glory", came out in 1998 and was supported by a lot of italian shows, the biggest of which was the one as opening band for the "Monsters Of Rock" festival in Turin, with bands like Saxon, Deep Purple, Primal Fear, Hammerfall, Dream Theater and so on. "Quest" got very nice reviews and managed to sold approximately 4,000 copies in the Dragonheart version alone. It was also licensed by Hellion Records to be published in Brazil, where again the band was met with enthusiasm from metal fans.
The following opus, "Gemini", an epic concept album based on a fantasy story written by guitarist/main composer Dario Beretta, came out in 2000 and once again raised the band's reputation. Thanks to a better production and a more mature style, the epic-power mixture of "Gemini" immediately became a fan-favourite, selling almost 6,000 copies and being licensed once again in Brazil, but also in South Korea and Argentina. The album also featured Roland Grapow (Helloween/Masterplan) as special guest on the song "The Voice Of The Wind".
The third album "Razorblade God" came out in 2002 with a new line-up. The new members, including new singer Davide Dell'Orto, helped Drakkar to create an even more personal sound, incorporating some thrash and 70's hard rock influences in the epic-power mold at the heart of the band.The band also shot an official videoclip for the song "To The Future". After such a good streak of albums, though, the band was confronted with a series of issues, both personal and musical, that forced them to slow down considerably. Their next effort would only see the light in 2007 in the form of a free-download, 4 songs-EP called "Classified". But the real comeback year was to be 2010. Having finally solved all the line-up and personal issues, Drakkar was able to begin the recordings for their fourth full-lenght.
The album, completed in March 2011 and called "When Lightning Strikes", has been recorded and mixed at Elnor Studio by Mattia Stanciou (Labyrinth, Crown Of Autumn), who also played the drum tracks on it, and mastered at House Of Audio/Hofa by Jürgen Lusky (Angra, Pink Cream 69). It's once again an epic concept album that melds powerful riffs, majestic melodies and a true metal attitude. The story behind the lyrics is a tale of classic science fiction with hystorical elements that is sure to captivate the more imaginative listeners. The record will be released in January 2012 by My Kingdom Music and will be followed and promoted by a series of live shows. The dragonship sails on.
