MESSIAH’S KISS – Dragonheart

Dragonheart is the third full-length effort from the German Heavy Metal band Messiah’s Kiss. Their style is fast and hard Heavy Metal, almost Power Metal. At times, it sounds like a mix between Iron Savior and Metal Church. The band consists of Georg Kraft, Eckhard Ostra, Mike Tirelli (Holy Mother, Riot), and Wayne Banks (ex-Godsend, ex-Sabbat). According to the band’s Web site, the title Dragonheart represents “ … the soul and the style for (…) straight-up, uncompromising, and full power for the faithful – traditional Heavy Metal of the finest quality!”

The highlights on this album aren’t many, but a couple of songs stand out. “Thunders Of The Night” sounds like a Judas Priest song with catchy riffs and a chorus with sing-along potential. Unlike most of the songs on Dragonheart, this song is slow, but really heavy, similar to the Judas Priest songs “I’m A Rocker” and “You Got Another Thing Comin’.” Tirelli’s voice sounds great for this type of Metal. It’s crude and rough, but still strong and powerful. No questions asked why he’s the vocalist for Holy Mother and Riot as well.

“City Of Angels” is also a slower track and could almost function as a power ballad. This is actually another sing-along. It’s the type of song that just goes on and on without boring you, and praise be to the higher powers of the Metal Gods for giving the band the ability to end the song in a great way instead of fading the song, like so many other bands would have. That’s a big plus for the song. The song’s enormous sing-along potential with massive choir effects on the chorus goes great with the eminent guitar solo on this track.

It should also be mentioned that hard, heavy, and fast songs like “Babylon” and “Nocturnal” kick some serious ass, with double bass drum pedal action and massive guitar riffs. But overall, the material on this album is not the strongest. There is some good Metal here, and it’s worthy to headbang to, but it’s most likely not an album you’ll embrace with all your heart. It just doesn’t have enough stand-out material for that and the songs will disappear deep into the jungle of Heavy Metal.

The production on the record sounds good, and producer Herman Frank (ex-Accept, Victory) has done a great job, as fans are used to from his works with Saxon (Heavy Metal Thunder, Killing Ground) and Messiah’s Kiss (Prayer For The Dying). Frank also appears as a guest musician on Dragonheart, performing all guitar solos. The man is truly talented. By the way, check out the cover art by Luis Royo. Nice piece of work!

Line-up:
• Mike Tirelli – Vocals
• Georg Kraft – Guitars
• Wayne Banks – Bass
• Eckhard Ostra – Drums