Creating grand, multilayered metal is not an easy process. To make a specific type of musical vision reality there’s so many necessary moving parts — the personnel needed to fulfill a specific instrument role, hiring the right production team to give an album the sound it deserves, and of course the writing and composition process itself (as well as finding the the time and studio space to bring all these parts together). Continuing the thirty-year musical journey of band leader Vincent Urbain is Sangdragon’s second full-length Hierophant, a two-part album split between symphonic black/death metal (The Black Dragon) and medieval folk (The White Dragon). There might be a glorious vision on display here for those who have followed Urbain’s work since the early ’90s, but as a standalone release it unfortunately falls far short of what’s necessary for an album of this nature to make any sort of impact in 2023.

Sangdragon’s history began in 1993 with Daemonium’s Opera of the Ancient War Spirit, a peculiar mix of medieval dungeon synth and only the occasional burst of sloppy black metal; this was followed in 1995 by Akhenaton’s Divine Symphonies, a more focused release but one that still very much felt like a bedroom black metal (or in this case, dungeon synth) project. Sangdragon first album emerged a full twenty years later as Requiem for Apocalypse, leading us to the “crowning jewel” Hierophant with its bombastic symphonic compositions and seven-member studio band. So does it feel like the culmination of three decades of work? Unfortunately, not even close. Perhaps it’s just a fact of when this music was composed, but The Black Dragon feels like it would be right at home in the mid-2000s with the symphonic metal that was popular at the time. There’s a clear attempt for a grandiose atmosphere with the orchestrations but most of the time they simply feel like an afterthought, merely replicating the guitar riffs — riffs that are one of the biggest downsides of the album themselves, remaining consistently devoid of any memorability (except when there’s an annoying abundance of pinch harmonics). No strong melody, no blackened atmosphere, and nothing particularly crushing and heavy despite their overreliance on death metal characteristics.

There are several moments where The Black Dragon almost feels like it’s going somewhere; “Carnal Legacy” and closer “Frozen Fear” take more folk inspiration in their melodies, and it almost works well! The latter in particular demonstrates how this could’ve been so much more interesting as a symphonic folk/black metal album, but it comes far too late to redeem the album in any way. Despite this near hit, the muddled mixing of the album is another element that tampers the whole experience — the drums are too overpowering, and the kick in particular cuts through all other aspects of the listening experience with a dull thud. Despite all the time and effort that must’ve gone into The Black Dragon, it unfortunately doesn’t seem to know what it wants to be.

As for part two of Hierophant, the folk-only The White Dragon, there really isn’t a whole lot to say about it. It’s pleasant medieval-inspired folk with only the occasional orchestration, often feeling like something you might expect to be main menu or city music in a fantasy video game. The production is thankfully a lot clearer; no pounding kick drum distracting you from the rest of the music here! There’s vocal harmonizing present throughout that would’ve been nice to hear incorporated into The Black Dragon; perhaps future Sangdragon releases will feature a more cohesive vision of the two styles. Aficionados of medieval folk may find more merit in these songs, but I’ll just stick with my castle metal à la Obsequiae.

It’s always a gamble when choosing an unknown name from the many releases on our promo list, and sadly I lost out this time. What I find most interesting about Hierophant is the questions it raises about how it managed to end up being so mediocre; were there too many cooks in the kitchen, or was it perhaps a single misguided vision? We can all think of a certain Finnish metal artist that has sat on a supposed masterpiece for an atrociously long amount of time, but sometimes it might be better to polish something up to a reasonable standard before putting it out into the world. The folk aspects on Hierophant are decent enough, but those seeking high-quality symphonic extreme metal are better off looking to other lands.

— Colin

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Hierophant will be available October 21 through Wake Up Dead Records. For more information on Sangdragon, visit their Facebook and Instagram pages.