Band:	Dragony
Album:	Viribus Unitis
Style:	Power metal
Release date:	January 15, 2021
A review by:	tominator

01. On The Blue Danube
02. Gods Of War
03. Love You To Death
04. Magic
05. Darkness Within
06. A.E.I.O.U. [feat. Georg Neuhauser]
07. Viribus Unitis
08. Golden Dawn
09. Made Of Metal (Cyberpunk Joseph)
10. Battle Royale
11. Legends Never Die
12. Haben Sie Wien Schon Bei Nacht Gesehn [bonus]

Recipe for Viribus Unitis:
- 2 bottles of good guitar melodies
- 570 ml catchy symphonic elements
- 140 grams of extremely sugary lyrics
- 1 Alternate History concept cut into bite-sized pieces
- 2 teaspoons of absolute insanity

Put all the ingredients in a pot. Let simmer, but don't boil! Remove any form of grounded reality before serving. Enjoy!

So, let's start this year like we ended last year, by reviewing a power metal album. However, truth be told, Viribus Unitis is as different as can be from Persuader's record. That being said, I really enjoyed listening to this one.

Let's start with talking about the lyrics and concept story. So what's the story about? Glad you asked. It's about a guy from Austria in a position of power (no, not that one). I'm talking about Archduke Rudolf of Austria, son of Franz Joseph of Austria and Elisabeth of Bavaria (Sisi). And if that doesn't ring a bell, trust me you're not the only one. So, I did what any good researcher does when he has to look something up? I used Wikipedia. Turns out Archduke Rudolf committed suicide while his father and mother were still firmly on the throne. But, what does a dead man have to do with this story? That's a good question and this is where the aforementioned "alternate history" comes into play. Dragony decided to make a story where Rudolf uses black magic, Sisi gets brought back from the dead and starts rampaging through Europe with an army of zombies. Oh and Franz Joseph I becomes a cyborg by the hands of Nikola Tesla and fights against the zombie army of Sisi? Thematically and lyrically it's basically Wolfenstein, but with a pre-World War theme? Cheesy, over-the-top and fun.

Enough about the story, let's talk about the production, and production-wise they have done a good job. Guitars and bass have grit to them and the drums fit in well. The keyboard and symphonic elements are prominent in the mix, which really helps with their effectiveness (more on that later).

The band itself also delivers a good performance throughout. The thing that added a lot to the experience for me, though, are the vocals. Siegfried Samer manages to deliver a vocal performance that's exactly right for this album. A nice blend between epic and dramatic, but not overly serious at the same time.

Instrumentally it's really solid and also quite varied. From a piece of slightly altered Viennese waltz music flowing into an energetic fast-paced song to a song that has a bit of a marching feel to it. It's all here, all of it really catchy, and the keyboard and symphonic touches are a big reason why it is so catchy.

However, what I will say though, is that Viribus Unitis isn't exactly going to surprise you with its music. Dragony created a record that's really easy to listen to, no matter what mood you are in. It's well made and very effective, but doesn't stray too far away from the things you expect from a power metal record.

You know, thematically this reminded me of the Victorius album from last year. And by that I mean that it has a concept story that is (almost) as bonkers and insane. Coincidentally, this record is very similar in terms of how enjoyable it is; I do recommend Viribus Unitis for the people that do like power metal with some B-movie vibes to it.