Draconic is a

progressive metal Progressive metal (sometimes shortened to prog metal) is a broad :Fusion music genres, fusion music genre melding heavy metal music, heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified electric guitar, guitar-driven s ...

band from

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

. Formed in 2003, Draconic was initially a

symphonic black metal Symphonic black metal is a subgenre of black metal that emerged in the 1990s and incorporates symphonic and orchestral elements. Notable symphonic black metal bands include Cradle Of Filth, Dimmu Borgir, Emperor, and Carach Angren. History ...

band, and with the release of the second studio album, '' From the Wrong Side of the Aperture'' the band moved towards more progressive-oriented sound.

History

The band started out in 2003 as a solo project of

keyboardist A keyboardist or keyboard player is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instr ...

Branislav Stanković, who, with the help of members of the

progressive Progressive may refer to: Politics * Progressivism, a political philosophy in support of social reform ** Progressivism in the United States, the political philosophy in the American context * Progressive realism, an American foreign policy par ...

power metal Power metal is a subgenre of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional heavy metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. Generally, power metal is characterized by a faster, lighter, and more uplifting sound, in contra ...

band

AlogiA In psychology, alogia (; from Greek ἀ-, "without", and λόγος, "speech" + New Latin -ia) is poor thinking inferred from speech and language usage. "alogia An impoverishment in thinking that is inferred from observing speech and language beha ...

, recorded an album entitled '' Conflux''. The album was released in 2004 by Rock Express Records. With intentions of turning the Draconic studio project into an actual working band, Stanković enlisted several metal musicians from

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

, two of which were Vanja Dušan Andrijašević (

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

) and David Lazar Galić (

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

). When the promotional tour of ''Conflux'' ended, the band began working on new material. In the following years, the band recorded demos that marked their shift from the symphonic black metal sound and was looking for new members that would complete the lineup. After the lineup has been established, the culmination of the writing process of new material came in the fall of 2008, with the completion of the band's second album called '' From the Wrong Side of the Aperture'', that was generally well-received critically. The album featured different sound from the first one, being more progressive-oriented. The album was released in April 2009. Soon after, the band performed at the EXIT Festival in Novi Sad in 2009. Meanwhile, Marjan Mijić left the band soon after the release of ''From the Wrong Side of the Aperture'' for personal reasons. The band had found a new lead vocalist Jelena Stanićević, who performed a couple of live shows with the band (including the EXIT Festival), but also left the band. The band is currently writing material for the third album.

Influences

Draconic is mainly influenced by metal bands that the members grew up listening to during the 1990s, with

Strapping Young Lad Strapping Young Lad was a Canadian extreme metal band formed by Devin Townsend in Vancouver in 1994. The band started as a one-man studio project; Townsend played most of the instruments on the 1995 debut album, ''Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing' ...

Soilwork Soilwork is a Swedish melodic death metal band from Helsingborg. They are signed to Nuclear Blast. Formed in late 1995 by Björn Strid and Peter Wichers, originally under the name ''Inferior Breed'', the band changed their name in late 1996 to S ...

and

Meshuggah Meshuggah () is a Swedish extreme metal band formed in Umeå in 1985. Originally, the band's name was Metallien. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist Jens Kidman, guitarists Fredrik Thordendal and Mårten Hagström, drummer Tomas ...

being some of the band's main influences. Other influences include

Pantera Pantera () is an American heavy metal music, heavy metal band from Arlington, Texas formed in 1981, and currently comprised of vocalist Phil Anselmo, bassist Rex Brown, and touring musicians Zakk Wylde and Charlie Benante. The group's best-kn ...

In Flames In Flames is a Swedish heavy metal band, formed by guitarist Jesper Strömblad in Gothenburg in 1990. Alongside At the Gates and Dark Tranquillity, In Flames pioneered the genres known as Swedish death metal and melodic death metal. During t ...

Megadeth Megadeth is an American thrash metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by vocalist/guitarist Dave Mustaine. Known for their technically complex guitar work and musicianship, Megadeth is one of the "big four" of American thrash metal along wit ...

and

Dream Theater Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 under the name Majesty by John Petrucci, John Myung and Mike Portnoy while they attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. They subsequently dropped out of the ...

, among many other underground metal acts of the 1980s and 1990s.

Band members

Current Members: * Jovan Dorkin - vocals * David Lazar Galić - bass guitar, vocals * Branislav Stanković - keyboards * Vanja Dušan Andrijašević - guitar * Milan Jejina - drums and percussion Former: * Marjan Mijić - lead vocals * Uroš Andrijašević - guitar * Miloš "MC Mike" Kovačević - drums and percussion * Jelena Stanićević - lead vocals * Matija Dagović - drums

Discography

Studio albums

* '' Conflux'' (2004) * '' From the Wrong Side of the Aperture'' (2009)

Singles

* ''Hospitals'' (2011)

References

External links

Draconic Official MySpace

Interview with David Lazar Galić on Popboks
{{DEFAULTSORT:Draconic (Band) Musical groups from Belgrade Serbian black metal musical groups Serbian progressive metal musical groups Industrial metal musical groups Symphonic black metal musical groups