Dragojiniak/Fables Of A Forgotten Era/2023 EP Review

 

  Dragojiniak  are  a  solo  project  from  an  unknown  area  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  very  raw  and  old  school  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  self  released  2023  ep  "Fables  Of  A  Forgotten  Era".

  Dungeon  synth  style  keyboards  which  also  use  a  variety  of  many  different  sounding  keys  start  off  the  ep  and  also  mixes  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  songs  at  times.  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  dark  yet  melodic  style  and  the  vocals  ar e mostly  grim  sounding  black  metal  screams.

  Melodies  can  also  be  heard  in  some  of  the  guitar  riffing  at  times  while  the  songs  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  90's  influences.  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  can  be  heard  which  also  gives  the  recording  more  of  a  raw  feeling  and  the  tracks  also  add  in  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts,  spoken  words  can  also  be  heard  briefly  and  a  couple  of  the  tracks  are  also  instrumentals.        

  On  this  recording  Dragojiniak  expands  on  his  raw  and  old  school  style  of  black  metal  as  well  as  adding  in  some  elements  of  dungeon  style  to  create  something  very  different  from  previous  releases.  The  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  cover  War  and  Life  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Dragojiniak  and  if  you  are  a f an  of  raw  and  old  school  black  metal,   you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Black  Blood  And  Spikes"  and  "Autum's  nest".  8  out  of  10.

https://dragojiniak.bandcamp.com/album/fables-of-a-forgotten-era      

Dragojiniak Interview

 

 1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the solo project?

1.Dragojiniak it's a black metal one man project focused on discussing topics beyond occultism and religion. My goal with this project it's to produce music that tackles subjects of my own personal struggles and topics about life, war, love, frustration and of course envy.

2.In December you had released both a full length and an ep, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical style that you went for on those recordings?

2. For both releases I've tried to sound close to 90's norwegian and finnish Black Metal, with influences of War Metal, Ambient music and Dungeon Synth. However I think there is still a lot to improve as I am looking forward into producing a more polished and better produced sound.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects you have explored with the music so far?

3. As I've mentioned before, I like writing about War, Life and maybe philosophy (Even though I am a complete zero when it comes to philosphy). Many lyrics are deeply personal and I write according to the emotions I am feeling at the time, and while not great they are certainly written with passion.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Dragojiniak'?

4.Sounds crazy, but I have no idea how this name came to mind. One day I woke up and the words just came to my mind.

5.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the full length and ep cover's?

5.The ideia of the cover in Dragojiniak (the album) was to represent the world I have envision while writing the lyrics for the band. The ideia for Dragojiniak it's to be set in a medieval world. However instead of only singing about glorious battles and conquerors I want to sing about everyday life of peasents and farmers as well, so that is the reason why I chose to depict a peasent looking down to the river.

The cover art for Ascend is a painting made by russian artist Stepan Kolesnikoff, where a wolf in the snow looks at a warm hut. I simply chose this art because I think it looks good.

6.On the Instagram page you also had an occult symbol with a third eye in the middle, do you have any interest in Occultism?

6. This is a symbol I created specifically for the band, the ideia is to represent virtues and flaws found in both heroes and villains. Personally I have no interest in occultism and the symbol will make more sense later, as the ideia of Dragojiniak is to tell a story through music and the symbol will come in hand for the next Full-length.

7.With this project you record everything by yourself, are you open to working with other musicians or do you prefer to keep a lower profile?

7. I am thinking about working with others since I am not exaclty a good drummer or "producer".  While I am open for working with musicians, I would only do it with those who I personally know and trust.

8.On both the metal archives page you are listed as being from an unknown area, do you prefer to keep your location secret?

8. Yes, for the moment I have no interst in sharing personal details. Maybe in the future? Who knows...

Also the name used in my email (Gerald Sanders) is merely a pseudonymous I came up with and not my real name.

9.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?

9. I am interested, but I think my chances of getting signed are very low. I have been reached out by some P.R. agencies but I have no interest in it. But I am 100% open to negotiate with small labels, specially involving physical releases.

10.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of black metal?

10. I would say the debut album had some mixed reactions. Some liked it while others think it was not good, which is fine to me. Yesterday I was surprised to receive an email of a ""fan""" reaching out to me saying they liked the band, which is always something pleasent to hear.

11.Where do you see yourself heading into as a musician during the future?

11. I don't know, probably with some better skills and more knowledge in music production.

12.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

12.My main influences in Dragojiniak are Bathory (Blood fire Death era), early-Burzum, Absurd, Beherit and Mystifier. I would say that Bathory is the main influence, as I am looking to bring a more melodic and epic sound to Dragojiniak.

Lately I have been listening to a lot of Goatmoon, Absurd, Goatpenis, Goatkraft, Witchcraft (Finland), Deathgod Luciferi, Revenge, Blasphemy, Abnue, Wolftower (Finland), Burzum and Bathory.

(I am not a neonazi btw, I just enjoy music.)

13.before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

13. I want to thank the 'Occult Black Metal' zine for this interview. If you (the reader) have any interest in contacting me send me an email at " geraldsanders442@gmail.com" or DM me on instagram, I will gladly answer any questions or doubts.

Dragojiniak/Ascend/2022 EP Review

 

  This  is  a  review  of  another  recording  from  solo  project  Dragojiniak  which  continues  the  raw  and  old  school  style  of  black  metal  from  his  previous  release  with  elements  of  ambient  and  the  ep  was  self  released  in  2022  and  called  "Ascend".

  A  very  fast  and  raw  sound  starts  of  the  ep  along  with  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats.  Vocals  are  mostly  grim  yet  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  while  the  songs  also  add  in  a  decent  amount  of  old  school  influences  as  well  as  the  riffs  also  adding  in  a  small  amount  of  melody  at  times.

  Water  sounds  can  also  be  heard  briefly  while  one  of  the  songs  is  also  an  acoustic  guitar  instrumental.  The  heavier  tracks  also  add  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  the  closing  track  being  an  ambient  orientated  instrumental  which  also  adds  in  some  keyboards  and  each  sound  sounds  very  different  from  each  other.    

  On  this  recording  Dragojiniak  expands  on  his  raw  and  old  school  style  of  black  metal  by  adding  in  some  different  sounds  that  where  not  presented  on  the  previous  release.  The  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkness  and  anger  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Dragojiniak  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  raw  and  old  school  black  metal  with  elements  of  ambient,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Envy"  and  "Ascend".  8 out  of  10.

https://dragojiniak.bandcamp.com/

Dragojiniak/Self Titled/2022 Full Length Review

 

  Dragojiniak  are  a  solo  project  from  an  unknown  area  that  plays  a  very  raw  and  old  school form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  self  titled  and  self  released  2022  album.

  A  very  dark  and  heavy  sound  starts  off  the  album  while  the  vocals  are  mostly  grim  sounding  black  metal  screams.  Most  of t he  music  is  also  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  mid  90's  to  early  200's  era  along  with  some  dark  sounding  melodies  also  being  added  into  the  guitar  riffing  at  times  and  clean  playing  can  also  be  heard  briefly.

  Spoken  word  parts  are  also  added  on  one  of  the  tracks  while  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  also  add  in  a  decent  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  which  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  raw  feeling.  along  with  most  of  the  tracks  also  sticking  to  either  a  slow  or  mid  tempo  direction  as  well  as  the  keyboards  also  bringing  in  elements  of  ambient  when  they are  utilized  on  a  couple  of  instrumentals  and  as  the  recording  progresses  the  album  also  starts  adding  in  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  Dragonjiniak  plays  a  style  of  black  metal  that  is  very  raw  and  heavily  rooted  in  the  old  school  tradition  as  well  as  adding  in  touches  of  ambient  to  create  a  sound  of  his  own.  The  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkness  and  hate  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Dragonjiniak  are  a  very  great  sounding  raw  and  old  school  black  metal  solo  project  with  touches  of  ambient,  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Melancholic  Guilt"  and  "Dold  Revenge".  8  out  of  10.

  https://dragojiniak.bandcamp.com/

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