siLLy puPPy South America has been killin’ it in the last couple of decades with an infusion of creative metal bands emerging from the continent’s myriad nations ranging from Colombia’s Inquisition to Chile’s most recent success story Inanna. Argentina on the other hand has not quite been the hotbed of metal music activity that neighboring nations like Chile and Brazil have been conjuring up in recent years. While this nation has delivered the irresistible tango and some of the most sophisticated symphonic prog the world has ever experienced, stellar metal bands seem to elude the Argentinians.

Case in point is DRACONIS which has a long presence dating back to its formation in 2003 in the far southern reaches of Río Gallegos which is technically just a smidge closer to Antarctica than it is to the nation’s capital city of Buenos Aires. Bands emerging from such far flung places may bring to mind the remote regions of Scandinavia that have produced some of the most innovative and cutting edge metal of the ages however when it comes to Argentina’s Patagonian counterparts, this isn’t quite the case. DRACONIS has released a series of EPs and albums over the years with this one ANTHEMS FOR AN ETERNAL BATTLE being released as recently as 2020.

Existing in the frigid Pampa regions of Patagonia is no easy manner and the relative isolation of this region must make it virtually impossible to find a proper regional audience but that should be the impetus for crafting competent studio albums that make up for the lack of touring possibilities but for whatever reason DRACONIS can’t seem to get it together after 20 yeas of existence to dish out a competent studio release. Like many South American extreme metal bands, DRACONIS looks to the glory days for inspiration recounting the world of Morbid Angel and Obituary rather than the burgeoning world of more complex technical death metal that dominates the 21st century.

While the band is generally considered a death metal band, DRACONIS is more accurately a modern retro melodic death metal band that looks more towards the early years of the world of melodic death metal bringing bands like Dark Tranquility, Sentenced and At The Gates to mind more than the classic old school crowd. While that’s not inherently a bad thing, what makes DRACONIS sound so woefully average is that it fails to deliver on virtually every front. Firstly the musicianship is rather lackluster with a specific rotten tomato thrown at the anonymous drummer whose skill lacks both precision and prestige which as we all know are two qualities that are virtually mandatory in the world of high energy death metal. Add to that the riffs are fairly average and a bit too fluffy and flavorless to really get the death metal party going.

And what’s worse is that the production is just awful sounding more like a half-assed demo botch than anything resembling a full package album job that was the standard even back in the old school death metal days. While lo-fi techniques can serve a band’s sound to enhance the rawness and sincerity of the project, in the case of ANTHEMS OFR AN ETERNAL BATTLE, the overall effect is a tinny uninspiring lopsidedness that makes it hard to focus on the music at hand which in and of itself isn’t horribly awful at all. The band does showcase moments of creative fortitude and while the overall atmosphere of the band is a bit awkward at times it does serve in allowing the band to sound like no other. As far as the vocals go, Gerardo Vargas reminds me most of Vektor’s David DiSanto with that strained effect that hits all the notes effectively.

Overall this really is a bad release and while i can usually overlook certain amateur qualities if the music is of enough interest to shine through the shortcomings, unfortunately DRACONIS has delivered a very substandard release some two decades after its formation. Generically designed with a horrendous production accompanied by fairly bland uninspiring musicianship is the perfect recipe for disaster. While talent is shining through the cracks unfortunately it’s like a faint dimness that just beckons from the abyss without ever escaping its prison confines. In short, this band seems unlikely to develop after al this time but perhaps miracles do happen. I have to say that my favorite thing about this one is the album cover!