Draconis is a Black/Death metal band from Southern California, and "The Cult of the Dragon" is their latest recording. Filled with catchy and intricate riffing, spot-on drumming with technical flare, and insane vocals, "The Cult of the Dragon" pays homage to the glory days of blackened death metal (i.e. Dissection, Necrophobic, Sacramentum, Emperor, Dismember,) with a twist of thrashy riffing and rhythm matching ANYTHING Lamb of God, Exodus, Testament, or Forbidden has ever brought to the table. Production is stellar with the exception of the vocals being a bit distant, however this may be the band's preference as some vocal parts are accented and/or double tracked to give more emphasis to certain parts of the song. Compared to their earlier material this release CRUSHES, attention to detail is displayed on every single one of the 9 tracks on this disc, including the instrumental "Unveiling the Hidden Knowledge" and is particularly evident on the album opener: "Exalted Infernal Legions" the title track "The Cult of the Dragon - Authors of all Pain" and the EPIC: "Curse of Salvation" I give this release a 9 out of 10, check out the songs at their myspace: www.myspace.com/officialdraconis