My Review Of “Killing The Dragon”
…by Mark K. Rakes (Strype)
1. KILLING THE DRAGON
The beginning of this song, when the guitar comes in, has a distinct Iron Maiden feel too it, in the sense that a lot of Maiden songs are played while riding their e strings in triplets. But that quickly gives way to the classic Black Sabbath/Dio sound! Nice and Heavy…I believe this song will definitely quickly become a Dio classic!
The words, at first glance, conjure up images of battles between dragons and dragon slayers, castles, knights, etc. But after further consideration, I believe there is a deeper meaning behind the words; I believe these lyrics are actually referring to Internet addiction, while possibly alluding also to Internet predators. In this frame of thinking, if you will read the lyrics while keeping the following concepts and word associations in mind, I think you will see my meaning.
"Silence
We hunt for the queen
Sign of the cross
And pray in between"
Parents obviously want the best for their children, but while parenting doesn't come with an instruction handbook, we do our best, and hope and pray that our children will adhere to our teachings and get the best out of it, and that no outside influences will adversely affect their inner selves.
In the previous passage, "queen" would represent the perfect product that the child(ren) could become with our teachings…a "holy grail" of a person, if you will.
"Something's taken a child"
Meaning the addiction to the internet, spending most waking hours on it, takes thechild(ren) away from what their full potential could be.
"And it all must end
Time to be killing the dragon again"
"Dragon" here represents the addiction.
"Oh to be never afraid "Wolves at the door howling for more"…Could this be alluding to Internet
predators? Or maybe to the addiction rearing it's ugly head in the form
of temptation? "Kneel and behold your new king "Digital dreams" - "Small gods with electrical hearts"…Pretty obvious,
isn't it? A computer…the Internet. On second thought, this song could just be about technology in general,
couldn't it?
Please keep in mind that I could be way off base here, and this is just
a concept that came to MY mind while reading these lyrics. This song
could just as easily be about something entirely different!
2. ALONG COMES A SPIDER This song
has an epic feel to it. It’s right here, in your face, and makes no
apologies!
(But, to be sure, It has absolutely NOTHING to apologize for!) The
guitar solo
is played fast and furious, precise, and has a touch of Yngwie feel at
the end
of the solo. This is a very strong song and, if it doesn’t simply kick
you in
the ass right away, will definitely grow on you very
quickly!
3. SCREAM This one
has a very “Heaven And Hell”ish feel to it in the beginning. Again,
nice and
heavy. This is one of those songs that could get so much radio play
that it’s
over killed.
4. BETTER IN THE DARK A
fast
song. One of those songs that will have your feet tapping right along
to the
beat. Definitely one that will pick you up and kick you in the ass
right away.
It’s got a great bass line. The guitar simply moves right along at the
speed of
light. Destined to be one of the greats.
5. ROCK AND ROLL This one
has a very nice, slow acoustic and vocal introduction, which sounds
great. The
main riff has a very Led Zeppelin feel to it…in the vein of Kashmir.
This is the
kind of song that you could sit in the dark, headphones on, eyes
closed, volume
up all the way, and just lose yourself in. I do feel, however, that the
chorus
on this song leaves something to be desired.
6. PUSH Now here
is a strong chorus with a great hook! It’s no wonder spitfire used the
chorus of
this song as a sound clip on their website to “push” this album! ;-)
This one
will have you singing right along with it in no time flat!
7. GUILTY Another
heavy sounding song. Nice time change just before the guitar solo. This
song’s
got a nice hook that will remain with you well after the song has
ended. Ronnie
does a great job with his own backing vocals towards the end of the
song.
8. THROW AWAY THE CHILDREN Oh
man…what can I say that will do this song justice? A tragic
masterpiece! The
hook (and WHAT a hook it is!) is all over this one! The chorus is
simply
enchanting and exceptional. Doug’s guitar tone fits the feel of the
song very
well. This song has a slow steady rhythm, with a Sabbath feel
(especially the
guitar solo). This song takes on the task of portraying the life (and death) of one
runaway child, used as an example of the nightmarish life of neglect and
abuse that way too many children, (indeed, even one is too many!!!),
must endure at the hands of uncaring, selfish, unscrupulous, perverted
predators that infest this world and prey on the lives of these poor lost
children. These so called people pretend to be someone that will care
for these children, and say that they will provide for them, all so that
they can profit from there evil plans of what they have in store for
the children…usually prostitution. Then when these children are no longer
profitable, or their "usefulness" has expired, they turn their backs on
these children. The song doesn't touch on what caused the death of this
particular child, be it A.I.D.S., drug abuse, murder, or whatever, but
that, I believe, is because all of these things (and more) are causes
of death every single day that ends the lives of these
innocents. If the
words and feel don’t make you hate anyone and everyone that has ever
taken
advantage of a child…and make you want to donate to the “Children Of
The Night”
foundation, then the children’s voices at the end will have you
whipping out
your wallets so fast you’ll have friction burns on your behind! This
song tugs
very efficiently at the heartstrings. It can and does have the tears
straining
to break free from the confines of your eyelids…My advice? Let ‘em
flow! And
make sure to visit
http://childrenofthenight.org/ and make your donations to help
these poor,
unfortunate children who so desperately need our help! EVERY PENNY
COUNTS!!! The children’s chorus has helped Ronnie give
this song
just the edge it needs to be one of the most emotional cries for help
that this
listener has ever heard. Any cry for help is a sad event, but when a
cry for
help comes in the form of a song, such as this one, it does it’s cause
justice
and helps bring relief…And though the reason for this song’s existence
is a sad
one, the song is a pleasure to listen too…this is one that will stay
with me for
years to come! Dio said “Let there be a masterpiece of a song”,
and
there was. Dio looked at it, and saw that it was good! And he called
the
masterpiece “Throw Away The Children”.
9. BEFORE THE FALL This song
has a good riff, the two
Hammond
solos have a very Deep Purpleish sound to them, with a touch of old
Uriah Heep
thrown in for good measure. And though this is a good song, after the
first
spin, it doesn’t strike this listener as one that will be one of my
favorites…but who knows, given the chance of a few more spins, maybe
all that
will change. But for now, the review for this song ends like this…”And
on the
ninth song, Dio rested.” ----UPDATE----…I've changed my mind! ;-)
This song has indeed grown on me, in fact, there is not a song on the
entire album that I dislike in any way, shape, or form! I've listened to
the album now, front to back, many, many times over, and just simply
cannot get enough of it…and that includes this song!
10. COLD FEET Great groove and hook…It has the feel of a great
sing-a-long! I could well imagine sitting around the campfire with a
guitar in
hand…and everyone belting out the lyrics for this at the top of their
lungs into
the night’s darkness. Curious eyes glowing from the darkness, as they
watch with
puzzlement the humans dancing around the open fire. This song has the unmistakable sound of another band Ronnie fronted for
several years…Elf!!
I can't help wondering if this song is meant to get us ready for
another Elf album in the not too distant future? Now THAT would be something!
But would also have this listener worried that maybe Ronnie was
thinking of retirement, as it could easily mark a career that's come full
circle.
Let us hope that this would not be the case, as I'd like to look
forward to new material from Ronnie for years to come! This one also
has the sound and feel of the Sacred Heart era, which is a very
good plus
in my book! Now I know
there are a few out there who didn’t especially like the Sacred Heart
era (a
very small number, one would hope)…but really, I mean seriously,
COME ON!
Someone should very lovingly, but sternly, slap some sense into
these misguided
souls! ;-) (This was
a joke people, please no one get their shorts all bunched up over this!
I
realize people have a right to their own screwed up opinions, and
heaven
knows……I have mine!!) So, to
conclude this listeners review, Ronnie is in top form on this album!
But, of
course, he never fails to simply astound! This album, I believe, will
continue
Dio’s climb back up the charts. I predict that this will be the best
album of
the year…PERIOD. Doug, the
newest member of Dio, is technically precise, delivers just the touch
each song
needs, be it fast, furious, and in your face, or slow, melodic, and
emotional.
This is one fan that hopes Doug will stick around for a VERY long time
to come!! This album
is easily one of the best albums I’ve heard in years…literally! It is a
pleasure
to listen to, and I predict that it won’t leave my CD player for months
to
come…(and then, and only IF it happens, that’ll only be for short
intervals!!)
Grab this
one immediately! You don’t want to miss out! You will never be happier
with a
purchase of music as you will with this one! Please
remember to visit
http://childrenofthenight.org/ !!!
Of wolves at the door
Howling for more"
Digital dreams
And wonderful things
To teach you
Small gods with electrical hearts
And it all will end
Time to be killing the dragon"