Dragonland

Biography

Dragonland (stylized as “dragonlanb”) is a Swedish power metal band renowned for their self-produced The Dragonland Chronicles fantasy saga, which spans their first, second, and fifth albums. The band is also recognized for the original symphonic/electronic elements crafted by Elias Holmlid.

History

The band was founded in 1999 by guitarist Nicklas Magnusson and Jonas Heidgert. Soon after, Daniel Kvist, Magnus Olin, and Christer Pederson joined the band. Their first demo was recorded in January 2000. Just three months before starting to record their debut album, The Battle of the Ivory Plains×The Battle of the Ivory PlainsMay 2001 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube MusicTracklist · 12 tracks1Dragondawn2:412Storming Across Heaven4:303A Last Farewell6:164Ride for Glory4:165The Orcish March5:586The Battle of the Ivory Plains6:177Graveheart4:488Rondo A'la Turca1:469A Secret Unveiled5:5410World's End5:2611Dragondusk1:5212World's End (Demo)6:00, Kvist left the band and was replaced by Olof Mörck. The album was released on 30 April 2001, followed by their second album, Holy War×Holy WarMay 2002 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube MusicTracklist · 10 tracks1Hundred Years Have Passed2:242Majesty of the Mithril Mountains5:293Through Elven Woods and Dwarven Mines5:334Holy War6:485Calm Before the Storm4:496The Return to the Ivory Plains6:047Forever Walking Alone4:568Blazing Hate5:169A Thousand Points of Light6:0210One With All4:23, was released on 8 February 2002, with Heidgert still on drums.
Their third album, Starfall×Starfall27 October 2004 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube MusicTracklist · 13 tracks1As Madness Took Me3:582Starfall3:203Calling My Name4:504In Perfect Harmony4:425The Dream Seeker5:336The Shores of Our Land6:477The Returning4:428To the End of the World4:419The Book of Shadows, Part I: A Story Yet Untold3:1310The Book of Shadows, Part II: The Curse of Qa’a2:5211The Book of Shadows, Part III: The Glendora Outbreak4:5312Rusty Nail5:4713Sole Survivor4:07, was released on 27 October 2004, featuring Jesse Lindskog on drums. Tom S. Englund and Henrik Danhage (of Evergrey) and Johanna Andersson provided guest performances on the album, including vocals and guitar solos.
Their fourth album, Astronomy×Astronomy13 November 2006 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube MusicTracklist · 12 tracks1Supernova5:092Cassiopeia4:063Contact4:254Astronomy3:205Antimatter3:006The Book of Shadows Part IV: The Scrolls of Geometria Divina4:047Beethoven's Nightmare6:118Too Late for Sorrow3:369Direction: Perfection4:2910The Old House on the Hill Chapter I: A Death in the Family4:3011The Old House on the Hill Chapter II: The Thing in the Cellar3:0712The Old House on the Hill Chapter III: The Ring of Edward Waldon6:17, was released on 11 November 2006. Nightrage's Marios Iliopoulos, Amaranthe's Elize Ryd, Cyhra's Jake E and Dead by April's Jimmie Strimell provided guest appearances on this album.
Work on a fifth Dragonland album was announced via Blabbermouth on 27 April 2008. In September 2009, Dragonland launched their re-designed Myspace site, together with a high-quality preproduction of "The Shadow of The Mithril Mountains", a song from the fifth album. It took some time before the album was completely ready. Five years after Astronomy, the band finally released the fifth album, Under the Grey Banner×Under the Grey Banner18 November 2011 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube MusicTracklist · 12 tracks1Ilmarion3:182Shadow of the Mithril Mountains5:443The Tempest4:134A Thousand Towers White4:075Fire and Brimstone4:316The Black Mare6:137Lady of Goldenwood4:168Dûrnir’s Forge4:589The Trials of Mount Farnor5:2610Throne of Bones1:4711Under the Grey Banner8:0412Ivory Shores3:18, on 11 November 2011. Where Starfall and Astronomy are two separate albums, Under the Grey Banner continues the story of their first two albums.
On 25 October 2014, it was announced that they would release a reissue of the first album, The Battle of the Ivory Plains, and a remastered version of the second album, Holy War. Both albums have brand new cover artwork, and they were released on 5 December 2014. In the first album, there is also a newly recorded song, "A New Dawn", as its bonus track.
They have worked on their sixth album The Power of the Nightstar×The Power of the Nightstar12 October 2022 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube MusicTracklist · 14 tracks1The Awakening1:592A Light in the Dark5:313Flight From Destruction4:364Through Galaxies Endless4:305The Scattering of Darkness5:316A Threat From Beyond the Shadows5:587Aphelion2:378Celestial Squadron3:459Resurrecting an Ancient Technology5:2810The Power of the Nightstar5:0411Final Hour6:2312Journey's End9:1513Oblivion5:5614The Sun Always Shines on T.V.5:06, their first album in over a decade and, similarly to Starfall and Astronomy, separate from the Dragonland Chronicles saga, though following a different sci-fi storyline. The band has released the title track for the album as its first single and the band's first ever music video on 3 June 2022. The album's second single "Flight from Destruction×Flight From Destruction29 July 2022 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Flight From Destruction4:362The Power of the Nightstar5:04" was released on 29 July 2022, and the album was released on 14 October 2022.
The band will release their upcoming seventh album Prophecies×Prophecies23 October 2026 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1The Prophecy Unfolds3:502Rolling Waves3Survival of Mankind4:064The Perfumed Jungles of Chrysantion5Dragonland6Light of the Sunset7Glory and Gold8Making Darkened Nights So Bright9A Distant Memory10The Call of the Wild11Cries of Anguish12Running in the Night (Bonus Track) on 23 October 2026. The album will feature the final contributions to the band from Olof Mörck, whose departure was announced earlier this year because of increased inactivity in Amaranthe.

Band members

Current
Jonas Heidgert – vocals (1999–present), drums (1999–2002)
Elias Holmlid – keyboards (2000–present)
Jesse Lindskog – rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar, additional keyboard (2009–present), drums (2002–2009)
Anders Hammer – bass (2007–present)
Johan Nunez – drums (2014–present)
Former
Daniel Kvist – lead guitar (1999–2000)
Magnus Olin – drums (1999)
Robert Willstedt – drums (2002–2003)
Morten Löwe Sörensen – drums (2011–2014)
Christer Pederson – bass (1999–2007)
Nicklas Magnusson – rhythm guitar (1999–2011)
Olof Mörck – lead guitar (2000–2026), keyboards (1999–2000)
Timeline