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Draconic is a modern progressive metal band formed in 2003 in Belgrade, Serbia as a project of keyboardist Branislav Stankovic. Originally created as a symphonic black metal band compromised mostly of studio musicians, the project has since grown and diversified into a completely functional band with six full time members. Musically, the band is an amalgam of old school metal with a monstrously heavy and layered slab of modern progressive textures and death metal influences. To date, Draconic has released one studio album Conflux with their second upcoming release From the Wrong Side of the Aperture scheduled for release on April 3, 2009.

Birth and Conflux (2003-2004)
Draconic’s musical journey began in 2003 as a project of keyboardist Branislav Stankovic. Envisioning a modern and unique take on symphonic black metal, Stankovic pushed the project forward with cryptic naming aliases, a heavy cyber keyboard laden sound, and almost futuristic musical feel. Working towards a debut recording, he quickly assembled the help of studio musicians from some of Serbia’s most prominent metal bands and began sessions for an album entitled Conflux. With the help of the Brankovic brothers (Alogia, Psychoparadox), the debut album was quickly recorded and engineered with what has been credited as a high production value and a fresh sound. The finalized recording was released in 2004 by local independent label Rock Express Records. The album met some local acclaim and has been described by some as a heavy mix of melodic and progressive black metal, ranging in styles from Borknagar to Dimmu Borgir. While Conflux had a small distribution and reached mostly within Serbia itself, regional heavy metal fans and friends of the Draconic were eager to see what the band was capable of.



Reorganization and Maturation (2004-2007)
After the release of Conflux, Stankovic began focusing his attention on turning Draconic into an actual working band and enlisted musicians from Belgrade’s local metal scene. Leading up to and including the earlier sessions, Draconic had been little more than a studio project of revolving musicians. With the inclusion of guitarist Vanja Dusan Andrijasevic and bassist David Lazar Galic in 2004, a solid working band began to emerge. With the promotion of Conflux over, the band began working on new material as a group. It soon became glaringly obvious that the new line-up had no interest in continuing to write music in the symphonic black metal style of the debut. Draconic spent the next several years honing their craft live and in the studio, writing and demoing new music, and searching for the right musicians to complete the new line-up. As time went on and the band continued to perform and explore the local Serbian scene for artists and supports alike, Marjan Mijic, Uros Andrijasevic, and Milos Kovacevic found a place in Draconic as permanent members. With several years of playing behind them and new material in the works, the band developed a sizable local fan following and reputation for their energetic live concerts.