Deströyer 666: "The Dragon" (2002)

Okay, I am doing a weird thing here.  I am reviewing a single song.  Now the reason for that is that I reasonably picked up a newer physical format version of the absolute classic Cold Steel...for an Iron Age that had a bonus track added to the end.  I had not heard "The Dragon" before, but had some thoughts about its inclusion at the end of such a classic album.

First of all, my view on bonus material has evolved over the years.  I used to be all for it early on in my fandom because it was MORE material.  Over time though, I have found most bonus material superfluous and unnecessary.  Even moreso because it really disrupts the way that the album was supposed to be heard.  Instead of ending naturally and intentionally, there are new songs added on, many of which do not truly fit at the end of an album.  I figured I would try to look past that apprehension when approaching this new track.

The song itself is great, fitting in well with the band's sound on this album.  It sounds like a mix between "The Calling" and "Savage Pitch".  It would fit in well toward the end of the album, but "Shadow" is pretty much the perfect example of a closing track, so adding a song on to the end of the album like this takes away from the feeling of completion with "Shadow".  Personally, if they were going to add a bonus song, maybe it would have fit in well in the latter half of the album, but then it might have disrupted the flow of the album as I knew it.