Formed a few years ago by two brothers (Brian Ross and Bradley Mehlenbacher) from Rhode Island, Draco and the Malfoys is one of the best bands in the wizard rock phenomenon. (As a side note, for anyone unfamiliar with Harry Potter, wizard rock is a musical movement spawned by the Harry Potter series; wizard rock bands write and sing--usually comical--songs from the perspective of different characters in the novels). While wizard rock does rely on the popularity of the novels for the purpose of gaining an audience, many of the bands--Harry and the Potters, The Moaning Myrtles, The Parselmouths, The Cedric Diggorys, Fred and George, etc.--demonstrate that they’ve got pure musical talent as well as an overly-obsessive penchant for the HP novels.
Draco and the Malfoys’ self-titled debut (the predecessor to their recently released sophomore album, Party Like You’re Evil!) contains twelve rocking tracks aimed mostly at Draco’s much despised enemy, Harry Potter. The soft-rock track, "Potions Yesterday" elevated by heavy drums in the latter half of the song, takes a stab against Harry and his worst subject at Hogwarts, Potions. “My Dad is Rich” is perhaps the most cynical track (highlighted by some awesome, slick guitar riffs) on the album--here, Draco shamelessly reminds Harry of his dead parents: “my mom says she loves me/and she tucks me into bed/how’s your mommy doing/in the mirror of Erised?” In “Your Family is Poor”, Draco makes fun of Harry’s unwealthy sidekick, the lovable Ron Weasley. The best tracks on the album include “99 Death Eaters” (sung to the tune of “99 Red Balloons”), the fast, feel-good pop number “Voldemort is Awesome” (in which the duo enthusiastically praise the Dark Lord: “Voldemort, I think that you are really freaking awesome”), and the mellow and hilarious “Tom Felton’s Kinda Hot.”
Although aimed at fans of the series, Draco and the Malfoys can be appreciated by everyone. The twelve tracks on this record demonstrate that the duo has got pure, unadulterated talent--check out the absolutely sick guitar solos and riffs and hardcore drum work on “I Couldn’t Kill Albus Dumbledore,” “My Dad is Rich”, and “In Which I Kick Harry Potter in the Face”. Clearly, Draco and the Malfoys are more than just two overly-enthused Harry Potter fans. Wizard rock is immortalizing the Harry Potter experience despite the end of the series, and Draco and the Malfoys are giving evil a rocking reputation!
"Draco and the Malfoys" is on sale April 4, 2007 from Self-Release.
