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Somehow I missed out on Draconian’s debut album “Where Lovers Mourn”, which is surprising considering just how much this band fits into my taste classifications. What we have here is doom / death metal in its purest, most beautiful, desperate form, with male death vocals, exquisite female vocals, crushing riffs and atmosphere galore. Being that some of my favourite bands are My Dying Bride, Swallow the Sun, Rapture etc., this formula is guaranteed to grab my attention, but that’s not to say that I’m not critical of albums in this style when they’re not up to the high standards set by the above listed bands.
Right from the outset, “Arcane Rain Fell” is beautifully bleak and emotionally powerful with rain and thunder setting the mood and increasing the effectiveness of the slow melodious dirge that follows. In fact, the first track “A Scenery of Loss” is the highlight of the album for me, being a 9 minute epic that showcases the songwriting abilities of these Swedish doomsters. It also displays how effective female vocals can be used in doom when it’s done properly. Lisa has a fantastic voice that isn’t too operatic, and instead both tender and powerful.
There is definitely an obvious similarity to My Dying Bride and Novembers Doom in Draconian’s music, but that can only be a good thing in my book, and it’s not distractingly so. I guess the only thing I will complain about is their occasional use of speed. The band definitely works best during the slower intense sections. When they do try to change the pace, which is a perfectly good thing to do, they tend to chug along a bit like early My Dying Bride used to do before “Turn Loose the Swans”. But I guess it really just makes it all the more satisfying when they crunch back down into doomier realms. What’s amazing, is that I have found myself enjoying this album immensely and I can already place the name Draconian up with all the above mentioned bands without them looking out of place.
If you’re even slightly into the darker side of doom, then “Arcane Rain Fell” is a classic and you can buy it blindly. 60 minutes of beautifully executed despair and I’m so thankful The Metal Matrix has brought it to my attention.
Best tracks : "A Scenery of Loss", "The Apostasy Canticle" and "Death, Come Near Me".
The Metal Matrix result : At the time of writing this review, the album has a rating of 82.28 after 40 reviews. This places the album into the category of "Metal Matrix Credit".
Without The Metal Matrix, I would never have given Draconian a listen, but the system obviously works. This is one of the best albums of its kind and will almost certainly move up into the Distinction section soon enough. Don't let it pass you by either!
The Trickster has spoken (7 March 2005) thetrickster@themetalmatrix.com
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Lords of Metal - "Let yourself be bewitched by the majestic enchantment and let yourself go into the empyrean beauty of this music. It is only January and I know for sure this will end up high in my top 20 of 2005. For this is one of the best doom metal albums I have heard in months. Everything is marvellous on this album, even the female vocals are bloodcurdling fine." 96/100
Metalreview.com - "As well as the upped doom elements and improved song wring, the production has been fleshed out and has that lush, enveloping tone that the fins (Rapture, Shape of Despair, Swallow the Sun, Insomnium) have perfected, raising the album to be more on par with those bands. Arcane Rain Fell is a damn fine slab of melancholy brilliance that elevates them to the upper echelon of the genre. Now you must excuse me, I erm…. have something in my eye." 5.5/6
Scandinavian Metal - "“Arcane Rain Fell” is a solid album from beginning to end and sounds exactly like I had expected it to be. With so many new promising bands popping up all the time it gets more difficult to creative something unique. Draconian is not an unique band, buy they’re by all means not a bad band either. They have a distinct sound that fits their music perfectly and a clear direction of what they want to achieve, and it works. I think that their first album was better than this time around. But since they pretty much follow in the same footsteps on this album, you can’t complain. Just sit back and enjoy the beautiful music of Draconian." 8/10
Metal Storm.ee - "“Arcane Rain Fell” is this kind of album which will give you shivers, and if like me you are a fan of Doom Metal or real Gothic music, no doubt that you’ll be dazzle of this new release. With a great and perfect production, a great artwork in the pure tradition of the Gothic Doom Metal, I can’t find any problems to this CD. This is a real perfection…" 9/10
Gryphonmetal - "this album is empowered by emotions and incredible elegance, it is obscure, supported by a flawless production (the CD was recorded under Pelle Saether's direction ). Played well, sung well with good taste and melancholic strong melodies . Bonjour powerful "tristesse" and romanticism !" 8.6/10
Transcending the Mundane - "I do think this band could add quite a bit to this style of music, as they have a certain amount of their own sound. However, I don't think they will release a truly original and excellent piece of work for another album or two. If this is your first album of this genre you'll probably enjoy it a lot, however if you've already heard bands like Tristania or Theatre of Tragedy, this probably won't sound too original, though it is a solid disc." 7/10
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