Over 40 years of metal’s biological urge (and a hefty lack of restraint) has resulted in some incomprehensibly large catalogs. No one should have to listen to anywhere from 13 to 15 [Luca Turilli’s] Rhapsody [of Fire] albums just to get caught up for a new release. So whenever the fancy strikes us, we’re offering a selection of prime(r)(er) cuts to get you up to speed. Without further ado, welcome to…
Starting life as something like a blackened death act, Sweden’s Draconian quickly evolved into a prototypical, Theater of Tragedy-influenced “beauty and the beast” gothic death metal band by the time of their Where Lovers Mourn debut. Pairing powerful death roars with quasi-operatic female vocals, they soon developed into one of the best gothic doom acts out there, releasing massive albums like Arcane Rain Fell and Turning Seasons Within. 2015’s Sovran saw them improving on their sound yet again, creating lengthy odes to despair and suffering that hit you right in the feelz with a runaway melancholy truck. With a new platter about to drop, let’s hope Draconian can keep the depressive times flowing like beer at Oktoberfest. Sad songs say so much.
-Steel
- Where Lovers Mourn, 2003
– “The Cry of Silence”
– “A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal” - Arcane Rain Fell, 2005
– “The Apostasy Canticle”
– “Heaven Laid in Tears (Angel’s Lament)” - The Burning Halo, 2006
– “She Dies”
– “The Dying” - Turning Seasons Within, 2008
– “Seasons Apart”
– “Not Breathing” - A Rose for the Apocalypse, 2011
– “The Drowning Age”
– “End of the Rope”1 - Sovran, 2015
– “Pale Tortured Blue”
– “Stellar Tombs”
Draconian’s seventh album Under a Godless Veil will be released on October 30th worldwide via Napalm Records.
