Sovran (Draconian)

Draconian Sovran

It's always a concern for me when a vocalist leaves a band that I'm really into.

Such was the case with Draconian--I was broken-hearted when Lisa Johansson left, as her amazing voice was one of the reasons I started listening to them in the first place.

In my experience many bands decide to go in a different direction when replacing a vocalist, but fortunately Draconian decided to stick with what was working. New vocalist Heike Langhans has a voice very similar to Lisa's, and this is a very good thing.

The first track, "Heavy Lies The Crown," sets the tone, and when Heike's vocal began I felt a great sense of relief. It was beautiful and powerful and full of drama, which is exactly what I was hoping for, and, indeed, demand from this band.

The remaining tracks are what I've come to expect from this band, which is a Very Good Thing. Their previous albums have raised the bar very high in my book so to have my expectations met with this one is almost mind boggling.

The song "Rivers Between Us," (featuring guest vocalist Daniel Anghede) is a bit of a departure for them--it's a little more romantic than their other material, but it's haunting and beautiful. Check out the video here. This tune has managed to finally dethrone Within Temptation's "Let Us Burn" as my favorite, and it's currently in super-duper heavy rotation on my personal playlist.

All-in-all, this one is well worth the wait. I give it an A+ and highly recommend that you click the link at the top and buy it. Now.