Draconian: A Rose For The Apocalypse

If you've been reading this blog for a while--and I hope there are a few people out there who can say that--you'll know that I adore this Swedish Goth Metal band. Love love love them. So, I wasted no time getting their brand new one (just out today)--A Rose for the Apocalypse.

I'll just tell you up front that I love it. It's not quite impressive enough to overtake their previous release, Turning Season Within, but it's close.

Draconian has this gift of writing music that is both powerful and beautiful--a throbbing, pounding beat accompanied by a synth line or vocal that is almost heart-breakingly beautiful, or a quiet, peaceful moment that erupts into a wild, powerful cacophony that will make you wish you were holding a guitar so you could bang along. (Fortunately for me that is an option!) Female vocalist Lisa Johannson has one of those magical voices that soars over the music or blends in with it--many times her vocals are layered in with the synthesizer line in the mix. Anders Jacobsson's harsh vocals provide a nice contrast--beauty and the beast, sort of. The interplay of their two different vocal styles, the friction that results, is a large part of the charm. There's a reason I've said I want to start a Draconian tribute band. If I can find a group of musicians who can produce music like this, this powerful and this dramatic, then they'll be able to play the kind of music that regularly thunders through my brain, too.

Another secret to their success is their production--there are a lot of sublties in the mix, little things that add so much. These guys know their sound.

Favorite tunes on this one? I've only listened to it all the way through once, and there aren't any tunes on here I don't like, but I'd have to pick "The Drowning Age," "The Last Hour of Ancient Sunlight," and "Elysian Night." Subject to change after repeated listenings--of which there will be many, I can assure you.


My final verdict? An A. Buy it. Now. And get Turning Season Within, too, while you're at it. And prepare to have your mind blown. Yes, it is possible for someone to make music like this.

There's hope for us after all!

Still more stuff I dig

Here are a few more videos of stuff I really like.



Draconian--the live version of the first song I've ever heard of theirs, "Seasons Apart." Bewitching. Love this.

And a song from their upcoming new release, due out in a couple weeks.

An now, for something a little different, a little classic Tristania--"Angellore." Love the vocals on this one so frakkin' much.

And a litte more Tristania for you, "Equilibrium."

And I believe that's all Blogger is going to let me get away with tonight. I hope you dig them!

In a sharing mood

"Betrayal" by Winter's Thrall. Damned fine song.

I thought I'd share a few videos, of stuff I really dig. Like this one, of one of my favorite bands, Draconian, performing one of my favorite songs, "Heaven Laid In Tears."

O, sweet cartharsis

I know, people think I'm really weird.
Of course there are a lot of things about me that you could say that about, but what I'm thinking of right now is the way I deal with grief and sadness. I listen to music.

Now, I know, everybody listens to music during those times, but to me it's so much more than that. It's something that really helps me to get the pain and anguish out.

Right after 9/11 I listened to my recording of Barber's "Adagio for Strings"--LA Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein conducting--over and over again. It helped me. The longing, sadness, and pain I hear in that piece of music resonates on a primitive level that goes beyond mere words.

With everything that's going on in my life right now I'm finding Draconian a perfect fit. The rage, sadness, unexpected beauty, the sheer power and agony in their music speaks to me in a way more profound than anything else could. I'm listening to "When I Wake" over and over again--the bridge to that song is one of the most incredible, overwhelming moments I have ever encountered in any piece of music. You just have to hear it for yourself. I can't describe it. Please, listen to it. All the way through. Just once. You can get it from Amazon, or ITunes.

Of course, people don't get that. They listen to music but they don't see it as the balm that I do. Different strokes, I know.

What do you do when your world is falling apart, or you find yourself grieving? What helps you get through those times?

Draconian music

Okay, I know I'm late to the party, but I just discovered this Swedish Goth Metal band today.

Oh. My. God.

I've never been a big proponent to harsh vocals (though I have played with them a little lately) but this band has helped to change my mind. The interplay between Anders Jacobsson's harsh vocals and Lisa Johansson's beautiful, clean voice adds such powerful contrast. It's skillfully done. Add to that the unbelievable power of the music--every song is almost too powerful, really. Incredibly dramatic music. These guys need to be doing music for movies.

I'm not kidding, I"m blown away. I'm in awe. Listen to the first track on Turning Season Within, "Seasons Apart." Moments of quiet, melodic beauty, mixed with incredible power and dramatically building music. This is the kind of thing I'm usually trying to do myself, with my own music.

They are currently touring with two other bands I love, Epica and Tristania. Gods. That would be an unforgettable show.