One of my favorites... I’ve been playing this album quite a bit since it dropped on May 8th. I really like it. Draconian are back with their eighth record, and the big news is Lisa Johansson is singing with them again after all these years. She was on the early albums, left, and now she’s back sharing vocals with Anders Jacobsson. For me that was the main draw, and it delivers. It sounds like classic Draconian - that heavy, melancholic gothic doom with the beauty-and-the-beast vocals, slow crushing parts mixed with more atmospheric and emotional sections. It feels like a natural follow-up to their older stuff rather than trying to do something completely new, and that’s exactly what I wanted from them. The songs have good weight, nice melodies, and that gloomy atmosphere they do so well. Tracks like The Monochrome Blade and Anima (which has a guest vocal from Daniel Änghede) have really stuck with me. The whole thing runs about 58 minutes across 9 tracks, so it takes time but doesn’t feel dragged out. Lisa’s voice sits really nicely with Anders’ growls - it gives the album that old familiar feel I was hoping for. It’s not their most groundbreaking record, but it’s strong and very much “them”. If you’ve liked Draconian before, especially the earlier ones with Lisa, this should do it for you.Solid album. I’m happy with it.
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