DRACONIAN ARCANE RAIN FELL ALBUM NAPALM, SOUND POLLUTION RELEASE: JANUARY 24, 2005 REVIEW: MARCH 14, 2005

I actually thought that the doom/goth genre was dead except for a few survivors like My Dying Bride and a horde of scavenging bands that have tricked the masses into believing that a few heavy chords and a soprano is all there is to it.
Boy, was I wrong, and the proof of that comes from my home country Sweden. "Arcane Rain Fell" is actually Draconian's second album in two years, and I hadn't really listened to the first, "Where Lovers Mourn", when "Arcane Rain Fell" came and hit me, right between the eyes. The lads who know about these kinds of things tell me that "Arcane Rain Fell" is harder and yet slower than its predecessor. Fine, I say, if that means it sounds like a nightmare during a thunderstorm, when all around you have betrayed you or passed away. This is gloomy as hell, with a, at times growling, at times merely talking Anders Jacobsson as a perfect counterpart to the beautiful voice of Lisa Johansson. Dynamic and dramatic is not enough to describe the effect.
Beneath a sky crossed by thunder and accompanied by chords as lead heavy as those of My Dying Bride, these two tell tales of misery and loss. And god, it is beautiful! The actual song highlights are "Daylight Misery" and "Scenery of Loss" (you get the mood, right?) but "Arcane Rain Fell" is an unnaturally even record with no fillers.
If this had come out 15-20 years ago, it had been groundbreaking. Now, sadly, Draconian tread on a path where lots of bands have walked before them. But they travel it nicely and with grace, all clad in black (I presume) and is a sight to behold to eyes and ears weary of today's goth-wannabees. A great, solid and sad record that makes you happy the genre isn't dead or dying.

KALLE MALMSTEDT