u/tpotwc

I remember hearing this on The Goth Box back around 96. There’s a ferocious urgency in the drum and bass combo that is only equaled by Theatre of Hate and Death Cult

So many years ago I conflated Lake of Tears with Trail of Tears and never bothered to listen to them further. OMG, what a fool I’ve been. But guess what? I’m taking in this deep catalog for the first time and discovering decades worth of gold. I probably sound like a sucker, but imagine stumbling upon Paradise Lost or Draconian at this point for the first time. Other amazing songs - Like a Leaf, The Oragan, The Homecoming. So many more

The funny thing is I knew Demon You by Draconian many years ago and had forgotten I knew it was a cover

A Rose for the Apocalypse feels like Draconian’s most underrated album. Song for song I think it’s one of their best. The Quiet Storm doesn’t stand out at first as one of the stronger tracks, but to me it’s one of the tracks that hits hardest after connecting with the album. The last minute or so are so pained.

I stumbled upon this guy covering a number of goth bands on piano and especially enjoyed these versions of Theatre of Hate songs.He does Chameleons , Siouxsie, and other early bands.

Probably best appreciated if you know the band, who were huge on the original UK goth scene up until 1982, when they transitioned to Spear of Destiny. Not part of the modern goth origins narrative.

Draconian recorded several demos prior to Where Lovers Mourn, and both The Closed Eyes of Paradise and Dark Oceans We Cry are excellent. Although The Closed Eyes of Paradise features some muddy production, I'd argue it's the band's best album and song for song the best gothic metal album period. Four of the songs were rerecorded for The Burning Halo, but I prefer the originals, in particular The Morning Star and Gothic Embrace.

The Closed Eyes of Paradise is a concept album about Lucifer gathering an army of rebel angels in hell and storming heaven in revenge. There's a cohesive story told throughout - not usually something I look for in an album, but it really works in this case.

The album has so many unique bits - acoustic interludes that stand on their own as songs ( Una Tertius and Unfold Thine Hands in particular), the post punk goth intro to Caude Draconis, and the swelling outro Epilogue (A New Paradise) which is oddly partially lifted from the closing credits of Conan the Barbarian.

Susanne Arvidsson provides some beautiful vocals to contrast Anders' growls. It seems she gave up on the music industry, which is sad given her talent. She also provided the keyboard for the album, and there are some great parts towards the end of Gothic Embrace.

This entire album is amazing - somewhat of a marriage of Tristania's Widow's Weeds and the pop-sensibilities of Silent Force era Within Temptation. Sorrowful violin, sprinkles of piano, acoustic passages, and crushing lyrics. It's difficult to pick a song to post - I went with The Feast, as it feels representative of the album as a whole. Apathy Overdose would be the obvious choice, but I felt that would be too predictable.

This is an album that really deserves to be listened to all the way through, and I have to think that by the second listen most gothic metal fans will be swept up in it. If you just want to check out a few songs, I'd go with Apathy Overdose, Song of the Lost, and The Feast. Where the Pain Is is probably the gem on the album, but it took me a few listens before I realized it.

Sadly none of Ashes You Leave's other material hits the same. Perhaps the singer/pianist had an influence on this album's writing, as it is the only album she's featured on.

I learned that Heike (ex-Draconian) was on the new Sojourner album that came out of Friday. It’s hard not to draw a Draconian comparison, and it definitely scratches the same itch. While the guitar is a different style, there are some common musical elements, and the male vocals are not quite there but still in the same vein. I love the addition of piano, violin, and other instruments that Draconian has been missing for the past 20 years. Heike adds just what you’d hope to the songs, giving them a feeling similar to Sovran. Pretty good stuff and I’ll be listening to it more this week. Here’s one of the songs that stood out the first few times through.

One of the original pre-80s post punk bands involved in the early goth scene. Members went on to become Theatre of Hate and later Spear of Destiny.

A bit of a different vocal take for a gothic metal band, and there’s a comparison on the tip of my tongue that I just can’t figure out. I’d love to see complete footage of the live show that gets featured about midway through.

Live version of this Death Cult / Cult track off of the excellent Dreamtime: Live at the Lyceum album. Billy Duffy (ex-Theatre of Hate) delivers some great guitar lines

Wait, so not only do we get a new Draconian album this month, but Heike just dropped new LOR3L3I album?