Welcome to Gaia! :: View User's Journal | Gaia Journals

The beginning of Sweden’s DRACONIAN can be traced back to May 1994, when Johan Ericson (drums, vocals), Andy Hindenäs (guitars) and Jesper Stolpe (bass, vocals) joined forces as KERBEROS, a melodic heavy/death metal ensemble with black metal influences. Seven months later, lead vocalist and poet Anders Jacobsson joined the band, which then changed its name to what it is today.

Over the next months, DRACONIAN worked diligently on new material that eventually found its way to their first demo Shades of a Lost Moon which was released in February 1996. At the end of January 1997, DRACONIAN recorded their second demo, In Glorious Victory. Unfortunately, the band quickly grew discontent with the sound quality of the recording and decided not to release it. In early August 1999, DRACONIAN entered Studio Kuling to record The Closed Eye of Paradise, an album that dealt with the mystical dark theme of Lucifer and his fallen angels, the true face of God, and the forthcoming battle.

Unfortunately, the recording, suffering from a bad production, was again not up to DRACONIAN’s high standards and was not released before 2000, after the band had done various improvements to the original recording.

DRACONIAN began concentrating on creating something fresh and unique. Their sound became slower, darker, and doomier. The material that ensued guided DRACONIAN in a different direction. Their 2-track promo Frozen Features was made available on the Internet, as well as in CD format. A final demo was recorded in the summer of 2002 featuring the vocal talents of Lisa Johansson for the first time. Dark Oceans We Cry paved the final way for DRACONIAN to transcend out of the unknown and into the limelight. The demo received outstanding reviews and the band signed a long-awaited record deal with NAPALM RECORDS.

DRACONIAN recorded their debut album, Where Lovers Mourn in Studio Mega under the supervision of Chris Silver (ex Sundown and Cemetary member) in July 2003.

Just two years later, under the direction of Pelle Saether, DRACONIAN entered Studio Underground in Västerås to record Arcane Rain Fell in 2005.

In 2006 DRACONIAN began working on their third release. But due to myriad fan requests, the band decided to first deliver a bonus album to include remakes of old tracks from The Closed Eyes of Paradise demo. The Burning Halo would also include three new tracks and two covers. Plagued by numerous problems throughout the production phases, the album was delayed and finally completed in June and released in September 2006.

Produced by Andreas Karlsson and Johan Ericson, and mixed in Anders Ljudbild by Anders Bergström, The Burning Halo is a majestic blend of DRACONIAN’s previous two releases, which shows the Swedish Doom Metal masters in perfect form, having developed into one of the scene's top acts.

In September 2007, DRACONIAN began recording their 4th album Turning Season Within at the Fascination Street Studios in Örebro with producers Jens Bogren and David Castillo (Opeth, Katatonia).

Turning Season Within is both tragic and beautiful, and filled with songs of longing and drama. Only DRACONIAN is able to so skillfully follow romantic passages and wonderful female vocal arrangements with the tuned-down walls of darkish riffs and violent vocal passages or even compose dreamy melodies fit for an eternity, only to forcefully tear them down, thus creating a beguiling yet heavy fusion of Doom and Gothic Metal.

Vocalist Anders Jacobsson had this to say about the most personal and down-to-earth DRACONIAN lyrics to date: "Failing and hopeless love relationships, as well as how we deal with them is what this album is about." Refuting the belief that such subject matter doesn’t go well with dark and heavy music, he further explains "pain is a topic that never grows old in musical themes. Some people seem to forget that love can be the greatest hell you have to manage, while remaining vital to our existence. In this way, I think that our music, with both the harsh and tender moments, fits these lyrics extremely well. The disparate dispositions define our emotional world, and love can be both heaven and hell."