Draconian 'Arcane Rain Fell' review
Release date: 2004
Label(s): Napalm
Duration: 60:24
Details
- A Scenery of Loss
- Daylight Misery
- The Apostasy Canticle
- Expostulation
- Heaven Laid in Tears (Angels' Lament)
- The Abhorrent Rays
- The Everlasting Scar
- Death, Come Near Me
Review
In this gothic doom masterpiece, Sweden's Draconian put in their full force. The album itself is reminiscent of Theatre of Tragedy's doom days. The album displays slightly better production that its predecessor, 'Where Lovers Mourn', but sticks to a similar atmosphere. Using extracts from Paradise Lost (Milton's epic poem), and Cain: A Mystery (a play by Lord Byron), the lyrics have become far more poetic and mournful. Draconian also enlisted the help of Ryan Henry to perform the spoken verse.
The album begins to the sound of rainfall, as one would expect from an album bearing the title 'Arcane Rain Fell', followed by a sombre guitar solo. First, we hear the reading of an extract from Paradise Lost. The tempo is variable through out the song the climax is reached when Lisa's part begins. This is followed by the heavier number, "Daylight Misery". Now, you'll hear the weakest point in the whole album, the very forgettable "The Apostasy Canticle". The more up-tempo "The Abhorrent Rays" is one of the album's highlights and showcases Ander's amazing growling alongside Draconian's ability to perform faster songs. "Heaven Laid in Tears" is one of the more symphonic orientated songs of the album, sounding more like a song from early Within Temptation than a Draconian piece.
The album climaxes on the final song, "Death, Come Near Me", a re-make of a song from 'The Closed Eyes of Paradise' with an extra 11 minutes. The song changes time signature at least 20 times during the progression of the song, almost coming to a dead stop at one point. The conclusion of the album brings me, quite nicely, to the conclusion of my review and I am pleased to award the album, the score of:
8/10