Draconian Resides "Under a Godless Veil" (Early Album Stream)
We rarely, if ever, cover gothic metal on Invisible Oranges, but make no mistake: there are fans hidden in our ranks (myself included). In the black metal world — and let’s be fair, we cover a lot of black metal here — gothic metal like Draconian can be seen as overwrought, maybe even goofy, but we also champion people who wear corpse makeup and light torches in the woods for aesthetic purposes and to “be cult” or whatever. Have you even given gothic metal a chance? Certainly not, but now is your chance.
Once again, the hidden masters of gothic death/doom metal release an absolute triumph of the genre. Draconian’s music, especially on Under A Godless Veil is a balancing act, finding a home between the softer, overtly gothic elements and the heavy death/doom which (immediately) follows. Draconian’s wistful-but-monolithic music is egalitarian between its two halves, but their main focus is the emotion which both carry. Relative newcomer Heike Langhans, who joined for Draconian’s last album Sovran, has the voice of an absolute angel, which, when compared to semi-founding member Anders Jacobsson’s harrowing growl (yes, this can be called “Beauty and the Beast” metal), creates an emotional duality over what can be described as “airy but heavy” metal. If you are a Draconian fan, you should know what to expect as they don’t really tread new ground here, but that is okay. When you perfect the formula, you don’t really need to change much. For those who haven’t really heard Draconian before and are goth-curious, Under a Godless Veil (or really any Draconian album, let’s be fair) is a wonderful first album. Goofy and overwrought? I think not. Put the corpse paint down and adventure into unknown territory.
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Under A Godless Veil releases October 30th on Napalm Records.
From the band:
To Draconian, Under a Godless Veil is by far the most diverse album we have created. Inspired by some of the music closest to Johan’s heart; everything from traditional Doom to scaled-down, Gothic rock-inspired pieces and more. Some will perhaps describe the songs as more refined and meditative. Some ambient elements have been added to the mix without overshadowing the traditional characteristics that are Draconian.
Resonating with the compositions, Anders’s lyrical direction is ambiguous and a progression of the first two-three albums, yet more subtle while embracing the Gnostic philosophy more directly. One could say Under a Godless Veil is an act of contemplation; About living and dying and remembering who we are in a strange, abrasive world far from home.
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