Draconian (band)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Draconian

Origin	Säffle, Sweden
Years active	1994 – present
Genres	Doom metal, Gothic metal
Labels	Napalm Records
Members	Anders Jacobsson Lisa Johansson Johan Ericson Daniel Arvidsson Jerry Torstensson Jesper Stolpe Andreas Karlsson

Draconian is a Swedish Gothic-Doom metal band formed in 1994 who create songs with atmospheric, melodic and emotive characteristics.

1 Biography
2 Band members
3 Former members
4 Discography
5 External links

[edit] Biography

In May of 1994, drummer and vocalist Johan Ericson, bassist and vocalist Jesper Stolpe and guitarist Andy Hindenäs assembled the band Kerberos, initially playing melodic death metal with black metal influences. Seven months later, lead vocalist and lyricist Anders Jacobsson joined the band, and its name changed to Draconian.

Their first demo — Shades of a Lost Moon — was recorded on October, 1995, a week subsequent to their first live concert. The demo counted with flutist and vocalist Jessica Eriksson, keyboardist and vocalist Susanne Arvidsson and with a special participation of Andreas Haag on the introductory section of "My Nemesis". The album was released on February of 1996. The band was then joined by guitarist Magnus Bergström.

No recording contract was obtained with Shades of a Lost Moon, so in early 1997 the band proceeded to record their second demo, entitled In Glorious Victory. The band, however, became discontented with the quality of the recording and discontinued the release.

In the following months, two members of Draconian had to complete their military service, slowing down the progress of the band. Their rehearsals, however, continued to some degree. Susanne Arvidsson left the band due to personal reasons and was replaced by Andreas Karlsson.

Both in 1998 and 1999, the band made concerts. After receiving positive reactions, they decided to enter studio once more. In August of 1999, Draconian recorded Closed Eye of Paradise, an album dealing mostly with the theme of Lucifer and his fallen angels. Susanne Arvidsson made guest vocal appearances on this release. The album was, however, badly produced, and the band decided to spend time polishing it before a release was attempted. Between May and June of 2000, Andreas Karlsson, Anders Jacobsson, and Johan Ericson worked on the recorded material, improving the mix of the instruments and correcting effects. The demo was then released.

Draconian's style had by then become slower and darker, and reflecting this, the 2-track promotional Frozen Features was released on CD format and over the internet. Guitarist Andy Hindenäs left the band and was replaced by drummer Johan Ericson; drums were then left to Jerry Torstensson, who joined the band. Concurrent with these line-up changes, the band's demo was receiving positive feedback from critics of the gothic metal scene. A final demo entitled Dark Oceans We Cry was recorded in 2002, being followed by a contract with label Napalm Records.

The debut album Where Lovers Mourn was recorded under the supervision of Chris Silver (ex-Sundown and Cemetary) in July 2003 and was released three months later. Most of the songs were re-recordings of their earlier compositions. A support tour followed.

Draconian's next release was the concept album Arcane Rain Fell, from 2005, which apart from new songs features a new version of their 15-minute long epic "Death, Come Near Me", and also counts with Ryan Henry (from Necare) as a guest.