Turning Season Within

by

Draconian

Edit

Draconian's depth of darkness is something to behold no doubt but with an element of beauty which shows real class. Turning Season is the best release yet with tracks such as Seasons Apart, When I Wake, Earthbound, The Failure Epiphany, Bloodfower and The Empty Stare the finest in doom/gothic. The instrument tones, material and production are like daggers through the heart. And then there is Lisa Johansson - truly one of the most endearing and exquisite singers ever. They could do without about 90% of the cookie monster thing though and I do wish it was just Johansson on vocals. I would consider Draconian to one of top 5 in metal along side of Within Temptation, Lacuna Coil, WitchBreed and Opeth.

For an average doom-gothic band, this would actually be a good album. But for Draconian, the ones that spawned forth the legendary Were Lovers Mourn, Arcane Rain Fell, and The Burning Halo, this one in my opinion cannot compare. They sped up the tempo slightly, and made the guitars riffier, but left the atmosphere and gloom behind. It's almost like they were trying to reach the listeners of Temptation Within or Evanescence. The song Morphine Cloud comes pretty close to their old school selves, but the rest of the album almost seems like happy Draconian, if you can imagine such a thing. The stumble is nothing dramatic like when My Dying Bride came out with 34.788% Complete, or when Anathema failed with The Silent Enigma. It is still Draconian, but without anything epic or memorable. If you're a fan of Draconian, go ahead and get it just to get it. But if you new to the Draconian sound, try their first three albums first. Or better yet, try and snag a copy of Doom:Vs- Aeternum Vale.