

It would be a tough act to follow, and it’s taken Draconian nearly five years to make the effort. 2015s Sovran opus was one of their best and it left a rather large impression in my skull.

When it works the style can be very enthralling, and over their nearly 25 year career Draconian has been at the forefront of this movement, crafting albums of gothic doom death full of weepy romance and crushing grief.

Dichotomy has long played a key role in metal music, and following in the long, dark shadow of Theater of Tragedy, many bands have attempted the whole “beauty and the beast” thing, pairing death metal croaks with soaring, sometimes operatic female vocals. Darkness and light, good and evil, heavy and soft.
