Draconian-Interview 20-10-2007
Introduction
The origin of Sweden’s doom metal ensemble Draconian can be traced back to May, 1994, when three guys decided to form a band under the name of Kerberos. At first their sound could best be described as melodic death metal music with more than a touch of blackness added to it. This, however, changed after Anders Jacobsson joined in. With him as the new driving force behind the microphone and fuelled by his almost poetic lyrics that are based upon the old language that was used in the romantic period of literature in ancient days, the music soon became more dark and gloomy, appealing to desolate souls who love to spend their days in places where daylight refuses to shine. Around the same time the name Kerberos was dropped while Draconian got adopted.
As Draconian this Swedish lot released a first offering early ’96. This little something called ‘Shades Of A Lost Moon’ revealed a band still in search of their own unique style. More releases were to follow, but none of them could quite capture the band’s full potential. That didn’t happen till after Lisa Johansson came on board to add her enchanting vocals to those of Anders on the 2002 demo ‘Dark Oceans We Cry’. It was this particular effort that caught the intention of Napalm Records who then offered the band a long-awaited record deal that helped to lift the shroud of darkness enveloping their music.
From there on things got slightly easier as debut album ‘Where Lovers Mourn’ hit the streets shortly afterwards in 2003. The album received good reviews and paved the way for successor ‘Arcane Rain Fell’ two years later which would gain the band a well deserved spot in the still lower regions of the doom sector. Last year’s ‘The Burning Halo’, a combination of rerecorded material mixed with some new stuff and a couple of cover songs, only ensured this position and with the upcoming release of ‘Turning Season Within’ it is the band’s desire to make it all the way to the top this time.
‘Turning Season Within’ was recorded at the Fascination Street Studios’ in Örebro with the assistance of producers Jens Bogren and David Castillo (Opeth, Katatonia) and differs slightly from previous recordings through means of a more diverse sound that has gained depth due to the use of heavier riffs and a bigger participation of Lisa on the vocal parts. The album features vocalist Paul Kuhr of Novembers Doom, taking care of the narrative intermissions, and is due for February 29th.
Interview
Why was the name Kerberos dropped and why the switch from a bit black metal orientated sound to a more dark and gloomy one?
Johan: “Simply because we found out there was another band with the same name. Besides it was time for a change anyway since our music didn’t quite sound like it used to compared to when we first started out. Don’t really know how it happened; it just did. And to be honest, Kerberos was actually just an experimental band without any particular style. So, it seemed only appropriate to change the name.”
How exactly did Lisa join in?
Anders: “Well, we heard her sing in her previous band and we immediately liked her voice, thought it would fit well with our music and since we were in need of a female vocalist…”
How did the deal with Napalm Records come around?
Johan: “We just send them one of our demos, which was in fact surprisingly. You see, before that we were really kind of lazy. But then at a certain moment we realised we needed to get more focused in order to get anywhere. That’s when we decided to contact some labels. Napalm responded. Nothing more, nothing less.”
What was the reason for recording the Ekseption song ‘On Sunday They Will Kill The World’ for the Black Halo album?
Johan: “Haha. That all goes back to my parents who had a couple of their albums. I used to listen to these albums quite a lot. This particular song is my personal favourite, because it’s so heavy and has this gloomy feeling over it. On top of that, it has totally weird lyrics that completely freak you out.”
Most of the time the lyrics on the albums are almost poetic, referring to the romantic period in literature when people such as Lord Byron and William Blake were in the heyday of their careers. Why the fascination with this period?
Anders: “I can’t speak for the rest of course, but I guess I like this period so much because the old language appeals to me and people like Byron were so gifted that they could create a certain atmosphere with just one word. It is simply fascinating. Still I’m not stuck with this kind of writing. For the new album I have tried to be a bit more down-to-earth, writing about subjects people can relate to more easily than before.”
Over the years the band has gone through a lot of line-up changes. Is the current one strong enough to last a while?
Johan: “I think so, yeah. You never know for sure, but right now it looks stable and it feels good. We’re all friends, coming from the same small village, and that’s a solid base to start from. We don’t really want to bring in people from the outside, because we are really stuck to ourselves.”
What’s the most important lesson the music business has taught you so far?
Anders: “That you should follow your own path. Don’t let others decide what it is you should do. Stay true to your own principals and never pretend to be someone you’re not. In the end you are being judged by the things you have done and there’s no escaping that.”
On the album Arcane Rain Fell Ryan Henry participated through means of a spoken verse. What was the idea behind that and why did you pick him?
Johan: “We’ve known him for quite a while. Just prior to the recording of the album we found out he has a great narrative voice, the kind we were looking for. We asked him if he was interested and as it turned out, he was up to the challenge.”
Live or studio?
Anders: “Definitely live, although we haven’t actually done that too often yet. Up to now it seems like we are jinxed or something when it comes done to that, because every tour we got invited to, has been cancelled for various reasons. But we keep our spirits up and with the new album on the way the future looks promising. So, no worries, we’ll be out there somewhere.”
Do you have a funny anecdote to share?
Anders: “I don’t know if it’s a funny anecdote, but one time during a show a couple of panties were thrown on stage and even though I was just a little drunk, I could tell they had been worn just recently…”
What a nice way to brighten your day.
Subject: Baskanij Interview 
Thu Apr 16, 2009 7:17 am
