Draconian - Moscow 2010

Tochka Club, Moscow, Russia
30th January 2010
Draconian, Eden, Voiceless Void

In November 2008, Swedish Gothic-Doom-Metal formation DRACONIAN gained popularity among Russian fans of the style and of course after such a hearty welcome they had in Russia, the musicians needed to come back. Indeed they did it on the 30th of January 2010, so the audience had an opportunity to know better the music of the band and to enjoy new version of the well-known songs. The event started with the performances of two supporting bands, namely VOICELESS VOID and EDEN. These representatives of Russian Gothic-Metal scene produced a fairly good impression and managed to heat up the people in the venue almost in no time.

Rather well-known VOICELLES VOID demonstrated the high level of professionalism, despite the fact the musicians played with a new quite talented vocalist whose stage behaviour was still a bit affected. They finished their energetic set with the cover version of SENTENCED’s hit ‘Excuse Me While I Kill Myself’ that sounded much heavier than the original. The second band of the evening, EDEN, pleased the audience with classical gothic metal, made in the best traditions of the genre. The vocalist surprised with her beautiful voice which was getting anguished when she performed the most dramatic parts of the compositions. Besides the acoustic violin helped to create a sincere imponderable atmosphere and the short gig of the formation touched the hearts of the crowd which willingly applauded to the young musicians. Finally, after a quick change-over DRACONIAN, heroes of the occasion came to the fans.


Draconian

DRACONIAN was formed in 1994 and during almost 16 years of its existence, the band recorded four full-length albums, the latest of which entitled ‘Turning Season Within’ was released in 2008. So, in Moscow the musicians will perform songs mostly from this CD, alternating them with some older material. DRACONIAN is Anders Jacobsson (vocals), Lisa Johansson (vocals), Johan Ericson (backing vocals, lead guitar), Jerry Torstensson (drums, percussion), Daniel Arvidsson (rhythm guitar) and Fredrik Johansson (bass). http://www.draconian.se/ / http://www.myspace.com/draconianmusic

Music & Performance
The concert started with striking and expressive ‘Earthbound’ which immediately set the people on fire. That aggressive atmospheric song full of uneven riffs was followed by leisured, heavy and gloomy ‘Bloodflower’. As at the previous time, the setlist consisted mainly of the compositions from the band’s latest album ‘Turning Season Within’, nevertheless they could stir the audience during the whole performance. After several vigorous tracks, DRACONIAN switched on to monumental ones and the waves of oppressive melancholy overflowed the audience: emotional ‘A Scenery of Loss’ or gentle ‘Heaven Laid in Tears’ captivated the fans and plunged them into the atmosphere of sorrow, on the contrary the musicians just enjoyed the process, smiled and in the pauses between the songs Lisa and Anders talked to the crowd, using some Russian words.

Rather complicated composition ‘The Cry of Silence’ was played brilliantly and the fans were covered with magical music of DRACONIAN, leading everyone into another dimension. Lisa’s heartfelt and sincere performance of the song ‘Seasons Apart’ sent the people into a strange trance, while chattering and slow ‘The Empty Stare’ brought them back to the reality. In general, the band laid special stress on the energetic tracks, but the musicians also didn’t forget about their doom compositions, the longest of which were shortened a bit. To everyone’s joy the band didn’t ignore some old songs and ‘The Amaranth’ from DRACONIAN’s debut album blew over like cold autumnal downpour. Then the musicians performed the outro from ‘Turning Season Within’ maybe in order to emphasize the effect producing by the next powerful composition ‘Silent Winter’.

No wonder that the band finished the main part of the concert with the real masterpiece - “Death, Come near Me” which can move you to tears or arouse anger, but actually it’s impossible to describe all the emotions the song provokes. As an encore, DRACONIAN played ‘Morphine Cloud’ and ‘She Dies’ after which Anders photographed the raging crowd and the band left the stage accompanied by a storm of applause. As usual the most patient people got a chance to communicate with the musicians, take autographs and pictures. So the event came to an end, but it’s obvious that the amazing atmosphere of the concert will be stamped on the memory of the fans.

Setlist
01. Earthbound
02. Bloodflower
03. A Scenery of Loss
04. Heaven Laid in Tears (Angel’s Lament)
05. The Cry of Silence
06. Seasons Apart
07. The Everlasting Scar
08. The Failure Epiphany
09. The Abhorrent Rays
10. The Empty Stare
11. The Amaranth
12. September Ashes
13. Silent Winter
14. Death, Come near Me
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15. Morphine Cloud
16. She Dies

Rating
Music: 8
Performance: 8
Sound: 7
Light: 5
Total: 7.4 / 10

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