The beauty and the bleak - A review of Draconian's Sovran

Draconian's Sovran successfully walks on the thin line between gothic and doom metal and convinces with ten emotionally gripping songs that develop an intriguingly bleak atmosphere from start to finish for an intense listening experience of sixty-seven generous minutes.

New vocalist Heike Langhans needs to be pointed out as successful addition to the band's line-up. The South African singer sounds like a mixture of tragically deceased Aleah Stanbridge of Trees of Eternity fame and Within Temptation's Sharon den Adel. Her soothing voice inspires hope in sorrow in a most enchanting way. Her angelic vocals are intensively contrasted by Anders Jacobsson's vibrant harsh vocals. Many bands that try this beauty and the beast approach end up failing as they are resorting to tired stereotypes but Draconian's singers complement each other perfectly and add atmosphere, depth and emotion to the songs.

The musicianship blends in perfectly. Sorrowfully distorted guitar parts, sinister bass guitar passages and thunderous drums make for a melancholic melting pot that is occasionally supported by decently employed string sections or short narrative parts. Despite keeping its mournful atmosphere from start to finish, the musicianship is diversified, dynamic and inspired enough to keep things interesting from start to finish.

All songs work particularly well but if I had to cite a highlight, I would go for the wonderful ''Rivers Between Us''. Rarely employed melancholic clean male vocals meet Langhans' angelic female leads and occasional growls that add a passionate sinister touch. The sorrowful guitar work is truly touching, the rhythm section keeps a slow but steady pace and occasional narrative parts add more atmospheric depth. The track manages to sound both consistent and diversified and remains particularly entertaining through its running time of nearly seven minutes.

In the end, Draconian's Sovran offers the perfect mixture of doom and gothic metal. If you like melancholic music with imaginative depth, you can't get around this release. The band was already outstanding earlier in its career but the addition of Heike Langhans' unique angelic vocals seem to be the missing element that could push the band from greatness to excellence. Enjoy the record's bleak magic on a cold winter autumn or winter night with a good glass of wine.

Final rating: 90%