Some albums are so ahead of their time when they’re released that it takes decades of word-of-mouth recommendations and critical reappraisal to reach an audience commensurate with their quality. Many of those records are already enshrined in the Decibel Hall of Fame: Satan’s Court in the Act, Demilich’s Nespithe and Cynic’s Focus didn’t pay dividends for years.
Draconian Times is not one of those records—at least not in Europe. Universally acclaimed upon release, Paradise Lost’s fifth album was a critical and commercial success from the get-go. The band headlined Dynamo Open Air to a crowd of thousands just days before it hit the streets. Those fans could have looked at a magazine rack that week and found vocalist Nick Holmes on the cover of Kerrang!, which heralded him and his cohorts “The New Metallica.”
That’s high praise, but the comparison is apt. Draconian Times masters the melting pot of pop songwriting, gothic gloom and indomitable riffs that the Four Horsemen barely explored on The Black Album’s B-side. But Paradise Lost’s imperial triumph is a suite of songs only they could deliver.
Draconian Times distills the melodic and mournful sound of their first four albums into certified arena rock anthems like “Enchantment,” “Shadowkings,” “The Last Time” and especially “Hallowed Land.” The latter perpetually wrestles with Gothic’s “Eternal” as the band’s career-best composition. Not bad for four childhood friends from Yorkshire.
Yes, four. Though beloved by fans, Draconian Times captures a bittersweet moment in the band’s history: It’s their first record without founding drummer Matthew “Tuds” Archer. His absence left a hole in the band’s heart and required them to compose much of Draconian Times with a drum machine.
Of course, Paradise Lost found a more-than-suitable percussionist in Lee Morris, who had little exposure to extreme metal then. Instead, he brought to the table a deep appreciation for prog, funk, jazz fusion and especially the collected works of Toto’s Simon Phillips, who Decibel readers may know best as the drummer on Judas Priest’s Sin After Sin. Morris’ exuberant performance on Draconian Times is as revolutionary as Phillips’ work in Priest’s “Dissident Aggressor.” His contributions to the streamlined tunes on Draconian Times propelled the record to a singular position in the band’s discography.
However, achievements overseas didn’t make Draconian Times a success in America. Relativity Media folded its rock division just days before they were slated to release the record. That hurdle might have been overcome if the band had toured the States, perhaps with their ascendant friends and genre-siblings Type O Negative. However, a disastrous 1993 U.S. tour with Morbid Angel and Kreator left the band with such a rotten taste that they avoided America for decades. By the time they returned a decade later, they’d pivoted almost completely to electronic rock music for their brilliant (though less metallic) follow-up One Second and a trio of fascinating-but-frustrating successors.
Draconian Times might be a world-beater in the EU, but it’s a cult favorite on this side of the pond, which is a shame considering how unique the album is. Simultaneously prog and punk, arena-sized but deeply personal, it’s a rare example of royal triumph and a bittersweet defeat wrapped in the same record. The juxtaposition of those two stories only adds to the sophisticated flavor of Paradise Lost’s most unique slice of melancholy.
Need more classic Paradise Lost? To read the entire seven-page story, featuring interviews with the members who performed on Draconian Times, purchase the print issue from our store, or digitally via our app for iPhone/iPad or Android.
Source: www.decibelmagazine.com
