Draconian Times
| Draconian Times | ||||
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| Paradise Lost studio album | ||||
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Publication |
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| Label (s) | Music for Nations | |||
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Format (s) |
CD, LP |
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Title (number) |
12 (Japanese edition: 15) |
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running time |
48:55 |
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| occupation |
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Simon Efemey , Mix: Pete Coleman |
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Studio (s) |
Great Linford Manor and Ridge Farm Studios, England |
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Draconian Times (English: ' draconian times', 'hard times') is the fifth studio album by the English band Paradise Lost .
It is the first album with the new drummer Lee Morris. It is sometimes a bit rockier than its predecessor Icon and was released in a phase in which the band gained increasing popularity and appeared for the first time as a headliner at major festivals such as Dynamo Open Air . For the first time, the two single releases, The Last Time , released in advance in May 1995, and Forever Failure , released in autumn 1995, entered the charts.
Music genre
Draconian Times ties in stylistically with the previous record. Nick Holmes' vocals are sometimes a bit clearer, more melodic and quieter than on Icon . Songs like the single The Last Time , Once Solemn and Shadowkings , on the other hand, are much faster, rockier and more catchy than was previously heard on Paradise Lost, a development that continued on the following albums, which later brought Holmes to the term Dark Rock . Nevertheless, the record of Simon Efemey , who was assisted in the mix by Pete Coleman , is metallic and hard produced. The Doom elements, however, have all but disappeared. The new drummer Lee Morris, who previously worked for Marshall Law , contributed some complex fills to Yearn for Change , for which he received songwriting credits for the first time with bassist Edmonson . There are also more calm intro passages , some with synthesizers . Some chorale-like passages were arranged and sung by the Guildford Dead Boys Choir , a student choir. Also were at Forever Failure multiple samples from Charles Manson used.
"I don't really know what sorry means
I feel sorry all my life"
The band themselves, who described the album as the missing link between Metallica and The Sisters of Mercy , did not perceive the Draconian Times as a style break with Icon . The extended touring had a positive effect on the songwriting, which made the pieces "complete" and "rounder". The record has a “continuous level” and, in comparison, a higher “overall level”, but is also “more varied”. Since The Last Time turned out to be much more “catchy”, the band wasn't sure at first whether they should decouple the piece as a single. However, Paradise Lost saw the advantage of the faster songs that they would provide more variety live and in view of the long tours.
“The overall sound still sounds very melancholy, and that is what we attach great importance to. In the past, it was primarily important to us that the result be as heavy as possible. That is now secondary, because there are too many bands who want to be heavy at any price and forget that it is not just about a fat guitar sound. "
History of origin
Already after the tours for the album Icon Paradise Lost had split up with drummer Matthew Archer, who moved to the editorial office of MTV's Headbangers Ball . Lee Morris applied although he did not know the band before. After the breakup of his previous band Marshall Law, he had already applied to Ozzy Osbourne without success .
The record was made at Great Linford Manor and Ridge Farm Studios from January to March 1995, again choosing an old English country house with garden shed and park, which was only 30 miles from the studio of the Icon album. Despite the longer time gap to its predecessor, Draconian Times was written and recorded within half a year. At the beginning of the studio stay, the album was already completely finished thanks to some demo recordings , only a few keyboard passages on I See Your Face were still changed. The release in June 1995 was followed by a longer tour, including a. with The Sisters of Mercy. The appearance at the Dynamo Festival in front of 120,000 spectators also fell this year.
Texts
Nick Holmes said in an interview that he was "pretty down" when he wrote the lyrics. Due to the built-in samples, Forever Failure stands out in terms of text. The play is about drugs, especially people, for whom the consumption of hashish or alcohol determines life. The samples came into use after Holmes saw a report about Manson on television. Gregor Mackintosh described Manson's statements as "confused and sad". I See Your Face is inspired by a news story that saw a mother stabbed to death in front of her children. The disaster of the Baltic Sea ferry Estonia in 1994 also affected Holmes. He often thinks about “impending death situations”. Similarly, The Last Time is about sudden baseless fear. Holmes describes himself as a hypochondriac and "drama queen". The album title, freely translated as "hard times", is related to it.
"The question is, why do these terrible things always happen to normal people who lead a good life, while guys like Manson hang out relatively comfortably in some institution."
A track on Draconian Times has the same title as the band's third album, Shades of God . However, it is a newly written piece. In this context, Nick Holmes sees himself as an atheist , he doesn't believe in any god. When flirting with ecclesiastical symbols, even in the past, he was "attracted by the romantic side, but unfortunately it has little to do with everyday life here and now."
reception
| source | rating |
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| Rock hard |
 
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| BloodChamber.de |
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| Allmusic |
 
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Not only since this album have Paradise Lost been accused of being too commercial and out for “the big dough”, although the qualities of the album are mostly recognized. Those reviewers who do not problematize this give ratings in the upper range. On www.metal-inside.de the record was described as "dark but sublime" and "perfect". It is the "fulfillment" of Icon's promise . Eike Schmitz from www.powermetal.de sees it similarly and speaks of a “masterpiece”. “If you think of the Sisters as polished bronze , Paradise Lost are dirty plutonium .” Daevid Jehnzen from allmusic, on the other hand, does not praise the songwriting as much as the atmosphere created on Draconian Times . Four and a half stars out of five were awarded here.
The reviews at the time of publication were also positive: In the Intro magazine, Christian Schlage states that Paradise Lost have managed to "jump the bar that was already very high with the 'Icon' album". "Neither have the typical PL ingredients given way, nor do you step on the thin ice of total mass compatibility." Holger Stratmann, editor of the Rock-Hard magazine, sees Paradise Lost on this album as "more sensitive than ever", only The Last Time is " turned out a bit too banal ”. The only point of criticism on his part is the similarity to the previous record in some passages. It awards nine out of ten points.
Track list
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- Enchantment - 6:04
- Hallowed Land - 5:03
- The Last Time - 3:27
- Forever Failure - 4:18
- Once Solemn - 3:04
- Shadowkings - 4:42
- Elusive Cure - 3:21
- Yearn for Change - 4:19 Edmonson, Holmes, Mackintosh, Morris
- Shades of God - 3:55
- Hands of Reason - 3:58
- I See Your Face - 3:17 Aedy, Holmes, Mackintosh
- Jaded - 3:27
The Japanese version contained the bonus tracks Walk Away (cover of The Sisters of Mercy ), Laid to Waste and Master of Misrule , which were also released on the single The Last Time . The 2002 re-release included the bonus tracks How Soon Is Now ( The Smiths ) and Fear .
A "Tour-Pack" edition in Digipak format was accompanied by the bonus CD Live Tracks, Demos & B-Sides , which contains the following pieces:
- Embers Fire (Live) - 4:27
- Daylight Torn (Live) - 7:28
- True Belief (Live) - 4:24
- Pity the Sadness (Live) - 5:15
- As I Die (Live) - 3:40
- Weeping Words (demo) - 3:51
- The Last Time (demo) - 3:28
- Walk Away - 3:25
- Laid to Waste - 3:15
- Master of Misrule - 3:07
- Forever Failure (Video Edit) - 4:45
Artwork
As with Icon , the London agency Stylorouge was commissioned for the design ; the illustrations and photos adorned with fossils , masks and insects are by Holly Warburton.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Sonja Lattwesen: Review Draconian Times Metal Inside
- ↑ a b c d Draconian Times review by Holger Stratmann RockHard.de
- ↑ a b Eike Schmitz: Review Draconian Times PowerMetal.de, May 15, 2004
- ↑ Paradise Lost Biography - Paradise Lost Official Website. Archived from the original on January 7, 2008 ; accessed on February 22, 2010 (English).
- ↑ a b www.intro.de: sunk direct hit! , May 11, 1995, accessed January 11, 2010. ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b c d Götz Kühnemund: Visions from the End of the World , in: Rock Hard, No. 98, July 1995.
- ↑ a b c d e Holger Stratmann: Gequälte Seelen , in: Rock Hard, No. 96, May 1995.
- ^ A b Christian Rosenau: Review Draconian Times BloodChamber.de, October 17, 2000
- ↑ a b www.allmusic.com: Draconian Times review by Daevid Jehnzen
- ↑ Christian Schlage: Draconian Times review ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , from: Intro, No. 25, June 1995.
- ↑ Charts DE Charts AT Charts CH Charts UK
