Lyncelia influences, article #5: Draconian Times

Once again a cult album, even if I discovered Paradise Lost with another album (“Icon” in 1997 but I didn’t love it. I wasn’t prepared to love Paradise Lost at this time).

I must say that when “Draconian Times” came out, it makes some noise and it was justified cause it’s a great album. Even today, each Paradise Lost fan is upset when you say “Draconian Times”.

This album and this band were very important for me and Lyncelia cause my way of writing music changed just after I listened it.

I love how they write music with two distinctive guitar parts, each one must be with the other one. The lead parts aren’t guitar hero solos confirming that the guitarist is playing so fast but are melodic parts changing the songs. Take off this parts and the songs are melodically disfigured. That’s here that Paradise Lost is great. Gregor Mackintosch is a great Guitar player and composer, I never get bored to listen or to see on stage. All the melodies are ciseled and justified, not too much or less notes. All is perfect in a melancholic feel.

The first songs “Enchantment” and “Hallowed land” are Gothic-Metal masterpieces, even more Gothic than Metal, almost Gothic-Rock. but the better songs are after, “Forever Failure” is one of these.

A down tempo almost Doom, melancholic guitar notes, clean guitar arpeggios making my cry, a voice both powerful and soft and a final guitar lead ending this song in a gothic climax. This song is not going to go out of my mind.

I also find these feelings in the song “Jaded” that end the album on this track full of desperate melodies and clean hypnotizing aerial guitars. This song is perfect rarely reached. When I hear this song I must stop to listen it and plunge into it. I’m taken in this song emphasizing all that is deep hidden in my soul in a deafening sensorial vortex.

My favorite songs are the downtempo ones. A melancholic feel resonating in me, in my guts.

In 2005, this album comforts me to make a Gothic music project taking from The Cure, The Sisters of Mercy and Clan of Xymox coldwave and taking from the way that Paradise Lost and Theatre of Tragedy treats their guitars.

This blend was natural for me car it gathered all that I loved and all I wanted to do in a Gothic feel few years later with Lyncelia.