UMUR
"Draconian Times" is the 5th full-length studio album by UK doom/goth metal act Paradise Lost. The album was released through Music for Nations in June 1995. Since the release of "Icon (1993)" there´s been one lineup change as drummer Matthew Archer was asked to leave after the tour supporting the album. The band didn´t feel Archer had grown as a musician with the same speed as the rest of the band, and they felt he held them back. New drummer on "Draconian Times" is Lee Morris who came from a stint with British heavy/power metal act Marshall Law.
Stylistically "Draconian Times" is very much a sibling album to "Icon (1993)". Paradise Lost enjoyed great success with "Icon (1993)" and "Draconian Times" feels a bit like the band didn´t want to deviate too much from that successful formula. So it´s basically doom metal with goth rock leanings. Heavy sustained chords with soaring lead themes on top and a heavy- to mid-paced rhythm section backing it up. Piano/keyboards are used a bit more on this album compared to earlier releases. Nick Holmes have obviously become a bit more confident singing instead of just shouting in key, as he predominantly did on "Icon (1993)", so the vocal department of "Draconian Times" is slightly more varied than on the predecessor. The goth rock influence is overall also much stronger on "Draconian Times" than it was on "Icon (1993)". "The Last Time" even fully crosses into goth rock/metal territory.
The material on the 12 track, 48:55 minutes long album are generally well written, although not all tracks stand out equally much. To my ears highlights include "Hallowed Land", "The Last Time", "Forever Failure" (which features some pretty eerie voice samples of Charles Manson), and "Shadowkings". "Draconian Times" features a melancholic atmosphere, which is one of the great assets of the band´s sound, and Paradise Lost successfully combine the heavy gloomy tracks with slightly more uplifting and hard rocking up-tempo tracks like "The Last Time" and "Once Solemn".
The sound production is powerful, clear, and detailed. A little less heavy than the sound on the predecessor, but still pretty heavy. Upon conclusion "Draconian Times" is a quality release by Paradise Lost, which feels like a natural successor to "Icon (1993)". The band haven´t taken longer steps than they were ready to, but have still developed their sound in a slightly less heavy and more rock oriented direction. I wouldn´t call "Draconian Times" a perfect release as there are simply too many unremarkable tracks featured on the album, but that´s no different from the material featured on "Icon (1993)", so no surprises there. It´s still a good quality release through and a 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.