Following the departing sun, through the cemetery of life drenched in the blood of sunset, past the graves and crosses of people you knew and loved, beneath the cries of crows insatiable for others' grief... you are destined to wander forever... and your tormented soul will find no rest.
Perhaps this is how maestro Travis Smith, who designed this album's artwork, envisions the music of these melancholic Swedes. And the self-explanatory names of the band and album make it unequivocally clear that we have before us yet another set of followers in the tradition of MY DYING BRIDE, THEATRE OF TRAGEDY, and PARADISE LOST.
Incidentally, DRACONIAN took a full 9 years to arrive at their debut album. And now, after listening to the disc numerous times, I can say with confidence that the time was not wasted. Apparently, they spent those years gathering piece by piece everything that now constitutes "Where Lovers Mourn." All the finest elements, the most precious discoveries of the Gothic Doom-Death style, the broadest spectrum of emotions and experiences — from melancholy and the deepest sorrow to fury and frenzy — all are presented in this work of metal art.
Very beautiful and emotional music.
And while pale copies of the genre's forefathers' work deserve to be branded as plagiarism, efforts like this one should be heard and embraced as a worthy continuation of the greats' legacy, or as an incredibly high-quality quintessence of the style.