Draconian Reign – Tragedy Eternal (EP)
Release Date: 5th May 2023
Label: Seek and Strike Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Symphonic Blackened Deathcore
FFO: Lorna Shore, Bonecarver, To Obey A Tyrant.
Review By: Trina Julian Edwards
UK symphonic blackened deathcore band, Draconian Reign, make a welcome return with their new EP, Tragedy Eternal, Friday, May 5. The EP features vocalist James Hibberd, James Mackellar-Still and Cal Cruse-Morrell on guitars, Andy Crawford on bass and drummer Kelsey James. This is the band’s second EP, following their 2022 debut, Necromantic. Draconian Reign have made a name for themselves with their brutal riffs and creative symphonic arrangements. Tragedy Eternal builds on that foundation and somehow takes it up another notch. Let’s get into it.
The first track, The Darkness Below, immediately immerses you in the piece with this dramatic, symphonic choral intro. It has such a beautiful, cinematic touch that really opens up the soundscape and makes you feel like you’ve been sucked into a film. When the vocals and metal instruments drop in, you definitely hear the black metal influences, especially with that tremolo picking. This piece has several intriguing tempo changes and the moving lines in the guitar have an almost classical flair. The more legato sections and the vocal doubling likewise lend themselves nicely to the symphonic ambiance. The breakdown, complete with chorus, comes at just the right moment and heightens the overall dramatic mood. When the tempo picks up again, the rapid-fire drumming in perfect time with the guitars hits like a hammer. The precision and timing is impeccable. It almost feels a bit tech death-y in that attention to detail. The vocals have what I tend to think of as more of a death metal feel, and they fall on the higher end of the scale, not unlike Trevor Strnad from The Black Dahlia Murder or Stevie Boiser from Inferi. They’ve done a remarkable job of making this track sound exactly like the opening track to a film score should.
Following on the heels of that gem is Before the Gates. Like The Darkness Below, the intro also has some lovely symphonic elements, but this has more of a darkly menacing aura. I’m getting early 2000s Dimmu Borgir vibes on the verses, and you can’t go wrong with that. The instruments are as tight as they can possibly be. The chorus showcases Hibberd’s evil lows, and I’m not gonna lie, it definitely gave me the creeps, so that was an unexpected bonus. I was blown away by the surprising guitar solo, and the subsequent guitar doubling is straight up classic rock and roll. Yet somehow, it’s not at all out of place. The purely symphonic passages are so sweetly melodic, and the piano drifts in and out of the background like a lonesome ghost. You could honestly be forgiven for forgetting this a metal song by this point. The melodic sections are like a respite from the brutality, but the juxtaposition seems to give each of the elements more weight. Despite the intricacy of the instrumentation, this piece has a starkly desolate feel that is intimidating.
The third track, Infernal Requiem, was the first single from the EP. According to press releases, the piece is a tribute to the intrinsic power of fire from a nihilist’s perspective. The band explained that they chose this particular track because it builds on their new sound, but with additional death metal elements. Right away, the intro utilizes more metal elements, but there’s still a symphonic strain flowing underneath. That evil tremolo picking running through the piece gets me every time. The verses are riffy and quick, and the dynamics are spot-on. They drop the tempo in several places, but they never allow the track to get bogged down, picking up speed at just the right moment. I’m honestly quite impressed by the band’s sense of timing. The vocal doubling is particularly effective in this track, and it really shows off Hibberd’s range, giving us the eldritch screeches with the hellish lows and everything in between. We get some nice breakdown elements in this song as well, and I like that there’s really not a full stop, just more of a reduction in scale. Although the symphonic is more of an undercurrent in this piece, the instrumental only passages take precedence at the outro, and they are perfection. I get chills every time I hear it.
The final track on the EP is The Funeral, a seven minute and thirty-second epic that begins with a proper dirge-like piano intro. The blackened metal elements quickly intensify, then surprisingly we get the breakdown in the first half of the piece, rather than in the second half like you’d typically expect. The vocals are on the higher end for this track, but these sorts of anguished shrieks beautifully suit the mournful lyrical themes, heard in lines like “into the winter soil I lay you down to rest…” The deliberate pace likewise suits the focus of the track, giving the instrumentation a mournful quality that mirrors the narrative. The solo is a beauty, with an interesting echo effect that brings to mind reverberating voices in silent mausoleums. Yes, I’m being fanciful, but Draconian Reign have such a way with creating atmosphere that you can’t help being swept up in it. I also appreciate the way they bookend this piece, taking it home with a return to the same haunting piano refrain from the intro. It may be just a teensy bit long for my short attention span, but this is a full-on gothic novel brimming with grief and lamentation, and it’s not to be missed.
Overall, when I hear the words “symphonic blackened deathcore,” Draconian Reign is what my brain is going to conjure. That’s not to take away from other bands in this genre, but to me, Draconian Reign is something extra. Somehow their combination of black metal, deathcore, symphonic metal, and death metal comes across as unique and interesting in a genre that already feels saturated. The precision of the instrumentation and the use of symphonic elements to complement the narratives is some of the best you’ll hear. If you’re a fan of symphonic blackened deathcore, do not sleep on Tragedy Eternal, out on May 5 via Seek and Strike Records. If you’re in the UK, don’t miss the band’s upcoming tour with Existentialist throughout May.
(4.5 / 5)
