Utter Trash--Anders Jacobsson of Draconian

Fallen Angels

An Interview With Anders Jacobsson of Draconian

By Taliesin Govannon

(l to r) Johan Ericson, Jerry Torstenson, Anders Jacobsson, Lisa Johansson, Jesper Stolpe, Magnus Bergstrom, Andreas Karlsson

Taliesin Govannon: For American Audiences, Draconian is quite the new band. How would you describe your sound?

Anders: Well, we are some kind of Gothic Doom Metal, that is for sure. We concentrate on atmospheres and melodies, emotions and strong lyrics to lift the band higher. We have the ambition to take it even further and so we will. Our goal is to create a perfect album, and hopefully we will succeed. I suppose, if you like bands like Saturnus, My Dying Bride, Novembers Doom, Mourning Beloveth and early Theatre of Tragedy, you should not be too unsatisfied with Draconian.

TG: Listening to "Arcane Rain Fell", I hear a distinct Celtic Frost influence. Is that accurate, and who else would you say was an influence on the band's sound?

Anders: Only one person has compared us with the great Celtic Frost earlier, and then we had never ever thought about it. I don't think we are the same at all really, but I guess there are some sorrowful songs on "Into the Pandemonium" album which are more or less similar from an emotional point of view. Otherwise I guess bands like My Dying Bride (and similar bands) have a large impact on us, since we are playing this kind of music. But we try to make something on our own as well as we salute the gothic doom/death sound. We just play the music we love, and influences can be everything from a riff in a song to a line in a movie? whatever makes us tick.

TG: You've had quite a few line-up changes over the years...a common thing for too many bands. How stable is the current line-up, and how does it compare to the past?

Anders: Compared to the past we have steady as a rock. I cannot answer for the future and how it's going to work out on tours, but I feel very comfortable with this line-up. We all are close friends and have known each other for quite a while...just as it should be.

TG: What led to the decision to re-record "Death, Come Near Me" on the new album?

Anders: Because it's our most popular song ever. Most of our fans fancy that song the most, and since it only was a demo track before this new album, we just had to do something about it. People have been shouting about a re-recording for a long time, and it's important to give the fans what they want. In the live-department it will be a little different though. Because of the song's length it's hard to make it fit in a live-set. We will of course perform it, but not very often...only on special occasions.

TG: "Arcane Rain Fell" is a concept album about the fall of Lucifer and the other angels from heaven. Why did you choose this as the album's theme?

Anders: Yes, the album is (more or less) a concept album about Lucifer and the fallen angels, their emotional and philosophical views on spirituality, retribution and independence. It's a documentation of both the fallen angels and God really. I decided to go with this concept because it really moves me...it's important to me and the name of Lucifer needs to be cleared from misunderstandings and religious prejudice. The message of the album is that God is a tyrant and his holy light is deceiving. Lucifer realized this and revolted against him, but he lost the battle and fell from heaven. The greatest story of all, to me anyway. There is a great sorrow in the atmosphere of this album and also the story is very tragic. Therefore I think it fits very well in our music.

TG: You tapped Travis Smith, one of my favorite album-cover artists, for the cover of the new album. How did you come to decide on him?

Anders: Well, he was the artist on our first album as well. Why we chose him speaks for itself; he is just a great artist and when you see the works he has done for bands such as Opeth, Katatonia and so on, you can really understand why. The atmospheres of his work are so full of emotion and depth and that is exactly what we look.

TG: Your lyrics seem to transcend mere rock yelps and venture into poetry...yet without sounding pretentious. That's not easy. Do you have any favorite poets?

Anders: That is perhaps true. It's hard for me to read my own lyrics and try to view it without being objective. Some favorite poets are William Blake, Percy B. Shelley, Edward young, John Milton, Lord Byron and Novalis and so on. Mostly poetry from the romantic period in literature. The Swedish romantic Stagnelius are one of my faves as well.

TG: You have a very particular vocal style...do you have any favorite vocalists?

Anders: When it comes to the growling style of vocals I just LOVE Aaron of My Dying Bride: he remains a master. Mikael Åkerfeldt from Opeth is one of the best as well, perhaps THE best. Both vocalists (Vincent and Steve) of Morbid Angel have superior voices as well.

Anders: We are trying to get as many gigs we can this year. To promote this album live is our only ambition this year, and improve as musicians and artists. We are also trying out some new stuff as well.

Anders: Thank you for the interview and good luck with Utter Trash. And remember always: "It's better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven!"