Draconian, Nailed To Obscurity & Fragment Soul in Aschaffenburg
05.11.24 Aschaffenburg Colos Saal, Germany
The Swedish gothic doom band Draconian on their 30th anniversary tour and at the right time of the year…..This is of course more than just an incentive for all fans of melancholy and oppressive sounds to attend such an event. And in addition to Draconian, Fragment Soul and Nailed To Obscurity appealed as two very good bands which perfectly matched the Swedes’ musical direction.
It was therefore hardly surprising that the Colos Saal filled up quickly this evening and Fragment Soul opened the musical framework in front of a considerable number of fans.
The dark progressive Doom band from Greece/Canada made clear from the first note where the journey was heading and nobody could escape the gloomy mood that Fragment Soul were spreading. Beautiful guitars paired with the dreamy keyboard melodies and the catchy vocal lines of Mark Durkee and Tamara Filipovic formed a song structure that went through the hearts and minds and was more than just moving. Despite the progressive elements, the song material seemed quite comprehensible to the fans and Fragment Soul received a lot of applause from the Aschaffenburg audience after almost 40 minutes of playing time.
The Northern Germans Nailed To Obscurity performed their Melodic Death Doom very convincingly right from the start and their sound was much more powerful due to the Death Metal influences. Right from the start, they impressed with their extremely precise interplay.
Singer Raimund’s varied vocal style formed a wonderful contrast to the band’s music and quickly won the audience over. This was really rough food for the soul, but despite all the musical melancholy, the band was very agile and in constant contact with the fans, who honoured the brilliant performances with great applause. Nailed To Obscurity were able to maintain this high level over the entire set and, supported by a very good sound, the band increasingly hit top form and convinced all along the line. The audience in Aschaffenburg thanked the band with a lot of applause and by now everyone in the Colos Saal was in the mood for the headliner.
After a short changeover, Draconian – led by mastermind Anders Jacobsson – entered the stage and began their set with the brilliant ‘The Cry of Silence’ from their first album ‘Where Lovers Mourn’. Right from the start, the Swedes presented themselves from their best side and the sparks to the audience flew immediately. Lisa Johansson, whose vocals were sublime, formed a wonderful contrast to Anders’ deep growls and the fans were treated to an absolute auditory pleasure. In my opinion, ‘The Cry Of Silence’ is one of Draconian’s strongest songs and to start the set with such a composition speaks for the Swedes’ top form on this 30th Anniversary Tour – respect !!!
With ‘Heavy Lies The Crown’ and ‘Morphine Cloud’ they presented more powerful songs to fully captivate the fans who celebrated Draconian unconditionally. There was a cosy, exuberant atmosphere that is actually unusual for a doom metal concert, but was eerily beautiful. The powerful and melodic ‘Bloodflower’ in particular got the Colos Saal moving and here too, as in the entire set, Lisa set wonderful vocal accents that gave the fans goosebumps. ‘Daylight Misery’ was also a highlight that simply belongs to a Draconian show and was met with a lot of applause from the fans. Incidentally, the setlist was perfectly put together and included tremendously good songs from 30 years of the Swedes’ band history. It couldn’t have been done any better. Draconian ended a great evening with ‘The Sethian’. Here, everything was thrown into the balance once again and even bassist Daniel Arvidsson contributed some backing vocals in his best manner. What more could you wish for?
Summing up: Fragment Soul were a very good opener and got the fans in the right mood. Nailed To Obscurity put on a very strong performance and Draconian topped it all and impressively proved that they are an absolute iconic band in the death doom metal genre. The fans then had the opportunity to meet the musicians of all 3 bands at the merch stand before a very nice evening came to an end.
Setlist Draconian:
The Cry Of Silence
Heavy Lies The Crown
Deadlight
Heaven Laid In Tears
Morphine Cloud
Bloodflower
Night Visitor
Earthbound
Daylight Misery
Pale Tortured Blue
Death Come Near Me
The Sethian
Text & Fotos:
Hanzi Herrmann
