Anyone that has read my reviews knows that I love bands like Spiral Architect, Dream Theater, and Tourniquet. These are bands that explore the technical and imaginative possibilties of heavy metal. But every now and then I like to sit back and listen to an album where the focus is on emotion and the songs, not just the neat instrumental parts or solos. That's where albums like DRACONIAN TIMES come in.

This isn't one of those albums in which you are going to blown away by the band's technical ability - not that Paradise Lost are bad musicians. It is one of those albums in which the band seems to savor each note and drumbeat as it flows from their being. Nick Holmes is not one of those whiny singers who tries to impress you with a double digit octave range. Instead, he has the type of voice that consistently resonates with feeling. Not to mention, his ability to write darkly beautiful lyrics without having to resort to shock tactics is something that all lyricists that write about darkness need to learn. I also love Gregor Mackintosh's guitar playing on this album. He is one those players that brings more out of note than most shredders do out of a hundred. He has great control over textures, sometimes using a wah-wah pedal, as well.

Albums like this prove that you don't have to be a virtuoso like Eddie Van Halen or Neil Peart - nothing against them - to put out a great heavy rock album. While you do need a little bit of musical knowledge, the most important ingredient is emotion. That is what all music should be about.

Overall rating: 5 definite stars.

Draconian Times by Paradise Lost is one of the most powerfull dark-rock / metal albums around. There are many bands today who attempt dark metal and with mostly embarassing results. This album is an exception. Nick Holmes drives every word straight to the heart in a Hetfield like roar but at times he uses a low gothic voice. Guitarists Aaron Aedie and Greg Mackintosh play very powerfull simple riffs that dominate the album and the general atmosphere is very moody. Everything here is solid from start to end. Unfortunaltely Paradise Lost are not well known outside of Europe and this album did not get the exposure it deserves. I highly recommend this CD to anyone into hard rock, metal and quality music in general.

Perhaps the last great rock album of the nineties, Paradise Lost's fifth studio album brought them on a par with Metallica's 'Black' in terms of musical brilliance and commercial potential. Indeed, it sold one and a half million copies and reached number sixteen in the UK album charts, something unheard of for a northern gothic-metal band. Blending keyboards into the mix of hard-rocking guitars, they diversified their sound whilst still retaining the catchy lyrical hooks and pounding choruses of previous albums. The songs are tighter and more structured, and though this detracts from the sprawling originality and unpredictability featured on their previous album, 'Icon', it creates instantly accessible and identifiable rhythms. This is undeniably the pinnacle of the great band, before the next album's slide into European cyber-gothic mediocrity.

'Enchantment' opens the album on a high, moody guitars and atmospheric keyboards merging to great effect throughout and culminating in an enchanting, mystical outro. The stand-out track of the album is 'Hallowed Land', the new drummer Matt Archer's off-beat rhythms creating a lively sense of anthematic rock genius that fully complements Holmes' gruff vocals and McIntosh's singing guitar, and enables them to fit a piano into the mix without lessening the pace. 'The Last Time' is one of the most famous songs from the album, and despite a lacklustre guitar solo, it delivers the catchy chorus and pounding verse that made it the first single. The second single from the album, 'Forever Failure', is a deeply atmospheric number, ringing guitars and a sense of timeless gothic melodrama offset by Charles Manson's dismembered voice entering the mix. 'Once Solemn' is a masterpiece of gothic-metal infused punk-rock power, pounding, hard and heavy, whilst 'Shadow Kings' holds the heaviness yet pulls in a much softer, more melodic vibe. From this point, all the songs start to sound a little the same, most beginning with finger-picked intros and building up to distorted gothic peaks, 'Elusive Cure' and track nine, 'Shades of God', prime examples. Track eight however, 'Yearn for Change', is unique in its fast rock sensibilities and soaring guitar riffs that compete with vocals on top form. 'Hands of Reason', my personal favourite, contains perhaps the best build-up to a guitar solo ever recorded, the drums erupting into a fury that is at once heavy and intriguing. This song also carries one of the best vocal/guitar unions, the opening of the chorus an emotive flurry that is definitely PL's finest moment. The final two songs, 'I See Your Face' and 'Jaded', are like tracks 7 and 9, still powerful and great music, but certainly not stand-out like many of the others.

'Draconian Times' has deservedly earned its place in history, every song intermingling the various styles that make up PL's unique sound and adding something new. The first six songs on the album are all single-potential, but this perhaps is to the detriment of the rest of the album's unfortunate sameness. Holmes' voice on this album is one notch softer and one notch wider-ranging than on 'Icon', and McIntosh continues to astound as the greatest living guitar player, every song complete with guitar-solos that run from fast and frenetic to slow and moody. This album definitely represented PL on the spring-board towards rock-gods status, so it is a shame that they went down the opposite route. If you liked 'Icon', you'll like this, though probably not quite as much due to its tighter formality, but anyone wanting to get into Paradise Lost, or anyone wanting a fine, hard-rocking, diverse and entirely unique album that shows every reason why the band are loved by so many fans, this is the one for you.

Awesome. Just plain awesome. I don't even know that this is actually any form of metal, to be quite honest with you. I don't really care what it's called, how it's classified, or where they fit in the whole music mix. I can tell you that "Draconian Times" is a simply phenomenal album. Make that a simply phenomenal, bone crushingly heavy album.

At times sounding like James Hetfield growling over a loud, heavy Depeche Mode, and at times sounding like the Sisters of Mercy without all the over-the-top gothicness. Hell, at times sounding like The Cult back when all they did was rock HARD. Paradise Lost are not heavy metal. At least not what you're thinking of when you use the term. They are, like I said, impressively heavy...in every ounce of this record. The lyrics are beyond heavy, the guitars, the wailing anguish of the singing, it's all heavy. But for some reason, they're not heavy metal. Eh, who cares.

This was another band I had no idea what they'd sound like when I bought the disc. Let it suffice to say that I will now be going out to buy the rest of their catalogue. By the time I heard "Hallowed Land" I was in their enthrall. It's an amazing song that represents the overall "feel" of the record extremely well. Punishing guitars, a haunting yet beautifully sad melody, and disturbing lyrics. Check out "Shades of God" and "I See Your Face" for more examples of simply amazing music. But don't limit yourself to those songs of course; the whole album rocks like I haven't heard in many, many years.

Just go get this album. Now that you've read the review, drop whatever it is you're doing and run out and get it. Or click that 'Add to cart' link up above or something. Just get it!

This is a 2011 reissue of "Draconian Times" by British heavy/gothic metal band "Paradise lost" originally released in 1995. The album supports the current "Draconian Times" European tour where the band performs the album live in its entirety. As this package is mainly addressed to "Paradise Lost" fans, the review will be strictly limited to the features of this particular package (and not on the music itself, having been explored extensively on previous reviews)

This reissue comes in a (rectangular) book-like, hard cover with glossy front and sparkly artwork followed by a forty-page booklet . The booklet is filled with artwork stylistically similar to the front cover, also featuring an introduction by band leader Nick Holmes as well as comments by each member of the band. The cover is not exactly as pictured here, in fact, the band logo and album title are printed under the face pictured (not on its right side).

This reissue is a 2 disc set, a CD and a DVD. The CD features the original 12-track "Draconian Times" album, originally released in 1995; complemented by seven more tracks two of which are demos while the other five are live version of "DT" songs recorded in Germany in 1995. The DVD features the album in a 5.1. Surround mix plus the two promo videos shot in support of the album.

One has to comment that this 2011 reissue is a very classy package, definitely a hot collectors item that does justice to this classic album. Although I am not the biggest "Paradise Lost" fan, by any means, I could not resist but purchase this version of "Draconian Times". A high quality item indeed!