Late October Lisa announced to her fellow bandmembers she’d decided to leave Draconian starting as soon as possible. It had been on the table for some time.

It’s with sadness we state this message. Lisa has, since her appearance on the Draconian demo “Dark Oceans We Cry”, continued to astonish and melt thousands of people’s hearts over the years with her emotional vocal. The addition of Lisa is what helped us to get our long awaited record contract. We are very aware what she has meant to our band and the legacy she’s left us with.
We are further sorry about all fans that never got the chance to see this line-up of Draconian; a line-up that made Draconian what it is today. This bad news will however NOT mean the end for us. The band is determined to enter a new era of productivity and artistic expression.

Lisa’s appearance with Draconian at the 9th edition of Metal Female Voices in Belgium became her last show with the band. It’s a worthy end of an almost 10 year calling and a beginning of something new for Draconian.

Our profoundest appreciation and gratitude to our friend Lisa Johansson for these years working together. We wish her and her family the best possible for the future.

Underneath, read Lisa’s good bye letter

/Draconian


“It’s hard for me to write this; something I have thought about for a long time. I have argued with myself back and forth but have finally come to the conclusion to leave Draconian.

So why? One of the reasons are that since I had my son I feel I don’t want to, for emotional reasons, go away on longer trips to perform. I count the hours until I’m back again. Another reason is that I have a demanding job six days a week, and this leads to, along with having a child to care for, that I have difficulties finding passion and energy to engage myself in Draconian to the extent I should.

It’s actually with a heavy heart I sit and write this. I don’t want to give up either my fans or the guys in Draconian, but I feel I have to prioritize my family.
I don’t need a sobbing and weepy farewell with the members of Draconian. I will keep meeting them, but it’s the thought of you who are listening to all our songs and all you whom I’ve met on our shows which is the hardest to let go of. To all of you I want to say Thank You! I will carry all the memories with me and all of you in my heart always. And a part of me will always be ‘Lisa in Draconian’. “

/Lisa Johansson
14.11.2011

Enjoy the brand new video clip "The Last Hour of Ancient Sunlight"

Pre-order the new album "A Rose For the Apocalypse" from Napalm Records. The first 200 orders will receive a limited t-shirt. Release date set to June 24th.

A Rose For the Apocalypse - T-shirt & CD
A Rose For the Apocalypse - only CD

Tracklist:
1. The Drowning Age
2. The Last Hour of Ancient Sunlight
3. End of the Rope
4. Elysian Night
5. Deadlight
6. Dead World Assembly
7. A Phantom Dissonance
8. The Quiet Storm
9. The Death of Hours
10. Wall of Sighs (Bonus Track)

The new track "The Last Hour of Ancient Sunlight", taken from the upcoming album "A Rose For the Apocalypse", is now available through Napalm Records' Facebook site .

The song is included on the new sampler "Nothing Burns Like Napalm". "Like" the page and download.

We are sorry for keeping the lid on during the writing and recording process of this album. It has been a quite hard route, at least for me, to get things right and in order. I guess, most art is flowing without restraint and changes during the time of its construction, and sometimes even the artist him/herself needs time to comprehend it.
Jens Bogren of Fascination Street sprinkled his magic over the songs during the production- and mixing process and each and every song found its way. We are grateful to have such a committed producer and we can only feel blessed by the experience to once again have made another album reality at Fascination Street.

The new album is called A Rose for the Apocalypse and deals with a vast dilemma we’re all facing as one species; the horrors and contradictions we’ve created in our ‘nature-divorced’ system. The title refers to the collapse of this structure, built by mindless human opinion. It also refers to the necessity of its demise. We are trying to capture the gloom of its realization. I don’t know if we’d want to call this a conceptual album, but most songs certainly deal with the same topic in one way or the other. I’ve reached a point in my life when my eyes remain open.

To most of you A Rose for the Apocalypse might appear a darker, more threatening album compared to the previous Turning Season Within. And yes, it is different in several ways, but Draconian remains the same. I have often said that our new work resembles a mix between the old and the new Draconian and will unite fans of both preferences. While listening to this album I feel a lot of history comes together in one place, at least sound-wise.

Our old friend Olof Göthlin contributes with some of his excellent violin skills on the album. Cover and layout is created by the amazing Seth Siron Anton (Paradise Lost, Kamelot, Rotting Christ, Moonspell etc). We sincerely hope we’ve created an album that will make impact on our beloved fans. Thank you for keeping up, sticking by us and maintained your faith in Draconian.

Anders,
DRACONIAN

A Rose for the Apocalypse will be released through Napalm Records at June 24th. A limited beautiful digi-pack version with one bonus song will be available.

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