There are bands that manage to maintain a steady course over time, remaining faithful to their core principles and identity. DRACONIAN undoubtedly belong to that category. As Anders Jakobsson, one of the band’s founding members, told us, that is not going to change as long as he and Johan Ericson remain at the heart of the band. On the occasion of the release of their new album, “In Somnolent Ruin”, we had the pleasure and honor of speaking with him and discovering the deeper meanings behind their songs, as well as the thoughts and ideas that shape DRACONIAN’s philosophy and journey (watch the video of the interview here!).
Metalwar: Hello everybody, welcome to the Metalwar YouTube channel. My name is Kostas Boudoukos, and today I’m extremely happy and honored to welcome Anders Jakobsson from Draconian. Anders, welcome to Metalwar, and thank you for your time.
Andreas Jacobsson: Thank you so much. Happy to be here.
Metalwar: It’s been almost 6 years since your previous album, “Under a Goddess Veil” and since then a lot of things have changed for the band and for the world in general with COVID and everything. What was the COVID period like for DRACONIAN?
AJ: After we finished recording the last album, everything started changing. The world was holding its breath because of COVID, and at the same time we had new management and tours that got postponed three times.
It was a strange period, not only for us as a band but for everyone. The whole mentality of the world changed.
Some of us wanted to keep moving forward, but we didn’t know when the world would open up again. My focus was just to make things work and find ways to promote the album despite all the restrictions.
At the same time, Heike started seeing things differently. She wanted to tour less and step back from being in the spotlight. The rest of us wanted to get back on stage as soon as possible.
Unfortunately, we never got to properly tour “Under a Godless Veil”, even though we were incredibly proud of that album.
Metalwar: And then Lisa returned to the band.
AJ: Yes. Since Heike wanted to step back, and with her blessing, we asked Lisa Johansson if she wanted to come back and perform live with us.
We considered looking for a new vocalist, but starting that whole process again felt overwhelming. It would have delayed everything even more.
So it happened naturally—Lisa became more involved again. After our first show, when the world started opening up in 2022, Heike decided it was best for us to continue with Lisa, because she wanted the same things the rest of the band wanted.
And since then, things have been stable. Honestly, I’d say we’re stronger than ever.
Metalwar: How did the writing process for the new album unfold?
AJ: During all of this, we slowly started writing. With Daniel and Niklas joining the band, the lineup changed and things evolved naturally.
Johan started writing material, and it wasn’t until late spring last year that we actually sat down and decided which songs would make the album.
It was a very slow process. Normally I would call it procrastination, but this time it needed that time. There were also delays outside our control. But now it’s finally happening, and we’re incredibly happy.
Metalwar: I read an interview for the previous album in which you said that it was the most diverse album you have ever created and that when you heard Heike’s voice you felt a growing inspiration to explore different things. How would you characterize your new album, which is the first after Lisa’s return?
AJ: The previous album was diverse because I stepped back creatively to give Heike more space. I loved the presence and atmosphere in her voice, and I wanted the songs to be as strong as possible. Also, each song is almost like a little single, it tells its own story. It’s more of a storytelling album about a specific subject.
This new album is different. It’s denser, grittier, and far more introspective.
It’s a culmination of everything that has happened—personally and within the band. There’s a lot of psychology in it, a lot of emotion, and not all of it is pleasant. It wasn’t easy to make.
The world felt like it was falling apart, and that affected me creatively. Sometimes reality pulls you away from the artistic mindset.
I am trying to tell a story about not just everything that I have picked up over the years, but things I have experienced within myself as well.
This time it was timelier and more difficult. But now, seeing how people are receiving it, maybe it was meant to be this way.
Metalwar: Your new album, “In Somnolent Ruin”, is only a few hours away from being released. In fact, by the time this interview is published, it will already be out. Before anything else, I would like to congratulate you. It is an amazing album, it feels very personal and that really touched me (read the album review here!). First of all, what is the deeper meaning behind the title?
AJ: It reflects my belief that humanity is sleepwalking into ruin.
“Somnolent” means being in a sleeping state, and the ruin represents the destruction around us that we fail to recognize. It’s like the soul is screaming for us to wake up, but we don’t. That’s the central idea behind the title.
We struggled a lot to find it. Usually, album titles come early in the process, but this one came very late. In the end, it fit perfectly.
Also, on the album cover we have this maternal figure that is becoming more and more earthbound. There are all of these weeds growing around her but she is still waiting for us to wake up because that’s the soul spark, the mother.
Metalwar: One of the things I love in DRACONIAN is the importance and the depths of the lyrics. For example, you mentioned that in this album you’ve explored Plato’s theories on the soul. How did our current dystopian reality affect your writing and in general from what situations or feelings do you draw inspiration when you write the lyrics for an album?
AJ: That’s partly a misunderstanding from the press release.
The only album that was directly inspired by world events was “A Rose for the Apocalypse” back in 2011. That one was heavily influenced by social issues and activism.
My writing is symbolic. I use metaphors because I want listeners to insert themselves into the songs and make them their own.
As for Plato, that mostly applies to the last song, “Lethe”, which deals with reincarnation and the river of forgetfulness—the idea of forgetting past lives before starting over. Like erasing a hard drive.
That concept fascinated me, especially when mixed with Gnostic ideas. I wanted to implement this Greek Platonic idea about the reincarnation process which is nefarious and malignant.
But overall, this album is much more personal and introspective. It’s about alienation, longing for something beyond this world, and feeling like this place isn’t our true home.
I don’t believe that this world is our true home. That’s always been central to Draconian. Ever since the first demo.
Metalwar: I would really like to talk with you about each and every song of the new album but it is gonna take forever so I will ask you about the most special song for you personally and why?
AJ: I will talk about two songs. First, “I Welcome Thy Arrow”. It came from recurring dreams I had over several years. The dreams were vivid and kept returning in different forms.
Sometimes I felt hunted. Sometimes I wanted to be hunted. Sometimes I was afraid, sometimes grateful. It stayed with me, and I had to write about it. That is probably the most personal song to me in a most straightforward way, because it’s something that I experienced.
The second is “The Face of God”. That song is harder to explain. It’s like a meditation. It’s inspired by the idea of God’s silence—something I remember from the films of Ingmar Bergman.
There’s this image that stayed with me. It was a line from a movie: “I saw the face of God, and it was weeping”. I felt it was a powerful thing to create a song around this line. So, me and Johan went into that project and It became after all the most complex and powerful song on the album.
It would be too difficult to explain but I think most people would get it. There is a question of authority through the eyes of tears and not feeling worthy in the end, even though you know you have done nothing wrong.
Metalwar: You mentioned two songs that are special for you but the three singles that were released beforehand were “Cold Heavens”, “Misanthrope River” and “Anima”. Why did you choose them?
AJ: Obviously, the label had a saying about which songs to release before the official release date of the album. Each represents a different side of the album.
“Cold Heavens” was the obvious first single. It’s shorter, very direct, and Lisa shines on it. She is showing her power in it and she feels very close to the lyrics as well. Also, we wanted to make a video out of it. You know, it is only the second song in our entire career where the whole band is in the video.
“Misanthropic River” feels closer to the classic DRACONIAN sound—more representative of who we are. I will say that it’s like “Sleepwalkers” from the previous album. These two songs are similar in their soul and energy vibe.
And “Anima” is different again—more atmospheric, gothic, more introspective, inspired by Jung’s idea of facing your shadow. Together, they represent the album’s range.
Metalwar: Draconian has been a pillar of the scene for more than three decades. Does the history of the band feel like a protective cloak or a heavy burden when you are trying to create something fresh like this new record?
AJ: I think it’s a protection cloak. It gives us a foundation. We know who we are.
We can experiment, take inspiration from different things, but we always return to our core sound—gothic doom metal with progressive elements.
As long as Johan and I are in the band, that won’t change.
Metalwar: After the May 8th release, what are the plans for bringing “In Somnolent Ruin” to the stage?
AJ: We start next week with a Latin American tour.
After that, we’ll do Spain, Portugal, Brutal Assault, another summer festival, Asia—Japan and China—plus Turkey.
And we’re also in talks about Greece. So yes, hopefully we’ll see you there.
Metalwar: That is all from me Anders. I would like to thank you once again and I hope to see you and DRACONIAN soon in Athens!!
AJ: Thank you. It was my pleasure.
Interview: Kostas Boudoukos
Question Editing: Kostas Boudoukos, Joanna Gonas
