For a long three years, DRACONIAN fans have been waiting for an opportunity to catch the Swedish Gothic/Doom band on tour with a new vocalist, Heike Langhans, and a new album to boot. And early 2016 saw this dream finally become reality, with DRACONIAN launching on a coheadliner tour with OMNIUM GATHERUM, and supported by YEAR OF THE GOAT and OCEANWAKE. I got to catch the tail-end of this "Towards the Unknown" tour on its penultimate show, taking place in Munich. With 10 tour dates in 5 different countries, the tour was somewhat marred by a stomach bug that completely ravaged the bands, but from the fans' perspective, this was a great chance to see some phenomenal bands perform together.

Kicking off the evening was OCEANWAKE, a Progressive Death/Doom Metal band hailing from the distant shores of Finland. Formed in 2009, OCEANWAKE released their second full-length album "Sunless" a year ago, giving them the opportunity to give fans a good taste of their new album, with the majority of their setlist stemming from this release, featuring songs like "The Lay of a Coming Storm", "Avanturine", and "Ephemeral". With their songs easily averaging 10 minutes each, this opening slot sadly meant that the band only had time for a few songs. Nevertheless, whilst completely shrouded by roiling fog, OCEANWAKE created an atmosphere  that set the standard for the rest of the night.
 

Following on from this was the Occult Rock band YEAR OF THE GOAT. With the release of their well-received sophomore effort "The Unspeakable" last autumn, newer songs such as "Pillars of the South", "Riders of Vultures", and "Vermin" went down exceptionally well. This band really delivers an Old School listening experience that few bands these days can top. Hitting just the right balance between being engaging whilst giving the emotional side of the music free reign, it didn't take long before they had the audience entranced. And with their heavy emphasis on atmosphere, YEAR OF THE GOAT did an excellent job of setting the stage for DRACONIAN.
 

 

Finally it was time for the highlight of the night; a live performance from DRACONIAN is a relatively rare treat, and so it was no surprise that the venue got so crowded so quickly. And DRACONIAN certainly did not disappoint. Their new vocalist Heike has clearly taken to the role with ease, and whilst her vocal lines are more minimalistic and less in the foreground than Lisa's were, they are all the more emotional and intense. The soul-searing performance was completely riveting: at one point, I turned around to see the majority of the audience standing with eyes closed, entirely submerged in the music. Obviously with the release of "Sovran" last October, much of the setlist comprised the newer songs such as "Pale Tortured Blues", "Stellar Tombs", "Rivers Between Us", and "Heavy Lies the Crown". However, fans of the older albums also were delighted with songs like "A Scenery of Loss", "Death, Come Near Me", and "Bloodflower". In short: there was something in that performance for everyone.
 

The final band of the night were OMNIUM GATHERUM, a somewhat poor lineup choice considering the musical directions of the first three bands. After the mesmerising melodies of DRACONIAN, and the slower pace of the other bands, the energetic outburst of OMNIUM GATHERUM just didn't seem to quite fit in. Clearly this was a sentiment shared by many, with half of the crowd dissipating after DRACONIAN's set. However, this aside, OMNIUM GATHERUM still put on a good show. With the release of their album "Grey Heavens" at the end of last month, the audience got to hear some fresh new songs, such as "Ophidian Sunrise", "Storm Front", "Frontiers", "The Pit", "Skyline", and "The Great Liberation". Still, there were also some older songs such as "Soul Journeys",  "The Unknowing", "The Sonic Sign", and "New Dynamic" thrown into the mix. And for the fans who did stay, OMNIUM GATHERUM delivered a furious and lively set that soon had heads happily banging away.
 

Overall, each band really put in their all, making the night an enjoyable one.  One thing that must be said is respect to all the musicians for still pulling off such sterling performance, despite some looking like cast from "The Walking Dead". Sometimes it's all too easy to overlook the sacrifices and effort that go into putting on such great shows.