Having never heard Draconian's only other album, _Where Lovers Mourn_, I cannot judge their progression or lack thereof. They use many of doom metal staples in their sound: heavy yet melodic guitar work, keyboard enhancements, spoken and growled vocals, and occasionally a sweet-sounding soprano -- too sweet, in fact, as some more depth would have been welcome in the female singing.

Draconian seem to have harvested influences from a number of sources, and the result bears a striking resemblance to Novembers Doom, Saturnus (mainly some of the spoken passages), Within Temptation (the female vocals sound uncannily similar on a couple of occasions) and early Theatre of Tragedy, among others. Their picking and mixing of proven doom metal elements for their sound will certainly help _Arcane Rain Fell_ impress a considerable number of listeners, especially those less versed in the genre. For other listeners however, it means they will spend much of the album trying to figure out exactly what a number of passages reminds them of -- and that can detract considerably from one's enjoyment of the record. Very well written, played and produced, _Arcane Rain Fell_ has enough competence to deserve a higher rating, but it suffers from a lack of originality.