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A band known in the metal world as THE Doom
Metal founders and also known as the band of a million breakups, Candlemass
again arises! Compelled to reek in misery through their untimely hymns
of darkness and desolation, Messiah & co. have decided to entitle
their latest tragedy after themselves. Indeed, all of the ten tracks
on the album are vintage-Candlemass. Always crossing the lines between
power, thrash and doom. "Black Dwarf", the opening track,
immediately places the listener back to their 1999 opus (From the
13th Sun). "Seven Silver Keys" and "Copernicus"
sound as if they belong on the "Tales of Creation" album.
The guitar riffs are slow, depressive, yet enchanting with stellar
soloing in just about every song. Leif and Jans' musical correspondence
couldn't be more in sync either, which brings me to my next point.
Messiah is awesome! He doesn't sound like he's aged a single day since
"Nightfall". Granted... 18 years. The vocals seem to be
perfectly placed to every nook n cranny of the disc. Although at times,
a bit of a change of pace couldn't hurt. The solos and the relentlessly
heavy, crunchy guitars are awesome, there just seems to be something
missing. An extra solo? More keyboard parts? Acoustic guitars, a harp,
a thistle, or even a partridge in a peartree. Other than the slight
over-length of songs, it is doom metal and it is Candlemass. Perhaps
I should just shut my mouth and enjoy the subtleties of one of the
genre's forefathers. For the solemn regrets that haunt us all, Candlemass
is the cure. Rating: 85 Reviewed By: Thomas Mitchell |
