Candlemass - Death Magic Doom (Nuclear Blast Records) - Back
“Death Magic Doom” marks the second full length of the Robert Lowe era, and in my opinion is Candlemass' best work since "Tales of Creation". Thundering out of the gate with the up-tempo “If I Ever Die,” “Death Magic Doom” immediately grabs your attention. Candlemass shift gears quickly and use the album's second track, the aptly titled "Hammer of Doom", to remind us that above all else, doom metal is supposed to be slow and heavy. Deliberate and plodding but featuring a subtle depth of composition, this track could serve as a blueprint to traditional doom metal. The third track, "The Bleeding Baroness", is a mid-paced epic with a memorable chorus. A true classic; one of the ten best songs that Candlemass has written. While I could go on and describe each track, let's just say that the rest of the songs are vintage Candlemass in every way. There is no filler here and each song is endearing in it’s own way. As a whole, the band flaunts their Black Sabbath influence a bit more openly than normal, and plays around with faster tempos a little more often than on the last two albums. What makes “Death Magic Doom” the best of Candlemass' recent offerings is the song writing, which is more consistent than on the S/T album or "King of the Grey Islands". I highly recommend to fans of doom or traditional heavy metal.

Rating: 93

Reviewed By: Garett F.
Second Review:
“Swinging their hammer of doom across the globe”....

With a career that spans more than 20 years it’s great to see that Swedish metallers Candlemass have no intensions of hanging it up just yet and for newer metal fans this is great news! Anyone who listens to Candlemass for the very first time will always find himself or herself comparing these killer doom metallers to the likes of Black Sabbath and some of the earlier British Heavy Metal acts which spawned to greatness in the late seventies. Recently Candlemass released their tenth album ‘Death Magic Doom’ which has received mixed reviews and I can see why… on one hand its powerful, heavy and dark, on the other hand it’s nothing new, exciting or mind-blowing (although in parts it certainly has the potential). I think the people who have had that opinion are those who’ve played this album expecting to hear something like Dragonforce or Hammerfall; and that is certainly not the case!

For me the first thing that caught my attention was the horrible artwork that has been chosen to represent this legendary bands work. Candlemass in my opinion are a band that always had artwork that just didn’t represent the bands heaviness, sound and creative direction, unfortunately it’s just dull and uninteresting, thankfully the disc inside tells a whole other story! The album kicks off with a smashing track titled ‘If I Ever Die’, and if that song doesn’t scream METAL then I don’t know what does! Following this metal masterpiece is the very dark and doom filled ‘Hammer of Doom’ which could have been called ‘Black Sabbath Pt.2’, this track is just amazing, plenty of the right changes at the right time, the haunting bell chiming in the background certainly gives this track the “ring” it needs and fans of early Sabbath work will pick up many similarities in this one. By far the opening two tracks and closing track ‘My Funeral Dreams’ represented what the band is all about and were by far the most enjoyable songs to play. The guitar driven intro on ‘Dead Angel’ hooked me instantly and was well represented when played at high volumes. But will it help get this album to the top of the Billboard charts? Will all of that earn Candlemass a Grammy? I doubt it very much.

As the album progressed I found myself losing interest in certain tracks like ‘Demon of the Deep’ and ‘House of 1,000 Voices’ which just felt like they dragged on forever and bored me quite quickly, but overall the album was great! If you are one of these people who recently became a fan of heavy metal or you are a long-term listener Candlemass is definitely a band that you need to add to your growing collections. These metal legends have continued to bring us some of the greatest doom metal for over twenty years and the band’s latest offering is filled with more than enough great metal tunes to make ‘Death Magic Doom’ a worthy addition to your collections. ‘Death magic doom’ is out now via Riot Entertainment and Nuclear Blast Records! Grab your copy today...

If I Ever Die
Hammer Of Doom
The Bleeding Baroness
Demon Of The Deep
House Of 1,000 Voices
Dead Angel
Clouds Of Dementia
My Funeral Dreams

Rating: 70

Reviewed By: Cameron Edney - http://www.myspace.com/promusicphotography