Comeback
of the year? Not quite, but surely a very strong contender for the
title. This is the Candlemass album; doom metal fans have been waiting
for ever since Messiah Marcolin left the band in the beginning of the
90's. And
how does this one compare with the classic Candlemass albums? Well it
never reaches the heights of "Ancient Dreams" or the
cornerstone of doom metal: "Nightfall" - actually both
musically and in terms of quality I would compare it with the last
Candlemass studio album with Messiah on vocals: "Tales Of
Creation". Candlemass
has made the jump into the new millennium with ease - the guitars
still sound like they did in the 80's with a small modification with
some modern sounds, the hook lines are still awesome, the drumbeats
are to the point and together with Leif's bass playing the rhythm work
is as solid as ever ... but the one thing that makes this album so
much more appealing compared with almost any other doom metal album in
the past decade is off course Messiah's vocals! And he delivers in my
book his best performance to this date! One
hour of very good doom metal is what Candlemass has chosen to release
unto the hungry doom metal community, and I am sure this album lives
up to the high hopes people has ... no one in their right mind would
expect them to top either "Ancient Dreams" or "Nightfall",
but they are pretty close, so in my book that's a success ... but make
up your own mind, because they surely deserve it. Recommended tracks: "Black Dwarfs", "Seven Silver Keys", "Witches" & "The Day And The Night" |
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| Link: www.candlemass.net | ||||||
