Music: Doom Metal
Country: Sweden
Website: http://www.candlemass.se/
Cool songs: Emperor Of The Void, Of Stars and Smoke, Man of Shadows, Clearsight
CANDLEMASS, a living legend of doom metal, had their great comeback in 2005 with an album simply called Candlemass. It seemed that everything was in perfect order, the band set out to record another album, but it turned out that the singer Messiah Marcolin was not happy with the musical direction of the upcoming album. The rest of the group decided to part ways with him and employ another person, Robert Lowe from a respected doom band called SOLITUDE AETURNUS. Die hard fans must have been extremely anxious about the future of the band, but Lief Edling proved that he always was the real leader of the group and that his choices were well-thought-out. I believe most of the fans would not consider that change as a wrong one.
The new album presents a great piece of doom metal. Musically the songs seem to be a bit more dynamic than the ones from the previous album. First we have a calm opener called Prologue, which leads to a real storm of brutal riffs placed in a song Emperor Of The Void. If we compare that track with the opener from the previous album, Black Dwarf, the newer one wins without any doubt. Black Dwarf is a great song, but this one destroys everything on its way. After Devil Seed, we can hear a song which could end up as a radio hit if it wasnt for the fact that CANDLEMASS is not played on the radio. Of Stars And Smoke is so catchy mainly thanks to its melodic chorus, but it does not mean that the track is not digestible for a typical doom maniac. Besides the refrain everything is in perfect order. The song has heavy guitars and a nice solo in the middle. Demonia 6 takes us back to a typical style of CANDLEMASS. The opening, drilling doom riff is a trademark of that song. Robert once again proves that he is a suitable replacement for the position. He did not change his singing style in comparison with SOLITUDE AETURNUS. His voice is still very emotional and powerful. He introduced many beautiful vocal melodies and this is a great advantage of the album. The whole Man Of Shadows is a perfect example for that case. The song is full of many extraordinary vocal parts. He undoubtedly showed all his abilities in that one. Musically the song is very diversified and has many interesting turns till the very end.
In my opinion, CANDLEMASS made another great record. The change of the singer seems to have brought some refreshment into the band, therefore their comeback is even more powerful than with the previous album. The guys promise to record another album and, with Robert in the lineup, it is reasonable to hope for another great one!
note: 9/10
Tracklist
01 Prologue
02 Emperor of the Void
03 Devil Seed
04 Of Stars and Smoke
05 Demonia 6
06 Destroyer
07 Man of Shadows
08 Clearsight
09 The Opal City
10 Embracing the Styx
Line-up
Robert Lowe – Vocals
Mats “Mappe” Björkman – Guitars
Lars “Lasse” Johansson – Lead guitar
Leif Edling – Bass
Jan “Janne” Lindh – Drums
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