[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfwOgxQK_vY[/youtube]
Metal Insider contributor Anthony Maisano is listening to a different metal album that was released on that day every day.
This was Candlemass’ last album with Messiah Marcolin until their reunion album in 2005. Personally, this is my favorite album with Marcolin. The instrumental, “Into the Unfathomed Tower,” might be my favorite instrumental of all time. The album progresses with slow songs, and all of a sudden, this song explodes at a much quicker pace, and some really technical playing for that track. Some of Candlemass’ best riffs and best melodies, like “Through the Infinitive Halls of Death” and “Somewhere in Nowhere,” are on the album, too. Finally, the title track has one of my favorite choruses on a Candlemass record.
The first half of this album pales in comparison to the later half. “Dark Reflections” might be the staple track off this album, but I always found it pretty boring. The first five tracks in general just aren’t up to par with the next six. Maybe the biggest disappointment for me on the album is the re-recording of “Under the Oak.” Messiah just does not do this song justice compared to the debut album with original singer Johan Langquist. He lacks the sadness, and utter hopelessness the song needed that Langquist did perfectly.
Favorite Tracks: “Through the Infinitive Halls of Death,” “A Tale of Creation,” “Into the Unfathomed Tower,” “The Edge of Heaven,” “Somewhere in Nowhere.”
This is definitely one of the best Candlemass records of their career, to me. Messiah had honed his style of singing perfectly, and although Candlemass always has amazing riffs, this album has some of their most addicting. Leif Edling was able to take many of these tracks, which were originally very early Candlemass demos, and make them even more fleshed out than his earlier ideas. While I think the first half is weaker than the second, the first half isn’t bad. Even if it was, the second half is good enough to make up for it. If you’re interested in doom metal, this is certainly one you should be giving a shot to.
