Candlemass Sweden
"Enter Messiah Marcolin the man/mountain (in Leif Edling's words) with the insane vibrato and operatic abilities. "Nightfall" is considered one of Candlemass' best releases, and certainly one of the most important releases in doom metal history introducing Marcolin to the scene (he had, however, released a couple of albums with Mercy prior to that). However, for some reason, it is not my favorite Candlemass album - and I actually like "Epicus Doomicus Metallicus", "Tales of Creation", the Robert Lowe albums, and even "Ancient Drems" (which Leif Edling himself has described as a failed rush release).
"Nightfall" contains a number of more uptempo tracks, and that may be one of the reasons why it doesn't click with me to the same extent as a lot of Candlemass' other releases do. It contains a number of classics and fan favorites like "The Well of Souls", "At the Gallows End", and "Bewitched", which I think are okay. Other tracks like "Gothic Stone" and "March Funebre" strike me as being silly fillers. "Samarithan", however, is a doom metal masterpiece, and that track alone is worth buying the entire album for.
Recommended to fans of good old epic doom metal.
(review originally posted on metalmusicarchives.com)"
""Chapter VI" did not do well in terms of sales, which lead to Candlemass splitting up effectively splitting up and going on hiatus for a good handful of years, before returning in 1998 with a couple of more psychedelic albums.
"Chapter VI" certainly is not my favorite Candlemass album, and I think that the reason is that some of the doom and gloom of the previous releases is missing from this album, many of the tracks being more uptempo. Also, the use of prominent keyboards on this release add both a more gothic sound and, unfortunately, also make the chees-o-meter go dangerously high.
This is not to say that this is a bad album. Many of the uptempo tracks range from decent to quite good, and a track like "Where the Runes Still Speaks" is an awesome epic doom metal track (which would have been even more awesome with less keyboards). And there are plenty of other interesting ideas scattered throughout. As a whole, the album is just not up to scratch compared to most of Candlemass' discography.
I think that another reason why this album sold poorly could be that it was the first since their debut album to not feature Messiah Marcolin's vibrato-riddled operatic acrobatics. I must say that I think that the vocalist on this album Thomas Vikström does a very good job and rivals any other vocalist that has graced Candlemass.
(review originally posted on metalmusicarchives.com)"
"This album may be different from the typical epic sound of Candlemass, but I think it is an extremely well put together album and belongs up there with classics like "Epicus Doomicus Metallicus", "Tales of Creation" and "Ancient Dreams" although it is stylistically very different.
Gone is the epic feel of the usual Candlemass style, replaced with a simplistic and psychedelic approach. The polished production has been replaced with a raw production with noisy cymbals and thundering massive drums. And the atmosphere is dark and oppressive like a very bad trip, many songs being heavier than your average Candlemass track.
The opening track "Droid" is a lesson in dark psychedelia, while the following track "Tot" is a dark and heavy ballad, and "Blumma Apt" offers simple heavy riffage and dark bluesey vocals. Other tracks, like the more uptempo "Elephant Star" and "Arx/NG 891" are unashamedly inspired by Black Sabbath, the forefathers of doom metal, which, needless to say, fits the overall atmosphere of the album quite well.
With dark and heavy riffage and mellow, sometimes soundscape-like, bridges aplenty and spacey effects and weird guitar solos as well as abstract sci-fi-related lyrics to boot, this is a musical journey through a dark galaxy of imploding stars and post-apocalyptic planets of lost civilizations and barren landscapes.
For my money "From the 23th Sun" is a doom metal masterpiece, and, while I love Candlemass' normal epic sound, I am really grateful that they digressed from their normal path and created this darkly psychedelic oppressive doom metal gem.
(review originally posted on metalmusicarchives.com)"
"After the more psychedelically inspired "From the 13th Sun" and a hiatus, Candlemass return to their trademark brand of epic doom metal on this eponymous release.
This album also saw the establishment of the format of starting out with an uptempo track in "Black Dwarf" while the rest of the album is considerably heavier - a format also found on the two subsequent Rob Lowe-fronted albums. Speaking of vocalists, Messiah Marcolin returned to take up vocal duties on this album, and with his operatic and grandiose voice, he certainly adds to the epic dimension (but, of course, he would soon be booted from the band for what they considered 'insane behavior').
While the style certainly is reminiscent of the epic releases of the 80s, I think that this album does not qute measure up to classics like "Epicus Doomicus Metallicus", "Ancient Dreams" and "Tales of Creation". That is not to say that this is not a good album - there are plenty of awesome good ole Candlemass doomy things on it, and tracks like the uptempo "Black Dwarf", the epic "Assassin of the Light", the darkly mellow "Copernicus" and the heavy "The Day and the Night" as well as the instrumental "The Man Who Fell from the Sky" are prime examples of what good doom metal should sound like.
So, this certainly is an important release by Candlemass, marking their return to the arena of epic doom metal - and, being the only post Y2K album fronted by Marcolin, it should also be of interest to long term fans of the band and Marcolin.
(review originally posted on metalmusicarchives.com)"
"Perhaps neither as outstanding nor as good as "Tales of Creation", "Ancient Dreams" is still heavy, dark and doom-ladden, and Marcolin's vocals are as enthralling as ever (although they sounds really strange on the last track). A doom metal classic that belongs in any doomster's collection."
"A doom metal classic, which belongs in any doomster's collection, "Tales of Creation" is very much a blueprint of melodic, melancholic, catchy yet dark and heavy doom metal. While the album as a whole is great, it's Marcolin's vocals that really tops it."
