CANDLEMASS King Of The Grey Islands - 2007 Doom Metal CD w/bonustracks
Format: CD Condition: New Year of Release: 2007 Cat. No.: 11818 Label: Emm/Nuclear Blast
The hallowed Swedes forge ahead in their career via their ninth studio album, 2007's King of the Grey Islands, by welcoming none other than Solitude Aeturnus frontman Robert Lowe into the fold.
This, as any veteran doom enthusiast will know, is an intriguing choice to say the least, since Lowe's former band was frequently described as "America's answer to Candlemass," therefore only heightening curiosity as to how he'll fare -- especially since, for their part, Edling and his instrumental cohorts have delivered a selection of songs that's easily as strong and consistent as that of their most recent, eponymous effort with Messiah at the helm.
Even so, it must be said that Lowe's exceptional pipes still come across like Jos Carreras as compared head-on to Marcolin's booming Pavarotti in terms of sheer, stupefying power, but Lowe's range as a stylist is arguably more versatile, as he is capable of exploring softer cadences on songs like "Of Stars and Smoke" and the curiously Slayer-ish "Embracing the Styx." The band also achieves truly sterling results on epic old-school crawlers like "Devil Seed," "Destroyer," and the more energetic "Clearsight," as well as a few not so good ones like the Cathedral-styled "Emperor of the Void" and "Demonia 6."
So even if there's never a satisfying consensus over this whole "Messiah mess" (and there won't be!), doom fans can rest assured that King of the Grey Islands once again proves Candlemass' enduring relevance and near supremacy in the upper echelons of the doom field.
[The 2007 U.S. edition included bonus tracks.]
~ Eduardo Rivadavia, Rovi
TRACK LISTING:
1 Prologue 2 Emperor Of The Void 3 Devil Seed 4 Of Stars And Smoke 5 Demonia 6 6 Destroyer 7 Man Of Shadows 8 Clearsight 9 Opal City 10 Embracing The Styx 11 At The Gallows End [*] 12 Solitude [*]
