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I am taking a journey, a long, tiring, immense, perhaps endless journey. I am slowly discovering Metal, in all its expressions, in all its creations, in all its splendor.
This journey began with Classic Metal, the more seasoned kind, when money was not the pinnacle of an artist's career, but what mattered was conveying emotions, states of mind, and relating to the average people of the lower/middle class, because that's where the musicians come from, from the narrow passages of urban outskirts.
Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, AC/DC and Metallica, the old school artists, let's say.
But the world has changed, real problems have doubled and artists have decreased, only a few manage to survive in a world where if your record doesn't sell, you're considered a "loser" and get dropped by your record label.
Well, among those bands that have scarcely managed to emerge, there are bands playing different genres, with musicians completely diverse in styles and behavior.
The first stop on the journey was therefore Death Metal, with all those ugly, evil, bloody, and violent bands... yes, that was what first attracted me, and I realized it was absolutely not as they depicted it, in fact, it was wonderful. It's incredible how most people don't know these niche genres, only thinking through the wrong preconceptions given by television and radio.
So I explored black metal, which gave me several satisfactions but didn't fully satisfy me, perhaps because, in my view, many bands focus more on clothing and their behavior than on music, whereas music is the key that opens the hearts of ordinary people who listen to freaking music!
But it was doom that impressed me the most! Slow, syncopated rhythms, funeral sounds, dark, gloomy, and healthy atmospheres, but at the same time inspiring trust, protection, and allowing the brain to reflect.
After having passed through Funeral, I finally discovered these Candlemass (and here begins the real review, I hope I haven't bored you up to this point, if so, get yourself a nice cup of coffee to keep you attentive until the end).
Honestly, I didn't even know who they were, but while fooling around on YouTube, I found a beautiful cover by Venom of Countess Bathory (just to return to the topic of black metal). Without even finishing the song, I opened the internet and rushed to Wikipedia to get information about this group... in two days I bought their CD!
Epicus Doomicus Metallicus
Yes, truly an epic album, for doom itself but especially for metal in general.
One of the first building blocks that founded a genre like doom, of which the first forefathers were Black Sabbath and their worthy heirs seem to be this Swedish combo.
The CD consists of the original '86 release and a bonus CD with a live performance from 1998, with the new singer Messiah Marcolin.
During this period, the band's singer was a session musician, Johan Langqvist, a great singer, perhaps better than the successor.
The album starts with a Candlemass trademark, Solitude, a dark and oppressive song with a streak of freedom in its notes. It continues with Demon's Gate, Crystal Ball, and Black Stone Wielder, beautiful songs with imposing and solemn riffs that lend an epic touch to the work, with Johan's clean vocals in the background.
Here we arrive at the gems of the album: Under The Oak and A Sorcerer's Pledge, which alone are worth the price of the album and rate it as one of the best in their field.
The live album, on the other hand, doesn't have great sound, as it was poorly recorded, often the speakers crackle, but what matters are the emotions they know how to deliver in live performances.
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
01 Solitude (05:37)
I'm sitting here alone in darkness
waiting to be free,
Lonely and forlorn I'm crying
I long for my time to come
death means just life
Please let me die in solitude
Hate is my only friend
pain is my father
torment is delight to me
Death is my sanctuary
I seek it with pleasure
Please let me die in solitude
Receive my sacrifice
my lifeblood is exhausted
no one gave love and understanding
Hear these words
vilifiers and pretenders
and please let me die in solitude
Earth to earth
Ashes to ashes
Dust to dust
02 Demons Gate (09:12)
Beyond all nightmares I met my fate
An ancient passage surrounded by hate
Scared I was with my hand on my cross
I went into the demons gate
Across the Styx among the mists of Hades
A gate of stones marks the path
To soul's damnation and hell's wrath
Ancient evil is awaiting there
At the doorstep to hell
Within it's darkness the demons dwell
From the dark age the passage hail
Created by witchcraft and hate
Where every sinner will meet his fate
The place is cursed by the hands of doom
Unholy powers in reign
The devil's paradise of pain
Approach !
The Eibon opens for you
The choirs of damnation, call you on through
The twilight possesses, the heart of your soul
The starlight is fading to black, into the
Demons gate
03 Crystal Ball (05:22)
Black heart, your soul is min
Gaze into and the secrets you'll find
Just read the signs
Gaze into the crystal
See what it tells
It can bring you all fortune
Do you so well
Visions and dreams you can see in the
Crystal ball
I saw the rainbows end
I am raptured I cannot pretend
I have found Atlantis
Alisman of Seth
I have seen it all
Dreamt away through the crystal ball
Tell me more I want to know
Please hear my call
05 Under the Oak (06:54)
Deep was my anguish infor these words
They froze my blood and changed my soul
The master has spoken, the truth, not any lies
The Devil gives and evil takes
The thing in life that man forsakes
A throne in hell, a price or a sacrifice ?
Still the wind was blowing soft
And gentle here under the oak
Which gave me shelter and rest infor my trial
I'm not strong, weak is my mind
A new beginning, where to find ?
I'm the last one on earth, please forgive us our crime
It was a time, when love was mine
Now it's time to sacrifice
My heart, bleeding for my race
The traces of mankind sweeped out
By the hand of our Lord
I cried for the ones I lost
Midnight in paradise, grief
Away goes my hope
I cried for the ones I lost
Hear my prayers
Climbing on the clouds above
Silent cry
Reach the inner halls of truth
Give me a sign !
A crimson sky, bless my eyes
Up goes the sun, my time has come
06 A Sorcerer's Pledge (08:11)
Time stands still in these ancient halls
Only the castle itself can tell what it keeps
Dark are the secrets between these walls
Hidden in shadows of death, while the sorcerer sleeps
Where is the morning
Where is the sun
Thousand years of midnight
The sunrise is gone
An old man marked by a life so long
Is sleeping so sweet while his magic is growing so strong
Waiting still for new times to come
A thousands years to see if he has won
Where is the morning
Where is the sun
A thousand years of midnight
The sunrise is gone
I
What has he done?
Why is he sleeping so long?
He wants to live for evermore
Soon is he young
And will he open his eyes?
When he is strong enough to rule
Back in our time goes the legend
Of a sorcerer so old
He drank the blood of the virgin to be reborn
Soon a tyrant will conquer
So spoke the wise
Of the day when the sorcerer will rise
Blood is his wine
The sorcerer is cheating on time
And he'll be stronger than before
Cursed be the sun
The women will weep for his fun
In the name of his magic so strong
A thousand years have gone
Armageddon hasn't come
Only the cry of a child echoes in the dark
Wards goes time
As the stars are passing by
And nothing remains of this foolishman except his fate
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Other reviews
By Norvheim
"To hatred, bitterness, suffering, discouragements, and hangovers: without you, making this record would not have been possible."
"The initial SOLITUDE is already explanatory in itself, showing us on one side melody and on the other something dark and oppressive."
