Candlemass
Psalms For The Dead

Sooner or later the moment had to come. It comes for everyone, but when a band like Candlemass retires from the scene, there's always a bit of sadness. They had announced it some time ago: "Psalms for the dead" would be the last studio work. The band will continue to play live, but choosing only a few events: this with a further change behind the microphone. In fact, a few days after the release of PFTD, the Swedish group announced the departure of Robert Lowe due to "live performance shortcomings" (a choice some consider insane, but in the end true), replaced by Mats Levén (also a singer with Krux, Leif Edling's project).

On June 8, Napalm Records released "Psalms for the dead". What can be found in this last Candlemass effort? There is a lot of heavy metal and much less doom than expected. Above all, you can perceive a vintage aftertaste for seventies hard rock. To demonstrate this, it's worth highlighting the importance Candlemass assigned to the keyboards of Carl Westholm, as well as the hammond of Per Wiberg (ex Opeth), the star of "Siren song", the track that most shows the influence of seventies prog on Candlemass.

Overall, the sound remains the dark and "full-bodied" one inaugurated with the self-titled LP of 2005, featuring the brief reappearance of Messiah Marcolin. On these now well-known characteristics, Edling and company place their tribute to '70s rock, and the final mix is one of those interesting ones: two distant ways of conceiving rock that Candlemass manages to satisfyingly coexist. Despite this, the best tracks are precisely those that detach themselves from this "revival" wave to reconnect with the group's classic epic sound: examples of this are "The sound of dying demons", enriched by a captivating and horrific refrain, the title track (probably the most successful piece of the lot), and "The killing of the sun", clearly Sabbathian both in the riff and vocal lines.

The nearly thirty-year career of Candlemass ends with this work. A piece that shows once again a band capable of skillfully and experientially handling a genre that it has helped to codify profoundly and substantially, characterized by an epic, mighty, and mystical style. A positive work, therefore, but compared to LPs like "King of the grey islands" and "Death magic doom," it must be considered a step back: the songwriting seems blurred, especially in the longer, more elaborate pieces like "Waterwitch" and the concluding "Black as time". The general perception is that Candlemass of "Psalms for the dead" has lost some of its arrows, with a decrease in stylistic variety that is noticeable in some refrains, often uninspired.

A slight blurring in the song composition does not compromise the judgment on yet another positive test of the Stockholm band, capable of carving out a place of absolute importance in the world metal horizon. When Black Sabbath was giving the first lessons in darkness, Candlemass was taking notes, knowing they could become the future "professors" of doom. But now the liturgy is over, and the last lines of the title track, unfortunately, confirm the decision: "when time is gone, the page is turned, the door is closed and all is done and said, the band has played...the spotlight's burned, all that's left are psalms for the dead."

So, thanking them for all the black pages they have composed, one cannot help but cite the phrase that graced the booklet of "Epicus doomicus metallicus," the CD that launched them: "to hate, to bitterness, to suffering, to discouragements, and to drunkenness: without you, making this record wouldn't have been possible."

Three and a half stars.

1. "Prophet" (6:05)
2. "The Sound Of Dying Demons" (5:30)
3. "Dancing In The Temple (Of The Mad Queen Bee)" (3:38)
4. "Waterwitch" (7:03)
5. "The Lights Of Thebe" (5:49)
6. "Psalms For The Dead" (5:15)
7. "The Killing Of The Sun" (4:09)
8. "Siren Song" (5:58)
9. "Black As Time" (6:47)