Tiamat
Amanethes

THE REVIEW

After the not so acclaimed "Prey" of 2003 and after having recently produced a breathtaking "best of" and their first live DVD "Church of Tiamat", the legendary Swedish band led by Johan Edlund, with this latest work, has decided to transport us once again into that dark-metal dimension that made us discover them starting from the 1997 masterpiece "A Deep Kind of Slumber", in which, for the first time in the band's history, they shifted from an almost medieval Caribbean doom-death metal to a more direct gothic rock that is not at all superficial. If I had to define the new work of Tiamat with a single adjective, I would simply say that it is an extremely romantic work, where melancholic and dreamy atmospheres converge, reminiscent largely of the infrequent, but not rare, summer storms.

As long as the last work may have taken to listen to as well, if we had the chance to hear it carefully and if we also had the opportunity to pay particular attention throughout its passage, we may realize that perhaps for the first time in history, Tiamat have kept those promises that the leader made while progressing with the making of his latest work: the band's main goal was to create an album where guitar riffs, almost oriental melodies, and irrational atmospheres were present to convey how unique, if not perfect, they have been in adapting songs that turn out to be more catchy, but rather soothing for all lovers of illusion/irrationality. That "intellectual" album they had already set as a primary objective to achieve by 2003 did not succeed, and this is more due to the fact that "Prey" was released not long after the not-so-brilliant "Judas Christ". Well, "Amanethes" smooths all those flaws left along the way by its predecessor, which still has the merit of having made us travel on shores of sincere emotionality, refined and elegant but still not divine. The beginning of the album cannot but be impressive for a gothic metaller who is used to, when inserting the CD into the player, the first track of any Tiamat album (apart from "A Deep Kind of Slumber") being either very slow and essentially doom or a very atmospheric, natural, and relaxing intro. Instead, in "Amanethes", with "The Temple of The Crescent Moon" and the subsequent imposing "Equinox of The Gods", Tiamat are aware of having been able to illuminate those ruins of the Sumerian people that once tantalized Johan's fantasies. Another aspect to emphasize is Edlund's "new" voice, which through a very expressive tone accompanied, at times, by a clean, deep, and narrative voice and a melancholic and whispered growl, makes it clear that the years, despite having flown by since the band's inception, have not led to a gradual (almost normal in many bands) degradation but to a new and stratospheric originality that no one could have imagined. After these two songs, the sound of the songs stiffens, but Tiamat do not give up on sensual atmospheres, the rediscovered dreamy melody. We then move on to "Will They Come?" and "Lucienne", where the shadows of Sister Of Mercy and Lucyfire themselves hover and on the rock/blues influences of the magnificent "Summertime Is Gone" and "Meliae", where Edlund and the band's acoustic soul take center stage. The angry and energetic "Raining Dead Angels" and "Via Dolorosa" and the fascinating track following "Raining Dead Angels", "Misantropolis", which I would almost dare to call moving, do nothing but conclude an exceptionally high-level work, melancholic enough and fruitful from all points of view.

We conclude that Tiamat, with a hypnotic progression, have managed to create 14 tracks of modern goth from which we will be easily devoured, like a wave of the sea that for millennia erodes the same rock. This is all due to their perfect and vast compositional immensity that we will hardly forget.