Candlemass - Death Magic Doom

May 10, 2009

Reviewer: Rottenbucher

Revitalized since the classic line-up's reunion and further rejuvenated by Robert Lowe's joining, Candlemass have been blazing trails in the last three years.  King of the Grey Islands met expectations and the exhaustive EP, Lucifer Rising, showed Lowe could deliver the goods, even with Messiah's classics in a live setting.  So that gives us the oddly titled Death Magic Doom.  Opening with the fast paced "If I Ever Die," two things become quickly clear.  The first is being the band sounds tighter than ever and the second being that Leif seems to be writing with both Lowe's performance style completely in mind and the willingness to tinker with the formula.  The track is fast, aggressive and to the point.  Lowe gives a confident performance and one of the band's crunchiest tracks to date.

The doom arrives drenched in oppressive, overwhelming melancholy with "Hammer of Doom."  While low key in spots, the crushing riffs and Lowe's restrained and tortured performance puts this one up there with the bands beloved classics. "The Bleeding Baroness" finds the band continuing the riff-fests colliding with drapes of atmospheric doom.  While the main riff sounds like something Cathedral would churn out, the chorus riffs are crushing, oppressive and delivered the way this band only can.  "Demons of the Deep" continues the collision of two different styles. While most of the track is laden with molten, marching doom riffs, the song starts and utilizes a clean picked melody to give the song two different moods. A haunting organ appears as the song winds down and nicely augments the overall tone. Again, Lowe helps the mood with eerie whispers and wailing prowess. Black Sabbath is clearly channeled with the main riff of "House of 1000 Voices."  Unfortunately the song really doesn't find its legs until about the 2-minute mark and a keyboard presence increases the overall appeal of the song. And while the midsection seems to abruptly arrive from out of nowhere and tends to lose focus, the song does eventually warm after repeated listens.

What doesn't work after repeated listens is "Dead Angel."  While the solo and solo-backing riffs are awesome, the majority of the song is an uneven mess. With a rushed pace and staggering riff, the song simply treads water while Lowe tries to make his vocals fit.  It sounds out of place and not fully developed when compared to the rest of the album.  But things get back to normal with the oppressively moody "Clouds of Dementia."  The mournful, moaning riffs just ooze with atmosphere. The melodic parts simply slay and the track delivers the gloomy goods.  "My Funeral Dreams" is one of the most varied tracks on the disc.  Fusing clean hooks, downtrodden riffs and crunch with a bite, the song seems to teeter between an epic scale and a much more straightforward approach. Lowe's performance steals the show and the track should also worm its way into the halls of Candlemass classics. A barely noticeable different "Lucifer Rising" is added as a bonus track on the limited edition version. Now augmented with a hint of keyboards, a bit more urgency and more solos, the song actually nicely bookends the album given the pace and tone of "If I Ever Die."

Aside from Lowe's much more confident and varied performance, Death Magic Doom also benefits not only the sheer amount of solos, but the quality of Johansson's shredding. Candlemass has never featured this many solos before and it works, giving the songs an organic, jam-friendly feel. And while vastly superior when compared to King of the Grey Islands, Death Magic Doom does take a few spins to really sink in and appreciate.  One of the main issues is some of the riffs in the songs seem to collide rather than coalesce.  At certain moments, it sounds as if two songs were smashed and edited together causing the listener to compare the player's display to the album's track list. Keyboards also seem to have snuck their way to being much more prominent, but it doesn't get in the way. If you can get past the DOA "Dead Angel" you'll find a creative and much more aggressive Candlemass on this release. While this will never compare to their classic discs, it is worthy of many repeat listens and should easily meet if not exceed fans expectations.

Release Date:  April 3rd, 2009
Label: Nuclear Blast Records

TRACK LISTING

1.  If I Ever Die
2.  Hammer of Doom
3. The Bleeding Baroness
4.  Demon of the Deep
5.  House of 1000 Voices
6.  Dead Angel
7.  Clouds of Dementia
8.  My Funeral Dreams
9. Lucifer Rising (Album Outtake)

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