Well, by and large it's been a poor crop at best so far. Let's hope Batty can change the trend with his first recommendation, a classic from a Doom Metal staple.
Epicus Doomicus Metallus --- Candlemass --- 1986 (Black Drgaon Records)
Suggested by The Batlord
Anyone who was here for the original Metal Month back in 2013 will know that I kicked the whole thing off with one of Candlemass's albums, but was advised derisively that I should have chosen this instead, the album which is seen as their finest hour and also one of the very first doom metal albums, being their debut. Drawing on the obvious influence of the likes of Black Sabbath, Candlemass were one of the first ever metal bands to eschew fast, powerful riffs and shrieked vocals for a more sedate pace and operatic vocals. I remembered not being exactly impressed with
Ancient Dreams but this is a whole lot better. I love the fact that I can clearly hear and make out the vocals, the music is pretty great and the whole atmosphere evoked is dark but not black. I like the Greek mythology imagery used in “Demon's gate”, and things get a little heavier and punchier with “Crystal ball”, though the original impression I got from
Ancient Dreams remains, which is to say, there is not too much in the way of variety here. Still, having explored the subgenre a little more in the intervening years, I can now accept that this is a general tenet of doom metal, and it's not that Candlemass are being unadventurous, but that they are moving within the stricture of the music form they have chosen to play in. Then again, they did virtually invent doom metal, so maybe I shouldn't really be giving them a pass.
There's more of an excitement coming into this song now, as the guitar and drums quicken and things get a little more intense, with some fine solos from Mats Björkman and Klas Bergwall. Sweet guitar intro to “Black stone wielder” and the song has a great boogie rhythm, really livening things up. It slows down soon enough, and there's a sort of cinematic feel to the music, then it picks up speed again as it heads towards the end of the song, and into “Under the oak”, whose main guitar riff reminds me of a slowed-down version of Diamond Head's “Am I evil?”. It slows even more then, grinding evrything before it with a crushing, crawling riff and a dark, slow vocal from Johan Längquist. A soft acoustic guitar then introduces the closer, “A Sorcerer's pledge”, broken into three parts, the first of whch trudges along for about two minutes before breaking on a fast guitar riff as part two begins, galloping on with something of the sense of Rainbow's “Stargazer” in it, at least lyrically.
The sixth minute then is driven on a marching beat on a synthesiser line that carries into part three, as the piece begins to slide towards its conclusion, ending on what sounds like a high female vocal.
TRACKLISTING AND RATINGS
1. Solitude
2. Demon's gate
3. Crystal ball
4. Black stone wielder
5. Under the oak
6. A sorcerer's pledge
Having been singularly unimpressed by
Ancient Dreams, I can see now why the guys said I should have started off with this album. It's so much better, and it went on to define a genre on its own. I like the way there's room for faster, uptempo riffs amid the slower, sludgier ones, and that the vocals are at all times clear and easy to understand. No surprise that this album holds such a revered place in the hearts of metalheads, and that it spawned so many imitators over the years.