CANDLEMASS — From the 13th Sun (review)

CANDLEMASS — From the 13th Sun album cover Album · 1999 · Traditional Doom Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
5/5 ·
Time Signature
Mythos...

Genre: psychedelic doom metal

This album may be different from the typical epic sound of Candlemass, but I think it is an extremely well put together album and belongs up there with classics like "Epicus Doomicus Metallicus", "Tales of Creation" and "Ancient Dreams" although it is stylistically very different.

Gone is the epic feel of the usual Candlemass style, replaced with a simplistic and psychedelic approach. The polished production has been replaced with a raw production with noisy cymbals and thundering massive drums. And the atmosphere is dark and oppressive like a very bad trip, many songs being heavier than your average Candlemass track.

The opening track "Droid" is a lesson in dark psychedelia, while the following track "Tot" is a dark and heavy ballad, and "Blumma Apt" offers simple heavy riffage and dark bluesey vocals. Other tracks, like the more uptempo "Elephant Star" and "Arx/NG 891" are unashamedly inspired by Black Sabbath, the forefathers of doom metal, which, needless to say, fits the overall atmosphere of the album quite well.

With dark and heavy riffage and mellow, sometimes soundscape-like, bridges aplenty and spacey effects and weird guitar solos as well as abstract sci-fi-related lyrics to boot, this is a musical journey through a dark galaxy of imploding stars and post-apocalyptic planets of lost civilizations and barren landscapes.

For my money "From the 23th Sun" is a doom metal masterpiece, and, while I love Candlemass' normal epic sound, I am really grateful that they digressed from their normal path and created this darkly psychedelic oppressive doom metal gem.
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bonnek wrote:
more than 2 years ago
One of my favorite Candlemass albums, glad I'm not the only one!
Time Signature wrote:
more than 2 years ago
Yeah, it was a bit of a surprise. I really like the raw production and the noisy cymbals.
UMUR wrote:
more than 2 years ago
I found this one surprisingly good too.

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