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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
TIAMAT's First Signs of it's Transition, May 22, 2002
As one of their first Albums, "The Astral Sleep" can only be appreciated for what it is...Dark Metal. The metal is fast, & Edlund's vocals are brutal. But if you're a fan of ALL of TIAMAT'S work you can notice through hindsight, that this album shows the signs of the bands future plans. Along with many of the songs is the acustic guitar, and the atmospheric intro and outro that are made with the synthesizers. "Lady Temptress", & "Mountain of Doom" are great songs to point out on this album with the brutal vocals, subtle acustic riffs, and quick drum and guitar patterns. "I am the King of Dreams", and "A Winter Shadow", contain wonderful guitars, solo riffs, and lyrics(when identified), are found to be well-thought out. Of all the songs on this album I find "The Sounthernmost Voyage" the track which, stands out the most. The keyboards are very somber, the lyrics are wonderfully written, and Edlund sings with thoughtfulness. This isn't a dark metal song at all! This is the very song that one should pay attention to when looking at the progress and metamorphasis which, TIAMAT has undergone. As a TIAMAT fan, and a TOTAL fan at that, I truly appreciate all of their albums, both heavy and quick, or slow with sullen vocals. This is a wonderful album which takes us back to TIAMAT's earlier days. It is an important stepping stone in the band's history, which has led them to future records like: Wildhoney, A Deeper Kind of Slumber, and Judas Christ.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Back when Tiamat wasn't afraid to play fast!, October 14, 1998
This is Tiamat at their nastiest! Everything on here is horribly raw with ghastly and often hillarious vocals by the now very sedated Johan Edlund. The music is usually melodic and always wierd as sin. The lyrics are quite killer for the most part, but sometimes have that stupid "I think I'm a poet" feel to them. The riffs are very strange with a fast and rockin' sort of feel and there are plenty of melodic accoustic parts on it. The better songs on this will haunt your cerebellum for centuries to come. Angels far beyond, Mountain of Doom, and, of course, Sumerian Cry III are this album's highlights, but it is a complete classic from beginning to fiendishly crazed end. I can't get enough of those hideous vocals!!!
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Magick, Power, Subtlety, Grace...., November 10, 2001
By A Customer
Two distinctions make this CD a must buy for metal heads. First, the vocals which are really extraordinary. Unlike other singers who have to rely on garggling with Draino and treating their voices to heavy processing, Tiamat's vocalist sounds like he is demonically posessed - gutteral, but clear. Sounds like a contradiction, but you have to hear it to believe it. Most of the songs are in the early Judas Priest/Black Sabbath vein which will be appreciated by those craving this kind of classic metal. The second big reason to buy the album is a track called "The Entity". After about a minute you're led to believe the boys have shot their wads and what next? Be patient, the song soon rises from the pedestrian to the truly inspired. Multi-orgasmic is the best way to describe this finely-tuned biomechanoid anthem of a song. Not for mass consumption, this song will send shivers up the spines of a select few. Take that Stained CD out of your basket and buy this one.
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