Chapter VI [Import]

Candlemass | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 30, 1998)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Music for Nations
• ASIN: B000001ZW5
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #587,242 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. The Dying Illusion

2. Julie Laughs No More

3. Where the Runes Still Speak

4. The Ebony Throne

5. Temple of the Dead

6. Aftermath

7. Black Eyes

8. The End of Pain

Editorial Reviews

Repressing. Digitally remastered and expanded two disc (CD + DVD) reissue of this Swedish Doom Metal band's 1992 release now featuring plenty of bonus material! The sound quality on the CD has been much improved and now contains the sought after (and long deleted) Sjunger Sigge Furst EP. It also comes with a bonus DVD of a rare gig from Uddevalla, Sweden 1993 with Tomas Vikstrom on vocals. The DVD also includes the studio video of 'Julie Laughs No More' The artwork and booklet have been re-done and band member Leif Edling has written new liner notes. --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Leif begins to metamorphose, October 9, 2003

By 

e5150 (United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Chapter VI (Audio CD)

This could be considered the last "true" Candlemass album, in that it retains the Cmass trademark compositional style much more than the two heavily experimental albums which followed some years later (Dactylis... & ...13th Sun).
After hitting his stride with "Nightfall" and pretty much keeping that same, honed-to-perfection doom style with it's sequels "Ancient Dreams" and "Tales of Creation", CHAPTER VI presented a Leif Edling not unwilling to begin his experimentation with the doom sound. Gone was Messiah Marcolin, the hefty opera-man at the mike, and I can't say that I was too distraught over this loss. While a decent singer, his operatic bellowing never impressed me to the point of convincing me that he was the ultimate vocalist for the band. No, that title goes to Johan Lanquist on Epicus, forever and ever.
His replacement Thomas Vikstrom certainly fits in comfortably, and I personally have no complaints about his performance. He's belting out the words without the overwrought vibrato and can at least manage to hide his accent, which was a strike against his predecessor in my book.
Most of the songs are all taken directly from the Leif Edling book of doom: "Where The Runes Still Speak" being another Epic Doom Metal classic, though possibly a little overlong; "Julie Laughs No More" uses the Little Red Riding Hood story as a metaphor for a good girl whose life goes astray into desperate situations; "Aftermath" is probably the best song of the bunch, perfect in length and possessing one of the coolest dark and doomy outros of Leif's career.
There are, for the first time, some songs which really don't meet the standards we've become used to, but every tune has at least one riff that'll make your blood chill.
The biggest alterations to the usual routine are the adding of keyboards as a *primary* instrument (they even get a solo in "Runes") and the stunningly sub-par production. I've never been too fond of keyboards as a main instrument in Metal, but they are used effectively here, and most of the music is so good that they could've used an accordion on it and it wouldn't have damaged the album..
What IS damaging is the production. All of the guitars are in the center of the mix, similar to Sabbath's "Live Evil". Not good. You don't notice it much unless you've got headphones on, then it's absolutely claustrophobic. The vocals and most of the instruments are all bunched up in the middle. One can only imagine how the music would have benefited from separating them as usual. And the drums seem much lower in the mix, as well. Even the cover suffers from the boring scrawling artwork--if artwork it can be called: it looks like a hyperactive child was let loose on a chalkboard. The artwork inside the booklet isn't too bad. Maybe all of this was part of Leif's experimentation.
CHAPTER VI is still capable of yielding some classic DOOM in the Edling style, but be prepared for the occasional tangent. Put simply, this is his launching pad for Abstrakt Algebra.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The remaster is worth it, August 19, 2011

By 

twocents - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chapter VI (Audio CD)

I purchased the original Chapter VI cd years ago. I already owned and enjoyed Candlemass' "Epicus Doomicus Metalicus" and "Tales of Creation", and I appreciated the progressive direction that Chapter VI took. While I liked Messiah Marcolin's operatic vocals on previous albums, I also liked Thomas Vikstrom's metal vocals on this album. While I was impressed with the songs themselves and the musicianship on Chapter VI, the poor sound quality and mix on the original release made the album difficult to listen to.

I am really impressed with the remastered version of this album. I could be mistaken, but it actually sounds like this album was remixed in addition to being remastered. The drum tracks and guitar tracks sound like they are properly separated from each other, so they don't sound muddled like they did in the original release. Even when I listen to this album with headphones on now, the tracks sound crisp. My only complaint would be that the keyboard track on "Dying Illusion" still sounds a bit muffled. If you are already familiar with the original Chapter VI release and enjoy the songs but hate the sound, give the remastered version a chance: the remaster is a much better listening experience.

If you are relatively new to Candlemass, I would give this album a chance. It is different from Candlemass' other albums because it is more upbeat, uses more keyboards, and features a different vocalist from the other Candlemass albums. I would rate this album neither higher nor lower than classics such as "Epicus Doomicus Metalicus" or "Tales of Creation". I am glad that they did something different on this album, and it a musical masterpiece to me. This album is more progressive and metal than Candlemass' previous and subsequent albums. However, it still captures the gloom and mysticism that define Candlemass.

Favorite songs: "The Dying Illusion", "Where the Runes Still Speak", "The Ebony Throne", "Aftermath"
Good songs: "Temple of the Dead", "The End of Pain"
Good music but cheesy lyrics: "Julie Laughs No More", "Black Eyes"

5.0 out of 5 stars Not Messiah or Lowe, but still very Candlemass, December 12, 2008

By 

A. Eric Piston "The Onslaught" (Colorado) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Chapter VI (Remastered / Expanded) (CD/DVD) (Audio CD)

Chapter VI by Candlemass came to me as kind of a shock, at first. After several discs of Messiah's vocals I wasn't prepared for this change. New singer Tomas Vikstrom is definately not Messiah, but he is still good none the less. I had to listen to this disc several times before it grew on me and now I beleive it to be very much a Candlemass album. The material is slightly lighter than the usual doom, but not so far as to say Abstrakt is. This is among Candlemasses best - listen to it over and over - it will get better and better. Don't expect Messiah or Lowe, keep an open mind and enjoy these songs they are every bit as good as the rest of Candlemasses catalog.