Customer Reviews

King of the Grey Islands

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Marcolin is gone- and the result is an incredible album! This album blows me away- it's easily the best Candlemass release in years! The self-titled reunion album was something of a disappointment; even though the classic lineup was back, the weird production and lackluster songwriting made for an uninteresting listen. Not so this time! While the songs still do not have the epic grandeur of tunes from 'Nightfall' and other 80s CM albums, the tracks on KotGI have a dark, focused intensity that makes them menacing and memorable in nature. Lowe's vocal performance is easily his best in many years, adding the perfect dark atmospheres to the songs, some of which sound like classic Solitude Aeturnus material (particularly 'Destroyer'). Other tuns are also incredible, such as the majestic 'of stars and smoke', the poundingly heavy 'emperor of the void', and the haunting 'man of shadows'. Honestly, if you're a fan of Doom, this album is for you! Make sure to get a copy with the new versions of 'Mass classics 'solitude' and 'at the gallows end'. While they sound a little different musically, Lowe's vocal treatment of these two classics is just godly. Hail the return of true doom!

First let me state for the record that Candlemass are my favorite band in any genre of music. Although I may be slightly biased in their favor I also hold them to the highest standards when releasing new material. When Candlemass reformed and released their self titled album no one was more thrilled than me. The album was excellent with the exception of som lazy songwriting and brought new life to the band. When Messiah Marcolin left the band I was worried that the band would once again either find a more commercial sounding vocalist or go in more of an experimental direction as they had on Dactylis Glomerata and From The 13th Sun. Then they signed Robert Lowe of the great band Solitude Aeturnus. This was a sign to me that Candlemass was intent on giving the fans the best album possible. King of the Grey Islands is absolutely brilliant. This album is an equal to those released in the bands golden period. Robert Lowe blends perfectly with the music and never lets up. I cannot get this cd out of my cd player. Anyone who enjoys doom or just great music needs to check this out.

Candlemass have definitely resurrected themselves as the standardbearers of doom metal with their latest effort, King of the Grey Islands (KOTGI). I was actually reluctant to buy this abum off Amazon because of their slightly disappointing 2005 self-titled album with Messiah Marcolin back on vox. When I heard through a friend that Texan doom metaller Robert Lowe had joined the ranks after Marcolin's (second) departure, I decided to buy it. It has turned out to be one of the better CDs I've purchased this year.

I was turned on to Candlemass about 3 years ago when I was listening to acts like High on Fire, The Obsessed, and Saint Vitus. I bought Epicus Doomicus Metallicus, Nightfall, and Ancient Dreams, and chewed on those three for a few years, deciding that my fling with the Candlemass catalogue was over. I then heard about the 2005 Candlemass "reunion" album and quiclkly snatched it up. For reasons that don't appply here, it was a letdown. I later saw on Candlemass's website that they were looking for a new singer and thought to myself, "they must be in real dire straits and whoever they get can't fill Marcolin's *rather large* shoes." I was wrong.

Robert Lowe, front man for the Texas doom metal band, Solitude Aeturnus, answered the call on KOTGI. Lowe's vocals throughout the entire album are clean, crisp, and powerful. He doesn't sound strained or tired but very comfortable in this range and style, and his vocals are without a doubt the highlight of the album. I've read that KOTGI is acutally a concept album about a young man battling depression (surprise), dubbing himself the "King of the Grey Islands". Plot Spoiler: He loses his battle with depression by suicide at the end of the album. Thankfully, each song lyrically stands on its own. The lyrics for each song are dark and brooding, centering around themes like depression ("Emperor of the Void"), suicide ("Embracing the Styx"), a shipwreck ("Clearsight"), inflicting violence out of frustration ("Destroyer"), and sin ("Devil Seed"). The album's mood and tone can be summed up in one statement from "Of Stars and Smoke": "ALL IS IN VAIN."

Musically, KOTGI is a step or two above the tired sounding 2005 effort. Janne Lindh (drums) and Leif Edling (bass) provide a solid, driving foundation for the guitar work of Lasse Johansson and Mappe Bjorkman. I am particularly impressed with the thick, crunchy twin guitar attack on this album. Johansson and Bjorkman seem to compliment each other so completely. The left-handed Johansson's shredding is rather impressive - no noodling; just solid, straight-forward solos. Mostly minor keys at mid-to-slow tempo songs dominate the album, with the exception of the fast-paced opener "Emperor of the Void". "Prologue" and "The Opal City" are instrumentals.

The artwork and packaging are what you would expect from a doom metal album - dominated by black, no frills. Each page of the booklet has a b&w photo of a band member's face with a light shining up from below them (gloriously creepy!). Lyrics are included (which are important for me, but my wife thinks that makes me a dork).

Overall, KOTGI is highly recommended for those fans of traditional doom metal, from the founders of the genre. Nobody does it better than Candlemass...

P.S. Pick up Candlemass's "Nightfall" and Solitude Aeturnus's "Alone" for further study. You won't be disappointed.

I've own all the Candlemass albums up till now and I must say that I was pleasantly suprized with this one. Their self titled album left MUCH to be desired. But with this CD and a new singer they are back in top form. No, they are not rehashing the old flames here, but carving a new path. The singing and song writing are top notch and the production is what you would expect from a Doom Metal album. I haven't enjoyed Candlemass this much since I first got Tales of Creation back in '90. If you like Doom/Sludge Metal regardless of your knowledge of Candlemass, I HIGHLY recommend this disk. New singer, new spirit, new life. Bye Malcolm, hello Candlemass!!! I'm just hoping their next disk "Lucifer Rising" is as good as this disk.

Well I was in My Favorite Record store...which has a Huge Metal section,and I saw this C.D. in the new release section.I remembered hearing of this Band somewhere,So.....I thought I would just take a chance on them.I am really Glad I did!!!!This C.D. will hit your ears like a Sledgehammer!!!And I mean that in the Best possible way!!!Beautiful Metal Music,vocals are pretty clear on this recording...Its hard for Me to get into Metal songs who have vocalists that are unintelligible.I guess My Intuition lead Me to a very good choice when I purchased this C.D.Excellent,Excellent Metal!!!!!!!!!

Upon first listen, I was thinking, "Man, they should've just changed the name of the band." However, I've been listening to it more and more over the last few days, and, at this point, I have to say this is truly one of Candlemass' great albums.

Lowe's vocals are just about perfect for these songs. He lends a diversity to the group that makes this album shine (darkly). From track to track, I really feel that his chameleon-like singing is what puts this one over the top.

Even if you're not a fan of their earlier recordings, this one would be an excellent place to start. It makes me happy to hear creating something so fresh in 2007 that stands right alongside albums like Nightfall and Epicus. It's a great, heavy, memorable, dark Candlemass album--full of twists and turns through beautifully gloomy territory. What more could you ask for?

Wow! That's good stuff. Emperor of the Void is an amazing track, a must-have.

Devil Seed is good. Tracks 5 to 8 are ok. Opal City is really only an instrumental introduction to Embracing the Styx - which is very good.

At the Gallows End and Solitude are very interesting too for people who listen to alternative edition of these tracks from Candlemass - it's quite different interpretation, yet very good.

Overall I find myself listening to tracks 1-3, 7 and 9-12 in a loop for days and days. A 50% epic tracks is much above average, I'm quite glad of this purchase.

Well, it worked the first time with Thomas Vikstrom. Chapter 6 is a great album. Clearly they just cant make things work with Messiah Marcolin, they've been there and done that. A shame, because the sound and material of the main line up was so intense. Robert Lowe (Solitude Aeturnus) steps in here, and the first impression anyway is solid enough. The band is clearly in a better place, as the next release is already on the way. Like anything, it'll take some getting used to, but its not a bad cd. The Gloom and Doom rolls on.

I felt let down by the latest Candlemass album. Their last effort was a blistering, enjoyable, wonderfully balanced and in some ways, epic album. It really embodied what Doom metal was about and each song was well crafted, well produced, and solid.

While I am a big fan of Rob Lowe of Solitude Aeturnus, I can't help but feel that this latest album was more the product of Leif Eidlings execution with much less creative input or shared vision from Lowe. I say this because the album sounds to me like a testosterone pumped version of Eidling's other band, Krux.

I don't particularly think this album adds to the genre, I find the production is not as crisp or warm as the last. In short, this appears to be a run-in album. Oh dear, where's Messiah's majestic and bombastic voice? I think we need it again...

Let's hope the next Candlemass album with Lowe in it sounds like CANDLEMASS and not KRUX!

Alternate suggestion - Concept of God - 'Visions'

Let it be known that Candlemass are one of my favorite bands (I have an Epicus Doomicus tattoo, okay), and this review is heavily biased, so please take my opinion with a grain of salt. I was skeptical of the new singer of course, and bought the album based on the previous reviews with high hopes. I've given it several chances and I just couldn't get into it. There are only two problems I have with this album: First of all, most obviously... Robert is a fantastic singer but just can't match the power and character of Messiah's vocals. It's kind of a let-down in comparison. Granted, these are some hefty shoes to fill, so you've got to give him credit. But all the same, it's a let-down. Robert's vocals are a bit nasal compared to Messiah's gutsy howl that only a fat man in a robe could provide. That's all a matter of opinion though. The thing that really ruined this album for me, is the production just seems below par for Candlemass. Their last album sounded so much better. This record sounds rushed, and it doesn't have the huge, powerful sound that the last album boasted. You gotta admire Candlemass for carrying on against all odds, but let's face it, Messiah Marcolin was the man responsible for getting us really riled up about this band. I'm sure plenty of people disagree with me on this, and that's cool. And also, where's all the blazing guitar solos on this album? The whole thing sounds like a demo.