Customer Reviews

Tales of Creation

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

 

 

This is the best album that Candlemass has ever produced. It doesn't have any classics such as "Ancient Dreams, At the Gallows End," or "Mirror Mirror" but there is so much power and emotion on this album. Messiah is at his best, the riffs are darker and heavier than ever and the production value is top notch. You still have the epic drums and crushing guitars accompanies by the piercing solos. Lyrically this is a great album as well.

Overall this is the best this band has ever produced (in one man's opinion). The album flows well and is the only album where I can listen from start to finish and be equally amazed. I think the album "Ancient Dreams" is their second best so if you are a fan of any of Candlemass's earlier works, this will make a nice addition.

Also, give their new album a few spins. It has a tendancy to grow on you.

Candlemass were probably the first metal band to out-doom Black Sabbath with their plodding riffs, spastic solos and deliciously operatic vocals. The Swedes seemed entirely earnest in their pursuit of the highest levels of metal cheese, and there is no doubt about their technical proficiency. Tales Of Creation is their concept album about... well, it's not entirely clear, but I like it! It doesn't really have any anthemic songs like Mirror, Mirror or At The Gallows End, but all the songs are good and the production is excellent. The 2001 remaster has finally made it to the US (5 years late, but at a much more affordable price than the import) and does the album credit, sounding as good as I remember it sounding on vinyl 17 years ago (if not better). I'm not nearly as much of a metal head as I was back in 1989, but I still enjoy metal done well - and this album is a fine example of that concept. Worth anybody's time, in my opinion!

I'm not a huge fan of the doom metal genre. For the most part I prefer music that is more melodic and upbeat. Still, there are times when only something unrelentingly heavy will do, and that's where a band like Candlemass fits the bill perfectly.

Candlemass's 1989 album Tales of Creation is the band's fourth studio album, and was the final album to feature titanic vocalist Messiah Marcolin - at least until their short-lived reunion and self-titled release a couple years ago. Tales of Creation is an album that carries on in the same lumbering mammoth doom metal vein as previous albums Ancient Dreams and Nightfall, but the band's sound is a bit more refined. Musically, vocally, and production-wise, Candlemass is in top form here. There aren't any instantly memorable songs like "Bearer of Pain" or "Bewitched", but the album as a whole tends to work quite well. The album also seems somewhat more fast-paced than previous efforts, with some almost thrashing riffs and a very flashy instrumental track called "Into the Unfathomed Tower" that, title aside, probably leans more toward power metal than doom.

Tales of Creation is arguably the last truly great Candlemass album, and remains a must-have for doom metal aficionados.

The 2002 reissue of Tales of Creation features digitally remastered sound, expanded liner notes with lots of pictures and other info, and a second disc full of bonus demos and interview tracks. The bonus material is interesting enough; though it's doubtful you'll find yourself spinning the bonus disc more than once. The real reason to buy the reissue is the much improved sound quality, which takes the already high-quality album to a whole new level.

Heavy guitar sounds and an operatic voice...
Unique blend that mixes so perfectly!

Candlemass is so corny that it works just perfectly. Dark mystical lyrics accompanied by sledgehammer guitar and thundering drums coalesce into a satanic dirge not to be outdone. Classic opera styled singing sounds evil, is evil!