Candlemass “Death Thy Lover” Ep Review

4 shares Facebook4 Twitter LinkedIn Email Genre: Melodic Metal Released by: Napalm Records Release date: June 3  2016 Tracklist: 01. Death Thy Lover 02. Sleeping Giant 03. Sinister N Sweet...

Genre: Melodic Metal
Released by: Napalm Records
Release date: June 3  2016

Tracklist:
01. Death Thy Lover
02. Sleeping Giant
03. Sinister N Sweet
04. The Goose

The Band:
Mats Levén – Vocals
Mats “Mappe” Björkman – Guitars
Lars “Lasse” Johansson – Lead guitar
Leif Edling – Bass
Jan “Janne” Lindh – Drums

The EP begins with the title track Death Thy Lover. The first opener begins with harmonizing guitars from Lars Johansson and Mats Bjorkman that instantly remind fans of Candlemass of the tone of this classic band that is celebrating 30 years of Doom. The tension builds with the bass guitar from Leif Edling and the drums from Jan Lindh. There is a really tight verse riff and great technical playing ability from the masters of the genre. Vocalist Mats Leven has a powerful voice throughout and it shows around the halfway mark of the track when the tone shifts to a ballad. The song is full of hooks and there is a lot going on in terms of mixing a classic band with modern production.

Death Thy lover is a personal favorite for me :

Mats is also now confirmed as the permanent singer of Candlemass after being a longtime friend of the band, they were happy to make this announcement.

The second track Sleeping Giant is a slower doom track that is very Sabbath-esque with the catchy guitar riffs and classic tone. This band reminds us that they are no strangers to writing a master riff.

Sinister N Sweet is a track that stands out as something that would be uncovered from their back catalogue in the 80s. It has a vintage feel to it as it jumps from heavy dooms riffs to a subtle ballad of storytelling from Mats. The band are experimenting throughout this EP with old and new sounds and it is quite diverse in switching between these. The fact that this is a heavy doom metal band historically, sections of this record can sound anything like Slayer to early Saint Vitus.

The final track called The Goose is an epic instrumental performance which demonstrates the power of this lineup of 3/5 of the original band from 30 years ago since Epicus Doomicus Metallicus was released. Everyone musician in the band gets to their spot in the limelight to showcase their talent in this track. I particularly enjoy the bass riff from Leif Edling and Jan Lindh on the drums which builds and changes throughout. Guitarists Lars Johansson and Mats Bjorkman take their turn at blasting out solos and riffing in the background as this track progresses into more of a jam that has been put together by the band.

Candlemass Article Framed

As a whole this EP is definitely worth checking out for old time fans of the band or a perfect way for new listeners to get a quick 4 track listen into what kind of a band Candlemass are about.

Reviewer:  David Bell 

Rating: 7/10

 

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