Many of you might hope for a new "Ancient Dreams" and the new album does have a lot of elements in common with the early Candlemass sound, especially that unique mix of gloomy Black Sabbath riffs and more uptempo beats with an occasional well placed solo. However, the 90s version of Candlemass is not completely gone despite the arrival of the Messiah. Don't despair though, the salvation you were searching for is still within reach. Leif Edling wrote all of these songs in the summer of 2004, with the exception of the previously released song "Witches", and he seems to have been able to squeeze out the best in him this time, combining the finest modern material with the goose bumps inducing atmosphere from the band's heyday.

The latest offering opens up with "Black Dwarf", an ultra-heavy and quite fast (by Candlemass standards that is) track which is, together with "Witches", the two easiest songs to pick out from the track list. In fact, "Candlemass" is probably the heaviest sounding album the band has released to this day which should please at least some fans. The magic within the band has once again been found, and it's great to hear Messiah's voice grace a Candlemass album for the first time in over ten years. I do need to admit though that the song writing is not as stellar as it has been and with the exception of the two aforementioned songs and maybe "Seven Silver Keys", "Born In A Tank" and "Assassin Of The Light" as runner-ups, the material is not quite in level with the past glory but they come close. It is no doubt still an album worth buying for both fans of early and later Candlemass. I was not disappointed as I did not hope for a new "Ancient Dreams" but the doom legends are now back on track which is great.

written by Vincent Eldefors

Playing time: 58.33