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2003 seems to be a wonderful year for gothic metal. Not only have we seen albums from Moonspell, Poisonblack and Tiamat (soon) but gothic metal as a genre has become increasingly popular. This probably has a lot to do with highly successful bands like Nightwish and Evanescence making fans of heavier music open their eyes to bands with female or emotional vocals. I know very well that these two bands don't have much in common with each other but people do not want similarity, they want diversity, and it is the attitude and the general feeling created by the symbiosis of music and vocals that is important in this case. I just hope that everyone who started out with these bands will also open their eyes not just to Tiamat, Lacuna Coil or Moonspell but also to other genres. There is so much more if you only see it. Diversity is what makes our lives meaningful, if we don't care we might as well eat the same food every day, all listen to Britney Spears and work at a factory all life. Sorry for my digression but I just needed to get that out. Back to Tiamat now. Their new album "Prey" is very similar to their previous release and they continue to dwell on the softer side of gothic metal. The opening track "Cain" is however heavier than anything the band has composed during the past couple of years and it has a nice catchy chorus that will get to you right away. That is as you understand the hit song of the album. It also made me think of the new Moonspell "The Antidote" which you might say is a heavier version of "Prey". Back in the late 80s when Tiamat was known as Treblinka I doubt Johan Edlund had any plans whatsoever to use clean vocals but people change and he has now been developing his clean vocals for several years. He now sings in a very comfortable and relaxed way which makes every new Tiamat album sound more harmonic and mature than the last. "Prey" is a very good album but there are two things that prevent it from being one of the top releases of 2003. The first is that apart from two very strong tracks (the previously mentioned "Cain" and "Carry Your Cross And I'll Carry Mine" with beautiful female vocals) the rest of the song material seems a bit bleak at times. The other thing is not as important but the few guitar solos should definitely have been left out completely. There is a bit of a rockstar wannabe warning here since the solos do not sound good at all, nor do they fit the music very well. Still, it is an album I wouldn't hesitate buying as a fan of the band.
| Tracklist |
| 1. Cain |
| 2. Ten Thousand Tentacles |
| 3. Wings Of Heaven |
| 4. Love In Chains |
| 5. Divided |
| 6. Carry Your Cross And I'll Carry Mine |
| 7. Triple Cross |
| 8. Light In Extension |
| 9. Prey |
| 10. The Garden Of Heathen |
| 11. Clovenhoof |
| 12. Nihil |
| 13. The Pentagram |
: 52.24
| Buy other Tiamat albums |
