┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│■ ■│
│ .-/ .-. │
│ _.-~ / ___ | ~-._ │
│ \:/ -~| / __/| .\:/ │
│ / || (:/:| \ │
│ / /\/| |:\___\| |\ \ │
│ / /:::|.::/:::/:.|:\ \ │
│ / /:::/ \\/:::/::/:::\ \ │
│ / .::\ \-~~~~-/\/:.. \ │
│ /..:::::\ /:::::..\ │
│ /::::::::- -::::::::\ │
│ \:::::-~ ~-:::::/ │
│ \:-~ ~-:/ │
│ METAL CLASSICS ARCHIVE │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│ P R E S E N T S │
│ │
│ │
│ + Candlemass - Ancient Dreams + │
│ │
│ │
│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Information ║ │
│╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Release Date.Dec-23-2013 Encoder......L3.97 -V2 --vbr-new ║ │
│║ Genre........Metal Graber.......EAC ║ │
│║ Year.........1988 Khz/Bitrate..44,1/ Br ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Ripper.......anthem Songs........09 ║ │
│║ Covers.......Yes Url... www.candlemass.se ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Notes ║ │
│╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Artist : Candlemass Rating : You Decide! ║ │
│║ Album : Ancient Dreams Label : Active ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Description : ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ It would be really hard for me to give a ║ │
│║ Candlemass album a poor rating, but I did ║ │
│║ consider giving 'Ancient Dreams' about 80%. ║ │
│║ Hopefully, by the end of this review my ║ │
│║ reasoning will be explained. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ However, I'd like to start with the album cover, ║ │
│║ a copy of Thomas Cole's painting 'Youth'. That ║ │
│║ cover is a lot for any band to live up to, isn't ║ │
│║ it? There's a gorgeous, primal countryside with ║ │
│║ a foreboding mountain lurking at the horizon, ║ │
│║ above which we can see a temple in the sky - the ║ │
│║ celestial city. In the foreground is a tiny boat ║ │
│║ with two figures reaching towards that distant ║ │
│║ and unearthly emblem, straining to touch the ║ │
│║ unreachable. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ And yet, that scene describes Candlemass so ║ │
│║ exactly. The band sound, in a completely non- ║ │
│║ denominational sense, utterly godly as they ║ │
│║ stretch a musical finger towards the perfect ║ │
│║ city in the sky that, as we can tell from the ║ │
│║ fact they are playing doom metal, they know they ║ │
│║ will never reach. There is a hopeless crushing ║ │
│║ quality to the music and lyrics that in no way ║ │
│║ undermines the joyous celebration that those ║ │
│║ epic riffs seem to create: the vastness of the ║ │
│║ sound and vision is matched only by the ║ │
│║ emptiness of the reality, because without that ║ │
│║ mirage on the cover, it is only a man alone in a ║ │
│║ boat and without those sublime ideas Candlemass ║ │
│║ is only five Swedes with instruments and dodgy ║ │
│║ haircuts (seriously, Google Leif Edling's ║ │
│║ mullet). ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ 'Ancient Dreams' might contain the most ║ │
│║ perfectly realised songs of Candlemass's career. ║ │
│║ 'Mirror Mirror' is a VERY strong opener, but is ║ │
│║ superseded three times as the best song on the ║ │
│║ album. 'Darkness in Paradise' has a wickedly ║ │
│║ haunting vocal line and the main riff sounds ║ │
│║ like a salute to angels; 'Bearer of Pain' is ║ │
│║ lyrically very involving and has a great solo; ║ │
│║ 'Ancient Dreams' really does sound like the sky ║ │
│║ opening up and the mysteries of the universe ║ │
│║ being revealed, even though the theme is ║ │
│║ concerning the futility of hope and the eternal ║ │
│║ longing that won't go away. Aside from those ║ │
│║ exquisite moments there is a good general ║ │
│║ mixture of signature Candlemass elements. Slower ║ │
│║ songs are well balanced alongside faster riffs ║ │
│║ and sections, the leads are usually creative and ║ │
│║ satisfying and Messiah gives perhaps his best ║ │
│║ performance with plenty of nuance alongside his ║ │
│║ famous power. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ My complaints, however, are directed at ║ │
│║ 'Incarnation of Evil' and 'Black Sabbath ║ │
│║ Medley'. Sad to say but 'Incarnation of Evil' ║ │
│║ does not really sound like a Candlemass song, ║ │
│║ nor does it sound like a song by any other band ║ │
│║ I want to listen to. The performance is flat, ║ │
│║ too slow and lifeless and the riffs and vocal ║ │
│║ lines are very forgettable, not to mention the ║ │
│║ horrible cliche of the lyrics. 'Black Sabbath ║ │
│║ Medley' is not particularly bad, I just don't ║ │
│║ find it a helpful addition to this version of ║ │
│║ the album - I would prefer to just have a copy ║ │
│║ on disc 2 of the remastered edition alongside ║ │
│║ the live tracks. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Now, to explain my actual rating. If those two ║ │
│║ songs mentioned above were removed from the ║ │
│║ release, 'Ancient Dreams' would contain 7 songs ║ │
│║ and be 45 minutes long, which is plenty of time ║ │
│║ for a doom metal album, especially when the ║ │
│║ songs are as well developed as they are here. Of ║ │
│║ those 45 minutes, there is ONE fault that I can ║ │
│║ find, which is the high note that Messiah hits ║ │
│║ in the chorus of 'Bearer of Pain'. That gets on ║ │
│║ my tits, but everything else is sublime. ║ │
│║ Everything else makes me feel like I could touch ║ │
│║ that castle in the sky. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Tracklist ║ │
│╚═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════ │
│ │
│ 01 - Mirror Mirror [06:16] │
│ 02 - A Cry From The Crypt [07:25] │
│ 03 - Darkness In Paradise [06:47] │
│ 04 - Incarnation Of Evil [07:19] │
│ 05 - Bearer Of Pain [07:23] │
│ 06 - Ancient Dreams [07:04] │
│ 07 - The Bells Of Acheron [05:21] │
│ 08 - Epistle ╣81 [04:38] │
│ 09 - Black Sabbath Medley [06:16] │
│ │
│ Total Length : [58:29 minn │
│ │
│ │
│ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│ ╔═════════════════════╗ │
│ ║ Greetings To: ║ │
│ ╚═════════════════════╝ │
│ │
│ Too all people who contributes to make this │
│ archive of good music in a exceptional conditions │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│■ ■│
└───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘