From The 13th Sun (Vinyl) [Import]

Up until a few months ago, I had only heard the first 4 Candlemass albums. I have been a Candlemass fan for a long time, but for some reason I just never got the time (or the interest) to check their other stuff out, what a fool I was.

Track after track, my jaw dropped a bit lower and I immediatly called all my metalhead friends to tell them about this album.

I was skeptical at first, I thought to myself how could Candlemass be cool without Messiah Marcolin at the voice?? But the singer on this album truly stands in and delivers an amazing performance. The album is obviously influenced by the great Black Sabbath, but they do add their own little mix to make it a perfect doom album. Tracks like "Droid", "Tot","Blumma apt" and my personal favorite "Galatea" are like traveling on a space ship. Seeing the planet from far above, on a cosmic journey through time and space.

This album should be purchased to experience the brilliance of these songs, no matter what music you are into. Get this album or miss out on Candlemass best kept secret.

Back, yet not back... This isn't the Candlemass we all learned to love during the late 80's. Leif Edling has composed this entire album as a salute to Black Sabbath, and, doing so, somewhat abandoned his old style. Since earlier album Dactylis Glomerata was really just an "Abstract Algebra 2", we can safely say that there has not really been any new CM releases since Chapter VI. This album begins just fine with killer-rockers Droid and Elephant Star, but what follows is too slow, too even-paced, too timid. The way I remember it, old Sabbath never sounded so placid. Fair enough, singer Björn Flodqvist does a great impersonation of Ozzy Osbourne, but it isn't enough to fill out an entire album. Also, the songs are full of noises and sound effects that might be cool, but which I think sound more like old Star Trek phasers. The reason for three stars is mostly the aforementioned songs Droid nd Elephant Star. The rest of the album is, sorry to say, not good enough, knowing what Edling can do. Perhaps he should stay on as a DJ and festival reporter for Swedish radio P3.

1999's From the 13th Sun is not the typical Candlemass album, but it is one of my favorite Candlemass albums. Obviously, signature vocalist Messiah Marcolin wasn't on board for this album. It was essentially Leif Edling, vocalist Bjorn Flodquist, and a rotating cast of musicians. Still, as long as Edling is running things, it's still Candlemass, and what Edling apparently had in mind for this album was pure unadulterated Black Sabbath Worship.

From the 13th Sun is a space-obsessed tribute to the original Black Sabbath lineup. Listening to this after completing a marathon Sabbath session from the Black Box makes From the 13th Sun feel like a collection of Sabbath b-sides or even a long lost Ozzy era album. The riffs are pure Iommi, and while Flodquist doesn't quite sound like Ozzy, he gets pretty close. If you don't love the early Black Sabbath albums, From the 13th Sun probably isn't going to do much for you. Then again, if you didn't love the early Sabbath albums you probably wouldn't be a Candlemass fan in the first place.

It's not the Candlemass most fans are used to, but From the 13th Sun is still an impressive doom metal album, and is a worthy addition to the Candlemass saga.