Napalm Records (2012)

This maybe a genre biased review, so I apologize up front, but while doom/death metal is one of my favorite metal delights, PURE unadulterated doom metal is about as interesting to me as Hate Eternal's "Fury and Flames" is to an average gay Californian. I just find it incredibly boring. Time and time again, I have given this genre more than fair share of my usually scattered, hyperfocused attention (I'm severely ADD) only to come out extremely exhausted and groggy ready for bed time. One possible exception maybe The Wounded Kings but theirs is the incredible, almost unreal songwriting ability that's thus more of an exception that reinforces, rather than defeats, the rule.

Candlemass, besides rather lame name reminding me of my Polish Roman Catholic slavish days, largely does not make me want to change my mind any time soon. Whereas the first two songs on "Psalms" do appear to be well written, the rest of the album is a major snorefest. Yeah, there's melody and the haunting superb vocals of the great Robert Lowe but so what and who cares?

This is boring, more Black Sabbath than Black Sabbath (Black Sabbath responsible for onset of much more than just doom genre), a record that is not likely to make me fall in love with this style of metal. But The Wounded Kings ARE still awesome, nevertheless.

www.candlemass.se
www.napalmrecords.com

Rating: 3 / 6

Composed by Dethster4life