CANDLEMASS: DOOMED FOR LIVE (2002)
1) Mirror Mirror; 2)
Bewitched; 3) Dark Are The Veils Of Death; 4) Demon's Gate; 5) Under The Oak;
6) At The Gallows End; 7) Samarithan; 8) Dark Reflections; 9) Mourner's Lament;
10) Black Stone Wielder; 11) The Well Of Souls; 12) A Sorcerer's Pledge; 13)
Bearer Of Pain; 14) Ancient Dreams; 15) Somewhere In Nowhere; 16) Solitude; 17)
Crystal Ball.
Har har har, it's 2002 and the world still has
not run out of lame puns for live album titles. More than that, the world still
has a place for good old Candlemass — as Edling's interesting, but somewhat
atypical fiddlings with the name of the band come to a close, the classic Nightfall lineup finally reunites as
Messiah Marcolin realizes that no other metal project brings so much fame to
his name as Candlemass.
The first result of this reunion is more of
symbolic than genuine importance: a live record (and video), to show the world
that the old school of 1987 is still around and that it kick any of those
metallic youngsters' asses at a moment's notice. But that's about all it does,
really. Eleven out of seventeen tracks are the same songs that already were
present on the Live album —
apparently, the band does not care much about hunting for dark horses, or,
perhaps, in this case they thought that it was far more important to whip up
the classics, for any potential new fans. Thus, we have all of Epicus Doomicus
reproduced here (although ʽBlack Stone Wielderʼ is seriously shortened and
serves mostly to illustrate the cheese-opera powers of Marcolin's voice in the
acappella opening); predictable selections from the next three albums; and
nothing whatsoever from Chapter VI
onwards, because... no Messiah.
Scrutinizing the actual performances is a task
/ delight for radical Candlemass fans only; as far as I'm concerned, the record
is completely expendable — the lead vocalist and the instrumentalists remain
technically irreproachable, so that it is almost impossible to tell the
difference between the versions here and on Live. If you disliked the studio production on Ancient Dreams and Tales Of
Creation, you have a chance to hear a couple more of those tunes, like
ʽBearer Of Painʼ, with a rawer, heavier guitar tone, and that's that. It might
be more fun to catch a glimpse of some of these songs performed live — Marcolin
tries to cut a dramatic figure, dressed in a Benedictine monk robe, and the
entire performance is sort of structured like a multi-part exorcism ceremony;
but even that, I'd say, becomes rather boring after a while. Doomed for,
indeed.
My main problem with Candlemass and doom metal in general is the doom aspect. For me doom only works if it stems from the dark corners of the human mind. Like Sartre said: Hell, that's the Other. As a result Debby Harry singing "this nothingness" (Youth nabbed as Sniper) impresses me more than the entire output of Candlemass.
ReplyDeleteTo pull off this kind of music convincingly you need the mental issues of Ozzy Osbourne.
Candlemass is more theatrical. They sound more like Mercyful Fate covering Sabbath. Like the best 80s metal, they capture that B-movie vibe so well and when/if you catch the vibe, it's both transporting and fun as hell to listen to.
DeleteAlthough he does look a lot like Ozzy on the cover.
DeleteNot sure why you needed to review another live record of theirs featuring the same lineup, especially since we're talking Marcolin-led Candlemass and it's all just more of the same bombastic "Demons & Wizards" lyrical cheese underpinned by Sabbath-style riffs of varying quality (which isn't necessarily bad - I like a fair amount of Candlemass's songs - but it's all so monotonous).
ReplyDeleteSame reason that alphabetical order is enough to make him review Candlemass at all, years before he'll ever get around to Iron Maiden or Slayer (as if!) - he has OCD that would have driven Mark Prindle to suicide decades ago.
DeleteCould always stop & start reviewing some Cathedral albums :D
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