Time Signature Mythos...

Genre: psychedelic doom metal

This album may be different from the typical epic sound of Candlemass, but I think it is an extremely well put together album and belongs up there with classics like "Epicus Doomicus Metallicus", "Tales of Creation" and "Ancient Dreams" although it is stylistically very different.

Gone is the epic feel of the usual Candlemass style, replaced with a simplistic and psychedelic approach. The polished production has been replaced with a raw production with noisy cymbals and thundering massive drums. And the atmosphere is dark and oppressive like a very bad trip, many songs being heavier than your average Candlemass track.

The opening track "Droid" is a lesson in dark psychedelia, while the following track "Tot" is a dark and heavy ballad, and "Blumma Apt" offers simple heavy riffage and dark bluesey vocals. Other tracks, like the more uptempo "Elephant Star" and "Arx/NG 891" are unashamedly inspired by Black Sabbath, the forefathers of doom metal, which, needless to say, fits the overall atmosphere of the album quite well.

With dark and heavy riffage and mellow, sometimes soundscape-like, bridges aplenty and spacey effects and weird guitar solos as well as abstract sci-fi-related lyrics to boot, this is a musical journey through a dark galaxy of imploding stars and post-apocalyptic planets of lost civilizations and barren landscapes.

For my money "From the 23th Sun" is a doom metal masterpiece, and, while I love Candlemass' normal epic sound, I am really grateful that they digressed from their normal path and created this darkly psychedelic oppressive doom metal gem.

UMUR "From the 13th Sun" is the 7th full-length studio album by Swedish doom metal act Candlemass. The album was released through Music For Nations in September 1999. After being highly successful in the 1980s, Candlemass experienced a descreasing interest from fans and critics alike during the early part of the 1990s, and as a consequence disbanded in 1994. Bassist/main composer Leif Edling however reformed Candlemass 3 years later and released "Dactylis Glomerata (1998)". Leif Edling was the only remaining member from before the split-up and as a result of that, and probably the input of the new members, "Dactylis Glomerata (1998)" is a rather different sounding Candlemass album. That tendency is continued on "From the 13th Sun", which despite sharing three members of the lineup with it´s predecessor, sounds quite different from it, and also quite different from anything else in the band´s discography.

In their endless adoration and outspoken praise of early Black Sabbath, Candlemass turned the music on "From the 13th Sun" into a kind of tribute of the classic 1970s Black Sabbath sound. Candlemass were never afraid to talk about their influences and they certainly make sure to make a clear statement here about it because as it says in the booklet: "This album is dedicated to the greatest band of all time - Black Sabbath".

Lead vocalist Bjorn Flodkvist at times sounds almost too much like Ozzy Osbourne for comfort (he is a skilled singer though), but when that is said "From the 13th Sun" is still umistakably the sound of Candlemass. It just doesn´t sound like they did in the 80s. They might be heavily influenced by the pioneers of the genre, but they´ve always managed to produce something unique anyway. The tracks on "From the 13th Sun" are generally powerful, dark and heavy doom metal tracks with a slight psychadelic edge. Most tracks are entertaining, well played/sung, and well produced too (the sound production is both powerful and organic sounding, suiting the music well), but to my ears the instrumental "Zog" is a bit too repetitive and long drawn.

Overall "From the 13th Sun" is not the most original or unique doom metal album Candlemass ever released but that certainly doesn´t mean it´s not a quality release by any means. In fact it´s a pretty good take on the more dark psychadelic tinged side of traditional doom metal, and as an experiment/the "odd one out" in the band´s discography it works pretty well as variation. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.