UMUR "A Deeper Kind of Slumber" is the 5th full-length studio album by Swedish band Tiamat. The album was released through Century Media Records in April 1997. It´s the successor to the very well received "Wildhoney" from 1994. Bandleader/guitarist/vocalist Johan Edlund, has once again changed almost the entire lineup and new in the band are drummer Lars Sköld (who also played as a session musician on the predecessor), Thomas Petersson (guitars), and Anders Iwers (bass). The latter replaces Johnny Hagel, who was the only permanent member on "Wildhoney (1994)" besides Edlund.

Tiamat had been a constant evolving force ever since the release of their debut full-length studio album "Sumerian Cry (1990)", starting out as an old school Swedish death metal act, going through a doom death/goth metal phase, to the semi-progressive dreamy rock/metal on "Wildhoney (1994)", so it´s absolutely no surprise that Tiamat, despite the success of "Wildhoney (1994)", have not stagnated on "A Deeper Kind of Slumber".

The first thing you notice while listening to the album is the almost complete lack of distorted guitars. Tiamat have never been less heavy, and it´s up for discussion if "A Deeper Kind of Slumber" should even be catagorized a heavy metal album. Instead the music is slow building, often mellow and dreamy, sometimes darker and slightly electronic tinged rock. The influences range from Pink Floyd to 80s Depeche Mode. It´s not an easy to define release, and Tiamat consciously challenge the listener with the diversity of the material.

"A Deeper Kind of Slumber" features a warm, professional sounding production, which suits the material perfectly. Not all tracks are equally interesting, and some become a little repetitive, but overall the material are very well written. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

Warthur The original version of the cover art to A Deeper Kind of Slumber shows a dude holding a bunch of flowers, which ought to give you an idea of just how far the band had moved away from their metal roots at this point in time. Which isn't to say it's a bad album - just that, aside from a lonely riff here and there, it isn't a metal album. Instead, it's a mashup of gothic rock with heaps of psychedelic and progressive rock (via Pink Floyd) influences. I've heard better psych-prog gothic rock mashups - Red Temple Spirits' debut album, for instance - but Tiamat prove to be pretty good at this style, the main downfall of the album is that it feels a bit too calculating a ripoff of the Sisters of Mercy or Fields of the Nephilim; if you have the better releases by those groups, this will feel rather inessential.