Warthur Death Magic Doom mixes up the grim atmosphere and Rob Lowe vocals of King of the Grey Islands with the uncharacteristically bouncy and jubilant tone of the band's self-titled album, creating an album with some monstrously chunky riffs but at the same time feels like it lacks focus compared to earlier efforts by the band. I'm inclined to agree with Time Signature that the album almost seems even more Sabbath-influenced than ever before, with If I Ever Die in particular resembling Tony Iommi's work with Sabbath. On the whole, the release of any new Candlemass album is cause for doom metal fans to sit up and take notice and this is no different.

arcane-beautiful Is this album a return to form. I’m not completely sure, I think I heard this being said, and I haven’t heard a lot of Candlemass (I need more, so any one want to tell me what album of theirs I should get next). This album is very Black Sabbath, and to be honest, whenever doom is completely Sabbath…I’m not the biggest fan of it.

Now, I do like Sabbath, but to be honest, I’m not the biggest fan of them! When it comes to doom, I prefer the slower stuff, but the kind of upbeat doom I also like, and I think I liked their self titled album a lot because it wasn’t too Sabbath.

This is also their second album with new vocalist Robert Lowe, and yea he is an amazing vocalist…but I prefer Messiah, I think he had this really unique voice, and Robert Lowe at times sounds a bit generic, and very much Dio inspired. Or I could be wrong, for all I know Messiah is a carbon copy of some singer I have never heard.

This album is a good album, its enjoyable, but theirs moments where I’m like, right “I’ve heard this before”, and “I would have never have done that.”

It’s really enjoyable, but it was a bit of a let down...compared to the other Candlemass album I have.

1. If I Ever Die – I think the hook should be more present. Great hook though. The middle section is pretty interesting. Quite punky too, it reminds me of modern Darkthrone. 9/10

2. Hammer Of Doom – Lyrics seem a bit cliché. Good arrangement with some very doomy moments. 9/10

3. The Bleeding Baroness – The changes are a bit random. Cool chorus. Some pretty killer riffs. Vocals are very Dio, but that’s not a bad thing haha. 9/10

4. Demon Of The Deep – Very doomy and quite evil. This song just flows so well, and it’s another song about Cthulu (we see this a lot in metal). Great vocals, this is the doom we all love. 10/10

5. House Of 1000 Voices – Reminds me of King Diamond. Quite odd but quite interesting too. Bit lengthy and drawn out though I feel. 8/10

6. Dead Angel – One of the best songs on the album. Amazing chorus. Interesting arrangement and great vocals. 10/10

7. Clouds Of Dementia – Mammothly heavy. Interesting arrangement. 9/10

8. My Funeral Dreams – The main riff is pretty groovy. Great arrangement and vocals. 10/10

CONCLUSION: This is a great album, even though I was a little disappointed…but meh, at least I enjoyed it haha

Pelata As elder statesmen in the world of Doom Metal, Sweden’s Candlemass has carved a long, deep canyon in the genre leaving a mark like few have since or will again. While not the original vocalist, the now departed Messiah Marcolin is regarded as part of the band’s quintessential line up and his different replacements have been the subject of much debate. That is until the Swedes enlisted the services of American throat Robert Lowe of US Doom Metal favorites Solitude Aeturnus. With few exceptions, his debut with the band, 2007′s King Of The Grey Islands, was regarded as an out of the park home run. Now with Death Magic Doom, his second full-length with the band (3 recording overall counting last year’s Lucifer Rising EP), Lowe has his feet firmly planted in the Candlemass landscape and sounds as if he’s been the only singer the band has ever had.

There is a sense of urgency with this album…a dark, intense sort of energy permeating every moment of this reocrd. The songs sound like they are going to slide out of the speakers, sneak up behind you and sink their fangs into your flesh, devouring you from the inside out. Lowe has been blessed with one of the most menacing and expressive voices in all of Metal and he truly shines in the context of this style. He sounds like an evil nobleman, a diabolical aristocrat spreading his will amongst lesser beings. OK, I admit to being something of a fanboy when it comes to both Lowe and Candlemass. The combination of the two is pretty close to Doom Metal perfection for me.

Opener “If I Ever Die” is a fast, neck-snapping Metal monster sounding every bit as classic as “Neon Knights” kicking off the Heaven And Hell album. The band is fired up on this one. “The Bleeding Baroness” is one of the best songs on the record with a creepy, somber opening melody leading into a head-banging groove. The chorus in the second half of the song has some great violin layered into it only adding to the atmosphere. I can see this song being performed in some cold, dark European castle…flaming torches, swinging chandeliers and all. The nearly 8-minute “House Of A Thousand Voices” is a thundering death march in itself. The tempo kicks up again on “Dead Angel” with some killer double-kick driven rhythms. Throw those horns and bang that head! Album closer “My Funeral Dreams” is another certified classic in the Candlemass catalog from the quiet intro to the “Iommi stomp” of the verses to the ominous church-organ on the chorus. In the case of “Hammer Of Doom”, the title says it all…it’s a slow moving river of molten Doom consuming everything it encounters.

I was excited when Lowe joined the band. I like King Of The Grey Islands. I like Death Magic Doom even more. The band has more than survuved the switch in vocalists and, more than 20 years since their debut, is still producing absolute top quality Doom Metal proving that they are still one of the best. It goes without saying that I highly reccomend this record.

UMUR "Death Magic Doom" is the 10th full-length studio album by Swedish doom metal act Candlemass. The album was released through Nuclear Blast Records in April 2009. The lineup that recorded "King of the Grey Islands (2007)" is still intact which means that this is lead vocalist Robert Lowe´s second album with Candlemass.

The music on the album is unmistakably the sound of Candlemass. Crushingly heavy yet melodic and epic sounding doom metal. The 8 tracks on the album are of high quality with strong vocals by Robert Lowe, memorable songwriting and generally excellent musicianship. I´d like to give a special mention to Lars "Lasse" Johansson´s strong and melodic guitar solos but the rest of the band are really tight and well playing too. Robert Lowe has grown even more into his role as Candlemass frontman, and his performance on "Death Magic Doom" is if possible even stronger than his performance on "King of the Grey Islands (2007)".

The album opens with the pretty fast-paced (well... fast-paced for Candlemass standards) and powerful "If I Ever Die" and goes right into the crushingly heavy "Hammer of Doom". What a great way to start an album! Other highlight are the progressively tinged "House of 1000 Voices" and the closing track "My Funeral Dream"s but as mentioned above all tracks are of high quality and the album features an overall effective flow.

The sound production suits the music well. It´s very powerful and clear but still raw and not too polished. So overall "Death Magic Doom" cemented the position that Candlemass already had as one of the leading acts in doom metal. Candlemass simply sounds stronger than ever on this release. Like a fine tuned unit fully at ease with what they do, but not content to rest on their laurels or to release a less than stellar album. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

Time Signature Death magic doom...

Genre: doom metal

"Death Magic Doom" certainly lives up to its name (but so do most Candlemass albums).

While an example of the typical Candlemass style, I think this album is a bit more Black Sabbath influenced than earlier released. There are sections of "The Bleeding Baronness", "The Hammer of Doom", "Clouds of Dementia", and "My Funeral Dreams" that sound very Iommi-esque. That's of course not a bad thing. Perhaps consequently, the sound is also less epic than one other Candlemass releases ("Death Magic Doom" is still a prime example of the epic doom metal subgenre) and dirty like on "King of the Grey Islands".

Musically, it contains nothing but doom classics. Virtually every guitar riff is great, and Rob lowe's voice is phenomenal.

I recommend this to all fans of doom metal, regardless of their preferred subgenre. I think that some fans of Black Sabbath might like it, too.