A bold and upb
eat riff, reminiscent of the best aspects of NWOBHM and Sabbathian doom, thunders from the speakers, and the keening voice of Rob Lowe gives the call to the doomy faithful to come and partake:“If I ever die, I'm begging you, please come with me
We're gonna groove, into the blue
All the parasites, oh just leave them, pigs can't fly
There's no tomorrow, no regrets, no goodbyes”
“If I Ever Die” is Leif Edling’s proclamation that Lowe’s contribution on “King of the Grey Islands” was no one off replacement, and the evolution of style was here to stay and reign, leaving behind one particularly afro’d pig.
For anyone who cares what the music actually sounds like, departing from band politics, what we have is Candlemass taking their gloomy and medieval styled doom and consciously beefing up the riffing, by turns recalling chuggy mid-paced thrash and moments that suggest an influence from more recent developments in the sludge scene. The result is a lively, headbanging performance. All of this, of course, is topped by Lowe’s sneers and wails, which to bring to mind a desperate and denim-clad drunk, rather than a pompous friar.
All the same, this is by no means a full break from the Candlemass that was. The yellowed and papery pictograph of the cover gives the impression of aged paper, giving what is held within an air of age, tradition, an apostolic succession of the mastery of the secrets of doom. Lowe-era Candlemass is the inheritor and developer of previous efforts, and a damn fine job of it they do. Highly recommended. - Beardo
Death, Magic, Doom.
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