Ancient Dreams

by

Candlemass

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Candlemass are without a doubt one of the most important doom metal bands in the world. Ever since their incredible debut Epicus Doomicus Metallicus they've gone a long way paving the way for other bands. They're among the founders of modern doom metal and while I enjoy each and every Candlemass record I consider the first 4 absolutely essential.

Ancient Dreams is the second album with doom metal vocal god Messiah Marcolin and the third Candlemass album. It picks up where the classic Nightfall left off. Leif Edling's songwriting and bass playing is at its best and Marcolin's voice is simply incredible. The guitar solos are brilliant. It is hard to believe this was released back in 1988 when almost everyone was into glam, hard rock or thrash metal. I appreciate and respect Candlemass for their courage to stand up for themselves and make the music they believed in even though they knew it would never sell millions. That is why they have lasted all these years and are considered fathers of doom. They always remained true to their roots be it with Marcolin, Vikstrom or Flodkvist. My personal favourites off this record are "Cry from the Crypt", "Darkness In Paradise", the title song, and "Bells of Acheron". There's not a single filler on Ancient Dreams though.

You might also want to check out Memory Garden, Solitude Aeturnus, Abstrakt Algebra and some other bands.

Candlemass is an interesting band. Ancient Dreams is the third full-length album from this Swedish group. Originally released in 1988, this is a remastered edition with a bonus disc of material. What makes Candlemass remarkable is singer Messiah Marcolin. This one-of-a-kind singer vocalizes in an operatic style--I like his vibrato, too. Candlemass reminds me of Black Sabbath. They sound like a cross between hard rock and metal. Most of the songs on Ancient Dreams are slow in tempo--nine tracks are included. I also like the gothic-sounding atmosphere of this album. The composition that I favor the most would be "Mirror Mirror." Candlemass shines on this well-constructed, memorable piece; in addition, the main guitar riff is nicely crafted and indelible. Another cut that I like is "A Cry from the Crypt." "A Cry from the Crypt" sports a pleasing, principal guitar riff. "Black Sabbath Medley" is also an enjoyable track. The disc is just over 58 minutes. As for the bonus disc of material, it contains live tracks, an audio interview, and a video of "Mirror Mirror." A nice job was done with the CD booklet. Bass guitarist Leif Edling provides commentary on all of the material that is on the two discs. Plus, the song lyrics are included along with color and black-and-white photos of the group. Ancient Dreams gets the job done.