You're Doomed. In A Good Way.
Candlemass cannot be ignored in the long history of doom metal. Joining bands such as Cathedral and Spiritual Beggars, Candlemass have played a huge part in the shaping of one of the most dynamic of sounds. Starting off with a few reasonable releases, it was 1989's "Tales Of Creation" that showed the world Candlemass were ready to fight.
Thank the heavens Candlemass's new self titled album is such an excellent blend of classic Candlemass doom with the new twist bands like My Dying Bride have introduced, then. From the starting track "Black Dwarf", listeners can already tell this is definitely Candlemass, and they can also tell they're in for a very, very good album.
Throughout their time, these guys have never been afraid to play around with their sound, and they've done it again here. The guitars are back in force having been missed somewhat in 1999's "From The 13th Sun", and the solos here are fresh and well executed. Candlemass have performed the ever-elusive trick of sound modification without fan alienation.
The obvious tracks of excellence here are "Seven Silver Keys" and the epic "Spellbreaker", which clocks in at just over seven minutes. That's seven minutes of solid music. Shockingly, the bonus track "Mars and Volcanos" is a very, very good track, as opposed to the afterthought shoved on by most bands.
Candlemass are one of the most alive bands on the Doom metal scene today - even if you didn't like their last efforts, pick this up. It lends itself more to the traditional doom sound without dropping the Candlemass element, and trust me - that element improves the sound tenfold.