17/11/03

TIAMAT / PREY

I have had this CD for a couple of weeks and I have to admit that I was struggling to get a review I was happy with but eventually it came to me, this is no ordinary album, it required a different strategy, patience and persistence were what was required and hey presto it all fell into place, like a sonic jigsaw and I was rewarded by a fantastic CD.

This to my mind is Tisamat’s best so far, they have explored many different styles, constantly re invented themselves and I doubt if the Tiamat fans like everything they have done but you cant please everyone all of the time so in the end you have to follow your instincts and be true to yourself and that’s just what they have done. Musically this sounds like a cross between Pink Floyd and Type O Negative with a touch of Anathama thrown in for good measure, the album is sombre, atmospheric, thought provoking, emotional and much more besides, the best way to listen to this CD is to just let it take you on a sonic journey through the talented but tortured mind of Johan Edlund and just go with the flow.

The really cleaver thing about this album is the short instrumentals between some of the songs, they act as an interface between the different emotional cambers and with out them the whole CD would sound disjointed. It could be described as a concept album or a better analogy would be the soundtrack to a film. The musicianship is flawless and inspired throughout and at times the guitar work is so simple but has so much heart and soul pouring out of it that it makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up and your scalp tighten and as good as anything Dave Gilmore has done.

As far as individual songs goes, it doesn’t work as well, I have tried listening to this on random play and "Wing’s Of Heaven", "Love In Chains", "Carry Your Cross" and "Light Of Extension" come off best. This is a CD best enjoyed as a whole and if you are patient with it, it will reward you with one of the best listens of 2003, Tiamat fans will lap this up and I cant wait to see this done live. This will be in the not too distant future a CLASSIC album, the fact that I normally like to keep these reviews down to 200 words or less and this one is over 400 shows how good it is and I could have said more.

DOWNLOAD : "Wing’s Of Heaven" from the Century Media site above

TOTAL PLAYING TIME = 55 mins + 13 TRACKS