TIAMAT

Judas Christ

Century Media
rating icon 8 / 10

Track listing:

(spinae)
01. The Return Of The Son Of Nothing
02. So Much For Suicide
03. Vote For Love
04. The Truth's For Sale
(tropic of venus)
05. Fireflower
06. Sumer By Night
07. Love Is As Good As Soma
(tropic of capricorn)
08. Angel Holograms
09. Spine
10. I Am In Love With Myself
(casadores)
11. Heaven Of High
12. Too Far Gone


Never known as the easiest band to listen to or digest, Sweden's TIAMAT have boldly forged their own musical path over the course of six full-length efforts—a journey that has seen the group evolve from a fairly derivative-sounding metal act to one of the most unique and uncompromising groups on the heavy rock scene. Although the band's popularity in the metal circles seems to have peaked with 1994's Wildhoney, TIAMAT's subsequent releases have been ambitious exercises in ambient soundscapes and dynamics-driven musical passages that were more about creating a mood than attaining any kind of commercial appeal.

As in the past, the vocals of frontman Johan Edlund are flat as a pancake here, a traditionally fatal flaw that is once again more than made up for by the depth and quality of the band's songwriting, which is truly breathtaking in scope, if not in its immediacy. For the most part, TIAMAT tend to indulge in the more laid-back, long-winded material that is equal parts PINK FLOYD and SISTERS OF MERCY, with only the occasional burst of pop-flavored goth-rock cut being injected into the proceedings, thus providing the group with the obligatory lead-off single (which appears here in the form of “Vote For Love”, easily one of the most “digestible” ditties the band have ever penned).

It is difficult to imagine TIAMAT ever being able to, or wanting to, create the kind of album that would help them make the transition from a cult group to a genuine rock heavyweight, and therein lies part of their appeal. While so many of the other bands appear to be operating on auto-pilot, with the passion and soul seemingly removed from the very core of their “art”, TIAMAT continue to churn out challenging, inspired music that regularly breaks the mold while never deviating too far from its original course.

Author:
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • reddit
  • email

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).