By Albert Mansour
A quick historical run down here: Leif Edling began his musical career in the Stockholm, Sweden based hard rock act Trilogy in the late 70s where he worked alongside drummer Håkan “Ian” Haugland, later of Europe. In 1985, Leif launched his groundbreaking doom metal band Candlemass who became well-known worldwide for its fresh pioneering sound and the unique vocal approach of front man Messiah Marcolin (amongst others – ED).
This eight track album, entitled Songs of Torment, Songs of Joy, has a number of really killer tracks on it such as “The Scar,” “It is Not There” and “Space Killers.” The vocals have been mixed in such a way such that they sound like they are coming from deep inside a cave. The album creates a magnificently haunting ambiance. The slow and doomy instrumental passages make the listener feel like they are trapped in a closed room and are being tormented, in a classic doom metal style. The production of the album is very raw and heavy sounding; this is CLEARLY a heavy/doom metal album. I highly recommend this one to you if you are a Candlemass fan .
http://www.myspace.com/leifedling
(Candlelight USA)
