Tiamat - Judas Christ
Century Media Records - 2002
By Philip Whitehouse
Go to the Century Media Records web site.
Two excellent goth metal releases from Century Media in the same month? Has Christmas come early? Hot on the heels of newcomers Flowing Tears comes this, goth-metal legends Tiamat's latest effort. And it's pretty damned good, too.
Not content with resting on their laurel's as possibly the most successful gothic-metallers in the world, Tiamat have set about refining their sound for Judas Christ, the result of which is a Tiamat with a greater grasp of electronics, a more generally-accessible sound, and a wider lyrical focus incorporating somewhat more optimistic subjects than the anthems of depression found before.
Opener 'The Return Of The Son Of Nothing' on first listen sounds like typical Tiamat, as does much of the rest of the album. But listen closer and you'll notice the greater presence of muted keyboards, unobtrusive but still integral to the atmosphere of the songs. You'll start to realise the production of the album is a little sharper and clearer then before. And, of course, the lyrical themes have become less morose.
'So Much For Suicide' sounds as bitter as Tiamat have ever been, and it includes a very nice guitar solo. That solo is the part of the album where you realise Tiamat haven't compromised on the riffs to increase the electronic aspects of their song-writing. This is still undeniably metal. The cool production effects like those applied to the drums near the end of this track simply accentuate and add colour to the songs in a very effective manner.
The one problem I have with this album is the same problem I have with many records in this genre - the reliance on down-tempo songs occasionally causes a faint feeling of repetition to crawl over the listener. Tiamat usually manage to throw enough variation into the song structures to avoid this pitfall, however, but some more up-tempo songs would still be nice to hear. I'd like to hear Tiamat really rock out!
But, when all's said and done, Tiamat have started a new chapter of their illustrious career, and from the sounds of Judas Christ, they're on a course that can only bring them wider popularity amongst goth-metal fans. Best of luck to them, I say.
8.5/10
Century Media Records - 2002
By Philip Whitehouse
Go to the Century Media Records web site.
Two excellent goth metal releases from Century Media in the same month? Has Christmas come early? Hot on the heels of newcomers Flowing Tears comes this, goth-metal legends Tiamat's latest effort. And it's pretty damned good, too.
Not content with resting on their laurel's as possibly the most successful gothic-metallers in the world, Tiamat have set about refining their sound for Judas Christ, the result of which is a Tiamat with a greater grasp of electronics, a more generally-accessible sound, and a wider lyrical focus incorporating somewhat more optimistic subjects than the anthems of depression found before.
Opener 'The Return Of The Son Of Nothing' on first listen sounds like typical Tiamat, as does much of the rest of the album. But listen closer and you'll notice the greater presence of muted keyboards, unobtrusive but still integral to the atmosphere of the songs. You'll start to realise the production of the album is a little sharper and clearer then before. And, of course, the lyrical themes have become less morose.
'So Much For Suicide' sounds as bitter as Tiamat have ever been, and it includes a very nice guitar solo. That solo is the part of the album where you realise Tiamat haven't compromised on the riffs to increase the electronic aspects of their song-writing. This is still undeniably metal. The cool production effects like those applied to the drums near the end of this track simply accentuate and add colour to the songs in a very effective manner.
The one problem I have with this album is the same problem I have with many records in this genre - the reliance on down-tempo songs occasionally causes a faint feeling of repetition to crawl over the listener. Tiamat usually manage to throw enough variation into the song structures to avoid this pitfall, however, but some more up-tempo songs would still be nice to hear. I'd like to hear Tiamat really rock out!
But, when all's said and done, Tiamat have started a new chapter of their illustrious career, and from the sounds of Judas Christ, they're on a course that can only bring them wider popularity amongst goth-metal fans. Best of luck to them, I say.
8.5/10
