Been playing this album a number of times now over the weeks since release and each time it seems to grow on me such that I’ve now added it to my list of Naim/Qobuz app favourites.
Beautifully recorded (reportedly in a modern studio in a chapel in a small Cornish village, facing the Atlantic) with some great acoustic instrumentation interplay and Fin’s (now) ‘serious’ folk-like vocals floating over the tunes.
No particular favourite track as pretty much every one of the ten offer something likeable to me.
Enjoyable album to sit back, relax and let the music wash over you.
Candlemass - Nightfall (Original 1988 US pressing)
Over 35 years since its release and Nightfall remains an absolute classic and a cornerstone of doom/power metal. Taking elements from NWOBHM, thrash and doom, throwing in tight, crushing riffs that balance energy with measured weight and the operatic vocals of Messiah Marcolin, Candlemass produce a sound that is unique and difficult to replicate. Age has not blunted its edges and it’s an album that I return to often that always finds ways to energise and stir the soul. Special mention goes to closing track “Black Candles,” an instrumental written by Mike Wead that has such a sharp, modern sound that it wouldn’t be out of place on a modern thrash album. Simply ageless.
Speaking of sounding contemporary, this original pressing is a stunner, crisp and weighty with gobs of detail that rivals the best records pressed today. A must-have if you’re a Candlemass fan.
