Bittersweet Dreams
José Carlos Milito | Maceió, AL, Brazil | 04/19/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Aaahhhhh... the bittersweet smell of death. This album introduced me to those guys, IMHO, the best swedish band ever, back in '91. I can clearly recall my first impressions when I first heard Mirror Mirror, Epistle No.81, and the really spooky Darkness in Paradise, IMO, the greatest highlight in this gothic masterpiece. They had a lot of trouble during the making of this album, which included the loss of their former producer, which didn't prevent them from producing a classic, however."
A Doom Metal classic in every respect
Murat Batmaz | Istanbul, Turkey | 09/06/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Candlemass are without a doubt one of the most important doom metal bands in the world. Ever since their incredible debut Epicus Doomicus Metallicus they've gone a long way paving the way for other bands. They're among the founders of modern doom metal and while I enjoy each and every Candlemass record I consider the first 4 absolutely essential.Ancient Dreams is the second album with doom metal vocal god Messiah Marcolin and the third Candlemass album. It picks up where the classic Nightfall left off. Leif Edling's songwriting and bass playing is at its best and Marcolin's voice is simply incredible. The guitar solos are brilliant. It is hard to believe this was released back in 1988 when almost everyone was into glam, hard rock or thrash metal. I appreciate and respect Candlemass for their courage to stand up for themselves and make the music they believed in even though they knew it would never sell millions. That is why they have lasted all these years and are considered fathers of doom. They always remained true to their roots be it with Marcolin, Vikstrom or Flodkvist. My personal favourites off this record are "Cry from the Crypt", "Darkness In Paradise", the title song, and "Bells of Acheron". There's not a single filler on Ancient Dreams though.You might also want to check out Memory Garden, Solitude Aeturnus, Abstrakt Algebra and some other bands."
3.5 out of 5 stars
Marc "Clutchfan" | Lagrange, KY USA | 02/01/2005
(3 out of 5 stars)
"This record is a bit of a disappointment. After their popular Nightfall record, the record label they were on made them rush another record out to try and capitalize on the bands new popularity. So they had to rush production to get this out and it is my least fav Candlemass record. It is still a decent effort, but not as good as their first two or Tales of Creation. But it is still better than anything they put out after messiah left the band. True Candlemass fans should get this but if you are new to them get Epicus or Nightfall first."
Track Listings (9) - Disc #1