Metal maniacs, rejoice! The Thrasher returns to give you an insight; this time, on the Swedish Epic Doom Metal quintet known as CANDLEMASS, signed via Napalm Records on their new EP entitled: "Death Thy Lover".

I was excited to be asked to review CANDLEMASS, as they're a prominent quintet that I personally had never really tried out until I started journalism, which I wish I had beforehand...and that's the glory of being a journalist - discoveries ahoy! "Death Thy Lover" is the new iteration where "Psamls Of The Dead" was meant to be their last studio album... They continued to perform live, but fast-forward to 2016, and this here EP gets released. It does certainly get a little old when quartets announce finales of their career, to suddenly emerge from the depths once again...which could put a dent in their reliability...I mean...see BLACK SABBATH... My first proper listen of this band was an unprecedented one with dexterity and Doom Metal clarity...I enjoy a slab of succulent steel that prowess with overflowing momentum. Clocking in at around 20 minutes long, which is justifiable for an EP... Monstrous riffs and atmospherics, behold!

This 5-piece band indulge on some maliciously satisfying musicianship; Mats Levén on vocals chimes with rhythm and screams with melody, as does Lars "Lasse" Johansson and Mats "Mappe" Björkman on guitars, who both share equal measure on their blinding riffery that scatters with atmospheric intention. The powerhouse of Leif Edling on bass and Jan Lindh on drums, adequately standout, outdoing themselves with huge choruses and superb melodies of metallic precision. "Death Thy Love" is structured out, hyping the fan base for their untimely return to the Metal community. Prominently a band that is professionally well known and respected timelessly as a newcomer to the band, I'll go in blindly without listening to any previous entries. And upon pressing play on my device; the titular track: "Death Thy Lover" stuns my presence with an enjoyably complex track of epic (Doom) proportions.

"Sleeping Giants" is an interesting yet powerful track that has a nice, dark riff embittered and a fascinating story-teller that puts my vision into an imaginary state of mind, and enjoyably pummels the instrumentals with pleasure. "Sinister And Sweet" has a similar focus but has this satisfying riff that goes on throughout the song; it's so powerful that it got my fist pumping in a air-guitar frenzy, easily my favorite part of the EP. And so concludes this sinister but sweet EP with "The Goose", which is all instrumental but defines how Doom Metal should be structured out musically. All in all, I enjoyed "Death Thy Lover" very much – if you're a veteran to the mass, or a newcomer like me...you'll enjoy this luscious piece of Doom that could well be one of the high points of Doom Metal in 2016. With mid-tempo beats and satisfactory immersion, you'd be a fool to pass this release up. Easily one of my favorite listens of 2016.<