Review Summary: Not necessarily underrated but among Candlemass's absolute best
The story behind 1989’s Tales Of Creation dates back to before Candlemass’s debut and might even predate the band itself. Several of the songs that make up the album were demoed back in 1985, hence the inclusion of “Under The Oak” on Epicus Doomicus Metallicus the next year. At the same time, its position as the third in the classic Messiah trilogy makes for a sense of culmination that gives the concept even more weight while showing how powerfully this lineup has come together.
Said new version of “Under The Oak” is a particularly interesting measure for just how much their approach changed in just four years. While the arrangement hasn’t changed too drastically, the delivery highlights the contrasts as this version is decidedly brighter and paced a little quicker than the original version’s dour darkness. The vocals also aren’t quite as emotional as Johan Langquist’s more distraught performance but are quite engaging in their own right. As much as I prefer the Epicus version, any concerns come down to tiny nitpicks; I’ve seen folks who prefer the version of the song here and I probably would too had it been the one I’d heard first.
But the album’s real sign of growth is how expertly the sequencing has become. It would’ve been incredibly easy for the three spoken interludes to feel superfluous, but they flow in and out of the proper songs seamlessly. “The Prophecy” is especially effective as its opening guitar fanfare moving into the punchy gallops of “Dark Reflections” is a masterful repeat of the “Gothic Stone”/“The Well Of Souls” while “Voices In The Wind” offers intrigue with a female voice shining through and “Dawn” serving as a moment for contemplation before “A Tale Of Creation” brings about its closing stomps.
This might also be some of the band’s best guitar playing overall. Their riff mastery remains in effect as songs like “Tears” and “Somewhere In Nowhere” are driven by impactful doom plods while “Through The Infinitive Halls Of Death” follows in the more intricate steps of tracks like “Mirror, Mirror.” The lead playing is especially strong with the solo on “Dark Reflections” coming out especially sweeping. It reaches peak levels with “Into The Unfathomed Tower,” an out of nowhere instrumental that combines uncharacteristically wild shredding and power metal drums. For how much the results sound like the bastard son of Yngwie Malmsteen jamming with old Blind Guardian, that it doesn’t sound out of place is kind of insane.
On the flip side, it’s interesting to note how understated the vocals seem to be by Messiah’s standards. That’s certainly not due to him phoning it in by any means; on the contrary, Leif Edling had chided him for hamming it up on “The Edge Of Heaven” (he’s wrong by the way, it ***ing rules). His presence in the mix is somewhat distant compared to the last couple outings and rounds out his usual belting with an occasional dip into lower lines. Either way, his performance as is impassioned as always.
I wouldn’t say that Tales Of Creation is necessarily underrated in the grand scheme of Candlemass, but it makes a strong case for being among their strongest albums. It still falls short of the almighty Epicus but a combination of powerful performances and fantastic song flow is enough to give Nightfall a run for its money. While one wonders how the results compare to whatever vision Edling had in his head for years, it certainly speaks to how far they’d come over the course of the eighties.
