Review Summary: Goth rock meets doom metal. Oh boy...
There's an odd trend of doom bands starting out as doom and then doing other things. Apparently bands get as bored with doom as the fans do. Tiamat certainly did. They went from full fledged doom/death to something befitting Pink Floyd meets Opeth to something that sounds like a modern version of the Sisters of Mercy (gothic rock, basically). Their influences range from goth music to doom metal to weird prog/psychedelic stuff, and it's reflected in their career; their various eras and musical experimentation, while not always successful, definitely was varied.
Luckily, they've come back on their decision to be a Sisters of Mercy clone band; 2008's Amanethes features a Tiamat closer to their Wildhoney era heaviness. Much like a band like The 3rd and the Mortal, this kind of music switches from heavy riffs to ambient electronica and sparse arrangements; most of this album however, is more of a semi-metal affair, a mix of burning metal riffs with slow, powerful drumming and low-pitched vocals very reminiscent of (don't you hate to hear this) Sisters of Mercy. There are a lot of rockier moments, especially the first few songs; The Temple of the Crescent Moon is one of the most powerful openers the band has written in years and the following Equinox of the Gods even features double kick drums; how the metal world has been missing you, Tiamat.
However, they still haven't shed the gothic cocoon, either. Until The Hellhounds Sleep Again sounds like the updated version of Brighter than the Sun. Will They Come could have been on any Sisters of Mercy record. It's almost like Tiamat are stuck in an identity crisis: they want to be really heavy and metal, but they want to be really dark and melodic too; and mostly they've written songs that separate these two elements rather than mix them. On the one hand this is a good idea as now it becomes possible to just pick the songs you like (and not get annoyed at every song as there is a bit in the middle you want to skip because it's the wrong genre), but on the other hand musically a closer merger may have been more interesting.
On a few songs here, Tiamat play with less conventional genres (check out the bizarre Meliae, some acoustic rock ballad thingy that totally sounds way too organic and true for the metal post-modern music Tiamat makes), but for the most part, they stick to their musical dichotomy. This gets boring in the long run; this album feels like it's too long for what it is, as the first five or six songs are really good, but then things go downhill from there; barring album highlight "Raining Dead Angels" and the aforementioned Meliae, the second half of the album is a lot less interesting than the first. Another point of mention is that Tiamat need some speed to be interesting; the moment their drums speed up, their intensity seems to magnify, but songs like "Will They Come?" are just dull in their plodding monotony.
However, in a genre that is swamped with boredom, musical experimentation and a desire to progress is a refreshing course of action. And though Tiamat don't always get right, at least they don't get it horribly wrong (there is no excruciating gayness to be found here, unless the very mention of goth throws you off). When they are mediocre, they are just average as the rest of the bands they aim to be, but when they do get it right (and Tiamat gets it right on occasion, which is really awesome), they push all the right buttons. Tiamat were once written off as a bunch of sellouts and copycats, but this album proves they've still got the buzz; it's great to have you doomsters back, if only because you once made Wildhoney. As some people might say: "Now THAT'S more like it."
