Doom metal has a special charm that is difficult to be felt, but when you once give in to it, you become a fan forever. This genre is an inexhaustible source of surprises. In the two-decade-long biography of the veterans in it, Sweden’s Candlemass, there are two basic periods - one full of musical masterpieces, marked mainly by innovatory and experimental spirit, and another one, which is the time of bad relationships in the band and long creative pauses. After a series of overturns in the line-up, the new album, “King of the Grey Islands”, has been finally recorded. The leader here, with his dark and deep voice, is Robert Lowe from Solitude Aeturnus. And what a nice surprise this is! After the hesitations whether he wants to stay with the band or to continue with other beginnings, Messiah Marcolin is conclusively out, and Candlemass start their trip in a different direction, more interesting than ever. The new songs lead to such thoughts. Their description in this moment looks a bit superfluous. This whole machine for greasy, tough and slow riffs, kicking your mind right with the opener “Emperor of the Void”, can’t be described. You can feel it individually, the strength of this album flows from it. If you overlooked Candlemass as one of the Swedish puzzling, too complicated and abstract bands that you don’t understand, you should definitely call your attention on their latest effort. When you listen to it you will probably remember other heroes like Black Sabbath, you will hear parts similar to the dark atmosphere of Solitude Aeturnus’ “Alone” and the conclusion that this sad and minor music can be played with feeling that makes you implicated in, will meet you at the end. “The grey islands are within yourself. That's the place where you go to when you're sad, hurt or depressed - a little place where you lock yourself in when you need to. Nobody can touch you there. I think we all are kings of grey islands sometimes... The album is about what happens when you let these negative feelings take over too much, and every song on this record is about an emotion - sadness, depression, devastation, desperation, anxiety, anger, hatred...” These were Leif Edling’s words in an interview for Tangra Mega Rock a few weeks ago. How to stay indifferent to such kind of conception? The songs on the album are not only a personification to the things described, but a really complex and impressing interpretation that goes beyond the listeners’ expectations. “King of the Grey Islands” is a CD where every song has the potential to become a hit. How often do you witness such things? There is no way for you to omit this question at the end of the ten songs from the album. The answer comes spontaneously, too, with the speed of a powerful metal slap. Candlemass outstripped themselves this time. This is a certain fact. After these conclusions the rating also becomes clear naturally.