Search - Tiamat :: Wildhoney / Gaia

A dose of something different.

sauerkraut | 02/22/2000

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I'm not used to being challenged that often when it comes to listening to music these days. Wildhoney is a welcome surprise to my ears and senses. After initially listening to it, I likened it to being a cross between Queensryche, new age music, and metal. I don't think of it so much like that now. Tiamat really struck upon something unique and unusual on this album. This release sounds very European and gothic (the guys are Swedish to my knowledge). One of the aspects of Wildhoney that I'm most impressed with are the use of keyboards throughout. The song that I think best represents the album would be "Gaia." It has a very gothic atmosphere and is awash with lush keyboards--the best song in my opinion. The album also has some heavy moments (guitar and vocal-wise), but a lot of the music is not in that vein though. The vocalist only sings aggressively on a small fraction of the album (that's not a minus). The second best tune would be "Whatever that Hurts." That song and "The Ar" are basically the same song. The guitar riffs of those songs are very heavy along with the cool vocals. The guitar work throughout the album is great. There's quite a bit of acoustic guitar used (check out "A Pocket Size Sun" for example). Wildhoney needs to be listened to in its entirety (the songs are very cohesive). I actually rate this sonic experience 3.5 stars. Quite original and worthy of a listening. This is a good one to add to your collection. Atmospheric, gothic, instrumental, heavy, aggressive, and soothing all rolled into one."

Mystical depth and spiritual love...

Martijn Flamman and Bas | Middelburg, the Netherlands | 11/21/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I am without a doubt the greatest Tiamat-fan in the world...OK, I can't say that since I don''t know whether it is true or not. But I can say that this album is the greatest album within the atmospherical doom/ death- and gothic-genre for years to come. This album is so fascinating, mystical and spiritual...Words are not enough to express my feelings. It may be strange to read, but this metalband (!) can let you seek for, explore and get to know your deepest emotions and feelings...Try to listen to this cd, and you will be caught in your most unknown emotions. Fear, love, depression... it will come out of your mind and let you behind with nothing more than a glimpse of paradise. That is what this music is: the soundtrack for the apocalypse embrazing the beautiful paradise..."

Combination of spheric sounds and brachial rhythms

Martijn Flamman and Bas | 04/10/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It seems to be an impossible task to compare this masterpiece with anything out there. The CD is a perfect example that metal and harmony can combine with each other without being commercial. The melodic songs carry you away to seemingly extraterrestrian places, the full guitar sounds accompanied with well timed drums bring you back to earth. The mixture is perfect. It makes your skin crawl when the silent parts of "Whatever that hurts" get interrupted by the harsh voice of Johan Edlund just to be followed by a hymnlike transition to the next song "The Ar" You feel like sitting in a medieval church and watching a monk's procession. "Gaia" creates emotions never known before, I simply get goosebumps. If you ever want to find out how music of the next century should sound like, go get this one."