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Wildhoney

 
Album Review: Wildhoney

  • Artist: Tiamat
  • Rating: StarStarStarStarHalf Star
  • Release Date: 1994
  • Type: Lyrics are included with the album
  • Genre: Rock

Review

Not even Tiamat's previous achievements and accelerated evolutionary pace could have prepared fans and critics for the unbelievable sounds contained in the band's fourth album, 1994's groundbreaking Wildhoney. The album elevated the group's combination of lingering death metal roots and ambient soundscapes to unparalleled heights of invention. Not necessarily a concept album in the lyrical sense, the record still operates as a virtually seamless aural experience, as tracks are often grouped into extended suites. The sounds of a running stream and chirping birds (actually the 30-second title track) introduce "Whatever That Hurts," which effortlessly shifts from its slow, massive riff to a surprisingly beautiful melody, each section topped with Johan Edlund's death metal grunting and gentle whispering vocals, respectively. "The Ar" follows, yielding another huge midpace riff and some angelic choruses before giving way to the industrial grind of "25th Floor." "Gaia" and "Visionaire" pretty much stand on their own, but each displays a bevy of contrasting elements, ranging between heavy and light, which make them just as remarkable. "Kaleidoscope" opens the next suite with a delicate acoustic guitar playing over the sound of falling rain, and is followed by "Do You Dream of Me?" perhaps the album's creative zenith. The song's ethereal quality owes much to its intertwining keyboard and guitar lines, not to mention Edlund's most singsong performance ever, and merges directly into the spacy feel of the instrumental guitar piece "Planets." The eight-minute "A Pocket Size Sun" takes a slight dip in quality but is hardly disappointing, and is very reminiscent of Pink Floyd. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
Wild Honey John Hagel, Johan Edlund Tiamat (:53)
Whatever That Hurts Johan Edlund Tiamat (5:48)
The Ar John Hagel, Waldemar Sorychta, Johan Edlund Tiamat (5:04)
25th Floor Waldemar Sorychta, Johan Edmund Tiamat (1:50)
Gaia John Hagel, Johan Edlund Tiamat (6:27)
Visionaire Johan Edlund Tiamat (4:19)
Kaleidoscope Johan Edlund Tiamat (1:20)
Do You Dream of Me? Waldemar Sorychta, Johan Edlund Tiamat (5:06)
Planets Johan Edlund, Magnus Sahlgren Tiamat (3:13)
A Pocket Size Sun Johan Edlund Tiamat (8:04)

Credits

Tiamat (Main Performer), Siggi Bemm (Engineer), John Hagel (Bass), Waldemar Sorychta (Keyboards), Waldemar Sorychta (Producer), Waldemar Sorychta (Engineer), Kristian Wahlin (Paintings), Birgit Zacher (Vocals), Johan Edlund (Guitar), Johan Edlund (Vocals), Johan Edlund (Photography), Magnus Sahlgren (Guitar)
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Wikipedia: Wildhoney
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Wildhoney
Studio album by Tiamat
Released October 25, 1994
Recorded 1994
Genre Atmospheric metal
Progressive metal
Extreme metal
Length 42:08
Label Century Media
Producer Waldemar Sorychta
Professional reviews
Tiamat chronology
Clouds
(1992)
Wildhoney
(1994)
A Deeper Kind of Slumber (1997)

Wildhoney is the critically acclaimed 1994 album by Tiamat. Released after their worldwide tour with Entombed and Unleashed, the record made the band one of the first (along with Opeth) to progress beyond genre lines in the renowned Swedish death metal scene.

Stylistically, the album owes a lot to psychedelic and progressive rock; Pink Floyd and King Crimson have been cited by band members as a particular influence on the album. Several tracks make references to hallucinogenic drugs (Jimsonweed and psilocybe mushrooms are explicitly mentioned [1]), and the entire album has a transcendent, otherworldly quality, which is enhanced by the fact that the entire album, with the exception of a brief gap in between tracks five and six, is seamless. There are several sections of the album that barely even qualify as traditional metal at all, with four tracks ("Wildhoney", "25th Floor," "Kaleidoscope" and "Planets") being instrumentals (although the title track features printed lyrics in the liner notes, they are actually part of the lyrics to the following track, "Whatever That Hurts") and an additional two ("Do You Dream of Me" and "A Pocket Size Sun") containing no growled vocals. As such, Wildhoney is often cited as a strong introduction to death metal for fans of progressive rock and vice versa.

Track listing

  1. "Wildhoney" – 0:52
  2. "Whatever That Hurts" – 5:47
  3. "The Ar" – 5:03
  4. "25th Floor" – 1:49
  5. "Gaia" – 6:26
  6. "Visionaire" – 4:19
  7. "Kaleidoscope" – 1:19
  8. "Do You Dream of Me?" – 5:07
  9. "Planets" – 3:11
  10. "A Pocket Size Sun" – 8:03

 
 
Learn More
Wildhoney/Gaia (1994 Album by Tiamat)
Deeper Kind of Slumber (1997 Album by Tiamat)
Blackwater Park [Bonus Tracks] (2002 Album by Opeth)

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Album Review. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Wildhoney" Read more

 

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