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Carpe Diem

United Kingdom Country of Origin: United Kingdom

Carpe Diem
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Type: Full-Length
Release Date: February 4th, 2022
Genre: Heavy, NWOBHM
1. The Temple Of The Crescent Moon
2. Equinox Of The Gods
3. Until The Hellhounds Sleep Again
4. Will They Come?
5. Lucienne
6. Summertime Is Gone
7. Katarraktis Apo Aima
8. Raining Dead Angels
9. Misantropolis
10. Amanitis
11. Meliae
12. Via Dolorosa
13. Circles
14. Amanes
1. Carpe Diem (Seize The Day)
2. Age Of Steam
3. The Pilgrimage
4. Dambusters
5. Remember The Fallen
6. Super Nova
7. Lady In Gray
8. All For One
9. Black Is The Night
10. Living On The Limit


Review by Nick on June 21, 2008.

With a string of inferior to mediocre releases -- Skeleton Skeletron, Judas Christ and Prey -- most have come to consider Tiamat a decomposing shell of its former self. Demonstrated by the lack of originality and breadth on their previous three albums, Johan Edlund and his gloomsters seem to have creatively withered faster than a slug in a mound of salt. A long time has passed since the masterful Wildhoney and the brilliantly crafted A Deeper Kind Of Slumber, so please forgive me for the skepticism that precedes 2008’s Amanethes.

The opener, "The Temple of the Crescent Moon,” comes across as hollow and desperate, lacking the confidence and quiet patience that permeated songs from the previously mentioned albums. The melody is generic and sounds almost synthetic. In addition, the lyrics are benign and stale. What might have worked, both musically and lyrically, ten years ago, ends up falling short in 2008.

There is a familiar black metal tinge to the beginning of “Equinox of the Gods,” recalling similarities from Sumerian Cry and Astral Sleep, with rolling, rapid guitar melodies interweaved with penetrating bass thumps and blasting drums. I expected the song to melt into an uninspired doom rock song, ala Prey, but it retained the frenzied pace throughout. “Equinox” ends as a surprising recent Tiamat entry and an above average metal song.

The bleak mood constructed by “Equinox of the Gods” becomes even more sullen for the lackadaisical “Until the Hellhounds Sleep Again.” The track comes across as a failed attempt to recreate the sound that ex-Tiamat member Johnny Hagel mastered on Sundown’s Design 19. Likewise, “Lucienne” is similar in its misguided drudgery. Edlund’s vocals show glimpses of promise, but are ultimately toiled and pitchy. And the would-be fist-pumping guitars? Honestly, Johan? Cheesy metal anthems went out with the Flowbee and Vanilla Ice’s shaved eyebrows.

On the other hand, “Will They Come,” “Summertime is Gone” and “Katarraktis Apo Aima” are stirring and emotive, something that Tiamat hasn’t been able to achieve for the better part of the past ten years. The creeping tempo and atmosphere of all three songs shows that Edlund allowed the music to form, instead of forcing something to happen. The three tracks, sandwiching the sloppy “Lucienne,” establish a somber, yet stunningly beautiful mosaic of atmospheric rock. “Summertime” is a fantastic rock song, mirroring a Paradise Lost-onian tone (Edlund sounds much like Nick Holmes on this track). “Katarraktis” is essentially “Summertime’s” second half, sounding almost identical, but with a more anger-laced component. The former song flows seamlessly into the latter, providing a nice continuity throughout the middle section of Amanethes.

The evil “Raining Dead Angels” is as ferocious and it is strong, detoxifying brilliantly into “Misantropolis.” “Raining Dead Angels” is death metal, black metal and gothic metal all meeting at the pinnacle of each genre’s most valuable asset. The pre-release publicity of Amanethes hinted upon a sound more typical of pre-A Deeper Kind of Slumber Tiamat, and those murmurings hold true on this track (not so much on most of the previous songs, however). Edlund’s vocals are vicious and piercing, the music symphonic and threatening. Quintessential female whispers add another dark element, cementing “Raining” as a standout track. Meanwhile, “Misantropolis” features a more subdued Edlund with his unmistakable voice hovering ominously atop one of the most musically lush and fulfilling songs on the album.

"Amanitis” is an interesting instrumental, seemingly influenced by the Greek surroundings in which the recordings took place. I’m not sure if this track was written prior to the band’s arrival in Greece, but it definitely sounds like it was an improvisation during recording rehearsals. Having said that, “Amanitis” is a nice connecting track, ideally placed on the album.

“Meliae” is an amazingly inspiring song, sounding very much like a modern-day Pink Floyd (not that surprising considering the space rock soundscapes of A Deeper Kind Of Slumber). Edlund’s uncanny vocal similarities to Dave Gilmore are ever-present on this song. Having listened to “Meliae” in excess of ten times before writing this review, I’m inclined to call it Tiamat’s most beautifully written and satisfying song…ever. The accessibility and rock-oriented aspect of the song may turn away some fans, but I’m confident that those not afraid to set aside expectations will find “Meliae” to be a truly pleasing experience.

Unfortunately, “Via Dolorosa” cannot hold under the weight of six of the last seven songs and finds its way to the land of the Amanethes bottom-dwellers, sucking on the radiance of the majority. The penultimate “Circles” is rather lackluster and boring. It does have moments of redemption, but not enough to sustain itself. The album’s closer, “Amanes” is the most tactfully menacing of the fourteen. It’s an effective ending to the album and closes things with slumbered pacing and a somber ambience. Truly dreadful.

As the album comes to a close listen after listen, I become increasingly content and comfortable with being proven wrong. Amanethes, despite its apparent flaws, is an admirable Tiamat release (tracks range from poor to exceptional – if this album lost some of its weaker songs, it could have been a stellar release). The album runs the gamut of atmospheres and emotions that we have come to expect from the band, and with a renewed vehemence and passion. I wish that we could erase two of the previous three albums from Tiamat’s discography, but this ascension from the ashes makes Amanethes that much more memorable and welcomed.


Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 7
Atmosphere: 8
Originality: 7
Production: 8
Overall: 8

Rating: 7.6 out of 10

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Review by Felix on March 14, 2023.

Saxon have released two albums which told us something about their inspirations. And about more inspirations, wow! This was a good idea, otherwise we are at risk to jump to false conclusions, because Carpe Diem does not give us a lot of chances to find the inspiration that led to the here reviewed result. That’s a pity, because it took many years, but since Unleash The Beast the band has a small but firm place in my metal heart (oh my God, this sounds kitschy). Moreover, Biff Byford is a really likeable guy and a kind of heavy metal gentleman who fills the gap Lemmy (R.I.P.) left. Of course, he plays this role in another way than Lemmy did – and that’s good due to his different nature.

Carpe Diem is no bad album, do not get me wrong. It is logical that Saxon do not reinvent themselves and I did not expect something completely different than the material they offer here. Sometimes it is even great to see that they stick to their roots and their tradition. The highlight 'Age Of Steam' scores with a dense and catchy chorus, the necessary amount of vehemence and especially with the history-related lyrics about the industrial revolution. “Stoke the fires to superheat / Work the mine, thе coal is deep / Feed the beast, the slavе of industry“ – I don’t think one can express the feeling of this time much better than Biff, and no, even he is not a contemporary witness. Little joke... 'Age Of Steam' reminds me in the best possible way of 'Made In Belfast'. Biff delivers a more than solid performance and I really enjoy this piece. On the other hand, we have the opener and title track. Its more or less only positive aspect is that it evidently gave – now listen – the inspiration (!) for the fantastic artwork. Its chorus sucks, the riffing is heavy, but somehow it does not convince me. The guitars rule, okay, but the “they came, they saw, they conquered” part and the solo fail.

As a matter of course, Saxon also have Crusader-like songs up their sleeve. 'The Pilgrimage' has an almost meditative guitar work and wants to be an earworm. This mission is not fully successful. But the song is still better than the comparable, also dragging 'Lady In Grey'. Don’t be fooled by its heavy, rasping guitars at the beginning. The slow-moving prototype of grandpa rock is a boring filler with weird keyboard notes that fail to give it a bigger sound dimension. Well, in order to stay fair, Carpe Diem does not suffer from a lack of heaviness and it goes without saying that it benefits from a flawless mix. Just realize the excellent guitar power. Nevertheless, tracks like 'Dambuster' do not give me much, because the melodies are just mediocre and once again: the chorus fails to crown the song. Thus, I prefer an up-tempo number like 'Super Nova', although its riff and lines seem to be recycled from a lot of previous Saxon songs.

Naturally the conventionally constructed songs stand or fall with the quality of their guitar work and their choruses and I am surprised that Saxon miss the target comparatively often. The pretty swift, generic and riff-driven 'Living On The Limit' sounds like "All Guns Blazing Part II”, but without reaching the class of its role model. And so Carpe Diem goes by, being nothing but just another Saxon album in their endless catalogue. Maybe their next album which does not have the word “inspirations” in its title will show more inspirations.

Rating: 6 out of 10

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Review by Michael on February 18, 2022.

Carpe Diem – Seize the Day. I guess this is quite a good motto that Saxon have chosen for their newest (their 23rd!!!) studio album. I would say that they sound powerful and heavy like they didn't sound for many years on this output and so they have done the best out of the situation. Most of the tracks are pretty fast or in some upper mid-tempo area and full of awesome guitar solos that let you be astonished that these guys still have such energy for this after all those years. I mean, they are not getting younger, if you know what I mean. If I didn't know that it was Saxon I would guess that some guys in their 30s/40s are performing a pretty great classic heavy metal album.

The album starts with a very catchy banger which is also the title track. I would state that this is a perfect opener for an album because it puts you in a right mood for this. Very casual riffs come along with a well-timed drumming and Biffs vocals do the rest to create a future Saxon classic. 'The Age Of Steam' is another very appealing track that reminds me quite a bit of Rammstein's “Deutschland” right at the beginning. It's another very melodic track with a furious chorus and again you can get quite easy into it. By the way the story that is told here (about the industrialization) is pretty nice to follow. There are quite a couple of tracks that keep up this mid-tempo style and are really great bangers like 'Super Nova'. I would say that this is one of the heaviest tracks that Saxon have ever written. The guitar riffs are razor sharp and quite brutal and I have to admit that the track reminds me from its riffing and the chorus of my Judas Priest all-time fave, that one with the ugly motorbike on it, you know for sure! Another track that I would like to mention is 'Dambusters', maybe not because of the music (though it is a really good one with a lot of Rock n´Roll flair- Lemmy would love that one for sure) but because of the lyrics. It is quite an interesting topic from WW2, when British bombers were sent to Germany to bombard the dams of the water reservoirs in the Sauerland and Hesse to harm the Ruhr Area and other parts of Germany because there was one of the hotspots for the war industry. This is quite an interesting story that the one or the other may like to read about in more detail.

On the other hand there are some slow tracks on Carpe Diem, too – namely 'The Pilgrimage' and 'Lady In Gray'. While 'The Pilgrimage' is a quite outstanding track that sounds a little bit like 'Crusader' and appears to be very catchy and groovy (combined with some “Hells Bells” vibes). But 'Lady In Gray' is the only track that I can't get used to. It sounds quite lame and boring in my ears and really doesn't grip me. May it be because of the half-hearted synths or the somewhat generic chorus, this track just splashes along without too much excitement in it, sorry. I would like to state that just one weaker track on this album isn't so much worth to criticize even because all of the other tracks are very rousing and make the album a very entertaining event.

Hopefully Saxon will keep this power they preserved on Carpe Diem for some more years and present us more of this stuff!!

Rating: 9.3 out of 10 Super Novae

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