CREOZOTH – Creozoth

Creozoth is a strange name given to a band that hails from Stockholm, Sweden, comprising four very experienced musicians. Two of them have built their reputation as members of the ultimate Doom Metal machine, Candlemass. The aforementioned band’s lead guitarist, Lars Johansson, and drummer, Jan Lindh, have been writing and playing music for quite a while, making the most of their spare time. The line up of Creozoth was completed with the addition of Michael Storck’s (X-Plode, Yngwie Malmsteen) voice and Torbjörn Moen’s (Oz, Redfun) bass guitar.

After being active for more than 2 years, the band decided to release a full-length album, comprised of twelve songs and two instrumentals of straightforward Heavy Metal. The fact that the main composer is Lars Johansson justifies the presence of distinct Candlemass influences by means of ton heavy guitar riffs. Storck’s powerful and raspy voice adds an Epic Metal touch to Creozoth’s Doom meets Heavy Metal music.

The album opener is entitled “With the Flow,” and proves Johansson’s straightforward Heavy (with a twist of Power) Metal composing approach. The sound production is generally good, with the only subjective remark being the overuse of the echo effect in Stork’s voice.

“Stares Back” follows the same composing pattern and sometimes brings to mind the almighty Testament, especially during the chorus lines.

The first Candlemass–like song is the mid-tempo track, “Forsaken.” The excellent lead and rhythm guitar work are perfectly combined with Stork’s high pitched vocals.

Things get a little bit faster in the next three songs, “Minute U Die,” “Intoxicatedead,” and “For Your Amusement.” This time Creozoth’s sound moves towards Thrash territory, with fast guitars and neck-snapping drum rhythms. The musical character of this album meanders through the Metal universe, moved by the fact that Johansson composed music based on his personal influences, away from the extra tension that comes along with a Candlemass release.

The tempo slows down in “Watch ‘n’ Wait,” which includes a very good guitar solo, but the album regains the previous momentum in “State of Shock.” The former should be definitely included in future live performances, because it’s perfect for mosh pitting and crowd surfing. There is a Blues feeling in “Bad Day” within Stork’s voice and in Johansson’s vibrato in the guitar licks and within the best solo of the album. Next in the song list is “Mind,” that reminds of Metallica’s sound during the Load era, especially in the slow tempo compositions. “You Don’t Know” is the last song of the album, and bears the Doom Metal mark, while the next two tracks “Dash” and “Spectorized” are instrumentals. The latter one comprises a low-tuned, clean guitar sound that ideally closes Creozoth’s most promising debut album.

Someone could expect that Creozoth would just reproduce Candlemass’s sound due to the musical background of the two founding members. Fortunately, this is not the case and the homonymous debut release brings more than good Metal tunes that will justify its position in every Metal fan’s CD collection.