Review by Ben for Tiamat - Clouds (1992)

Tiamat's evolution began as a straightforward death metal band, then moved through to soft death doom metal, and finally onto the goth pop that they currently release to the masses. Clouds is certainly a transitional album between the rather average death metal of the early days and the more doomy, atmospheric period of Wildhoney. If there's one word I can use for this album straight off, I would say intriguing. There are some beautiful melodies, catchy choruses and a variety of styles within almost every track. Keyboards are used sparingly and quite well too, adding to the atmosphere of it all. But probably due to its transitional nature, Clouds often comes across as awkward and at times downright cringeworthy.

It probably doesn't help that I first came to Tiamat through Wildhoney, which is an exquisite album that manages to mix atmospheric, tender sections with doomy riffs and growls with ease. Clouds doesn't manage this mix as well, with below average vocals (Johan Edlund's clean vocals are just not very good at this stage and his accent comes across as just humorous at times) and some very mediocre sections mixed in with all the above-mentioned creativity. All of this adds up to an inconsistent, yet somehow entertaining experience. In a Dream, The Sleeping Beauty and Undressed are the better tracks on the album, but all the remaining tunes have their moments.

Final Note: I'm a bit baffled as to why so many RYM users keep labelling this as Death Metal. Don't be fooled into thinking this sounds anything like Obituary or Deicide etc. It's Death Doom Metal mixed with Gothic Metal. At the most, Death Metal might be listed as a secondary genre but that's even a stretch.