Tiamat – The Scarred People (2012)

Twenty years have passed since the band’s iconic release “Clouds” first saw the light of day and very little of that band remains today. With “The Scarred People”, Tiamat continues their never ending transformation delivering eleven very catchy tunes that still manage to turn people’s heads. Which each song the band delivers enigmatic catchy melodies that will surely draw the attention of most Gothic Rock/Metal fans.

Opening with a pair of catchy tunes like “The Scarred People” and “Winter Dawn”, the band immediately establishes their very atmospheric approach to this release. Johan Edlund’s vocals are as good as always, and his contributions in the keyboards really make up for 70% of the band’s unique and enigmatic sound. Things really start getting emotional in the brilliant “Radiant Star”, one of our favorite tracks of this release. In this song the tempo is very mellow and the mood is set very melancholic to fully create one of the best Gothic ballads we have heard in quite a while.

Things keep on the very melancholic side of things with the superb “The Sun Also Rises” and a very simple yet engaging chorus section that we can’t seem to get out of our head. After the weird “Before Another Wilbury Dies”, “Love Terrorists” is quite the heavy song that fits just perfectly in the overall flow of the album. The uplifting “Messinian Letter” has a very interesting church-esque feeling to it, quite weird, but actually very enjoyable indeed.

The dreamy opening of “Thunder & Lightning” is quite magical, and it sure helps to make this excellent track our favorite of this album. Having a similar vibe to Liv Kristine’s earlier stuff, particularly the track with Nick Holmes of Paradise Lost, gives this song a very appealing edge to it. Closing with “The Red Of The Morning Sun”, this track really throws off an Anathema vibe, and of course we totally love it for it.

If you haven’t gotten over their dramatic transformation over the years, you should probably not bother with this one and instead dig out their old cassettes/LP’s and play those. For all of us that have moved on, this release offers some good value for the money, so be sure to give it a spin and be ready to be moved and weirded out all in the span of 50 minutes. Be sure to get the digipack version that includes a cover of Lana Del Rey and Bruce Springsteen … WTF right?

Release: November 6th, 2012

Genre: Gothic Rock/Metal

Country: Sweden