Wildhoney (Tiamat album)

Wildhoney is the fourth studio album from Swedish music group Tiamat. The album was produced by Waldemar Sorychta and released by Century Media records in 1994. Vocalist Johan Edlund and John Hagel were the only two remaining members of Tiamat who were still with the group after their previous album Clouds in 1992. The album was marked a strong change in the style of Tiamat's music with more progressive rock- and psychedelic music-influenced music and a less death metal-oriented style. The music on the album deals with the occult, nature, and LSD.

Wildhoney
Studio album by
Tiamat
ReleasedSeptember 1, 1994 (1994-09-01)
Recorded1994
StudioWoodhouse Studio
Length42:08
LabelCentury Media
ProducerWaldemar Sorychta
Tiamat chronology
Clouds
(1992)		 Wildhoney
(1994)		 A Deeper Kind of Slumber
(1997)

The album was released on September 1, 1994 and was one of the highest-selling records for Century Media on its release. AllMusic praised the album, referring to it as "one of the classics of the genre".

Production

Tiamat vocalist Johan Edlund was unhappy with the recording of the album Clouds, stating that it "definitely didn't turn out the way I wanted it to".[1] After the release of their 1994 tour EP, The Sleeping Beauty (Live in Israel), Edlund fired all members of Tiamat except for John Hagel.[2] In 1994, Tiamat began working on an album that would become Wildhoney with session musicians Magnus Sahlgren, Lars Sköld and Waldemar Sorychta, who acted as a keyboardist and producer.[2] Edlund later stated that on Wildhoney that he "really did what I wanted to do on Clouds".[1] The bird songs on the album were from a sound effects album Edlund had.[3] The album was recorded at Woodhouse Studio.[4]

Style

Wildhoney was a move away from the death metal sound that was previously heard on their last album Clouds.[6] Wildhoney has been described as their first album where the "psychedelic/progressive influences were more widespread".[6] Edlund looked back on the album later, stating that he was "just a very young guy [who] wanted to sound like his favorite band, Pink Floyd".[7] In 2007, Edlund described stated the themes of the album revolved around the pentagram ("The Ar"), nature ("Gaia"), LSD ("A Pocket Size Sun") and satanism ("Visionaire").[3]

Release

Wildhoney was released on September 1, 1994 by Century Media Records.[5][8] Wildhoney was a very successful album for Century Media.[7] The album sold better than the previous best sellers on the label; Grave and Unleashed.[7] The album was re-released to include the Gaia EP with it in 2001 by Century Media.[9]

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]

Online music database AllMusic gave the album a rating of four and a half stars out of five, stating that the album "elevated the group's combination of lingering death metal roots and ambient soundscapes to unparalleled heights of invention".[5] AllMusic gave five stars to the reissue that included the Gaia EP, referring to the album as "one of the classics of the genre".[10]

Track listing
Wildhoney[4]
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."Wildhoney" Johan Edlund, Johnny Hagel0:52
2."Whatever That Hurts"EdlundEdlund5:47
3."The Ar"EdlundHagel, Waldemar Sorychta5:03
4."25th Floor" Edlund, Sorychta1:49
5."Gaia"EdlundHagel6:26
6."Visionaire"EdlundThomas Petersson, Edlund4:19
7."Kaleidoscope" Edlund1:19
8."Do You Dream of Me?"EdlundSorychta, Edlund5:06
9."Planets" Edlund, Magnus Sahlgren3:13
10."A Pocket Size Sun"EdlundEdlund8:04
Total length:42:08

Personnel

Per the liner notes.[4]

  • Johan Edlund – guitar, vocals
  • John Hagel – bass
  • Magnus Sahlgren – session lead guitar
  • Lars Sköld – session drums
  • Waldemar Sorychta – keyboard parts
  • Birgit Zacher – additional vocals
  • Waldemar Sorychta – producer, engineer
  • Siggi Bemm – audio engineer
  • Carsten Drescher – layout
  • Johan Edlund – photography
  • Kristian Whalin – cover art and inlay paintings
  • DMS - mastering

See also

Notes
  1. Ekeroth, 2008. p.212
  2. Huey, Steve. "Tiamat - Music". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
  3. Johan, Edlund (2007). Wildhoney (compact disc). Tiamat. Century Media.
  4. Wildhoney (compact disc). Tiamat. Century Media. 1994.CS1 maint: others (link)
  5. Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Wildhoney - Tiamat". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
  6. Marsicano, Dan. "Tiamat - Clouds Review". About.com. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
  7. Wagner, 2010. p.233
  8. "Release Details". Century Media. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
  9. "Wildhoney/Gaia : Tiamat - Releases". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
  10. True, Chris. "Wildhoney/Gaia : Tiamat". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved July 10, 2013.

References

  • Ekeroth, Daniel (2008). Swedish Death Metal. Bazillion Points Books. ISBN 097961631X.
  • Wagner, Jeff (2010). Mean Deviation: Four Decades of Progressive Heavy Metal. Bazillion Points Books. ISBN 0979616336.
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