Album Review: Cities of Mars - Cities of Mars
Reviewed by Matthew Williams
The opening track from the self-titled third album from Swedish doomsters Cities of Mars, really does set the mood and tone for the entire album, it’s slow, brooding, yet still provokes chilling and haunting thoughts. As the title suggests, 'Before the Storm', it sets the listener up for what is set to be an epic journey into the cosmic doom laden world of the band.
Cities of Mars are made up of Danne Plan (vocals, bass, synth), Chrisoffer Noren (vocals, guitar) and Johan Aronstedt (backing vocals, drums & percussion) and formed in Gothenburg in 2015, and they manage to combine heavy doom riffs with ambient soundscapes and haunting vocals. This third album, released by the wonderful people at Ripple Music, contains a story from each of the seven cities on the red planet, each city and song with a distinct identity and character.
'Towering Graves' begins with the sort of riff that sends a shiver through your body, and when combined with the powerful vocals and all round rhythmic genius of the band, it’s the sort of spaced out track that will send live audiences off to another dimension. And the best part is that as brilliant as this song is, it still isn’t the best song on the album.
Throughout, it is clear to see that Daniel, Chris and Johan have reached deep down into their souls and began a quest for producing music with exquisite melodies and hooks, whilst maintaining the heavy doomy riffs. 'The Prophet' is a sublime song, which typifies this perfectly, and each song adds another piece to the puzzle, that is embedded in the evolving mythos from the Swedish trio.
And they aren’t afraid to creatively mix things up either. Whether that’s a gentle, haunting acoustic number like 'Song of a Distant Earth' to the rich melody ladened glory of 'The Dreaming Sky', they have incorporated more intricate vocals and introduced a heavier presence of electronic soundscapes, to musically broaden the scope of what they can produce, and it has clearly worked for them.
And in 'Reflected Skyline' they have a song that encapsulates everything about the band, haunting vocals, ethereal melodies, that takes the listener on a journey to Mars and back. It truly is a mesmerising song and is followed by 'The Black Shard', which is a 12 minute masterpiece, a song which ebbs and flows, and creatively is the best song on the album for me, as its powerful, moody, and allows each band member to showcase their talents, whilst demonstrating how perfectly they fit together. This truly is an epic album from start to finish.
