Bell
Tidecaller

Swedish trio Bell offers us their debut album, an album they call Tidecaller. It is an album that was first released in a smaller scale; the band did a limited pressing of their own. Now they are seeing their album released by High Roller Records and it gives them the possibility to reach a wider audience with this album that is being released to the world. It comes on vinyl and CD and I would think that the artwork would look rather good in the vinyl form, the small scale of the CD makes it look a bit boring.

So what about Bell then? The band was formed during a late night drinking session, like so many other metal bands but unlike many of those all isn’t pointless when it comes to Bell. It was Martin and Manne that formed the band and they were completed with the addition of Jesper on bass, then after the recording of this album they have added second guitarist Max Aghall. And what about the album Tidecaller then?

It is Swedish doom metal and it kind of makes me think of well-known Swedish doomsters Candlemass and their likes. The sound is a bit old-fashioned, it sounds a bit like something from the nineties or around that period in time. A little bit retro and nostalgic I think, there is nothing unique about it and I think they follow a format set down by others and they do it rather well. The album offers good variation for an album of the genre and the nine tracks have a short enough playing time to keep a listener listening for the full duration of the album. A solid production I might add.

Good stuff is the lingering though when I am looking to summarise this album, it is an album that kind of grows. I didn’t really like it to begin with, I thought it sounded old and dull, but the songs grow and you start seeing the great things the band does. The opening track, the title track and the ending track are the highlights for me when I play through the album. So, while there are highlights I still don’t think there anything really memorable on the album, perhaps it is not unique or fresh enough for that or perhaps the songs just aren’t great enough.

Tidecaller can be described as a good album, the songs are good and the Candlemassing vocals are strong making this a strong debut. And I think they show some promise they just need a touch more fresh and individual ideas to make something really exciting in the future. So if you like doomy metal it is definitely an album to check out, I think you will like it. And with that I think all that remains now is write out the conclusion that Tidecaller is a good doom metal album that I have enjoyed listening to for a while.

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