Band: Count Raven
Title: Mammons War
Label: I Hate Records
Distribution: Bertus
Release date: /
Review: CD

Cult Doom-formation Count Raven started at the end of the eighties. The trio recorded two demo tapes before entering the studio for the recording of their debut full length, Storm Warning, in 1990. 1992 saw the light of their second full length effort, Destruction Of The Void, followed by High On Infinity (1994) and Messiah On Confusion (1996). Unfortunately, due to personal differences, the members decided to stop this rather successful combo in 1999 and they started with other projects (like Semlah and Doomsday Government).

A short reunion took place in 2003, but this didn’t last. Some gigs were done, but nothing official got recorded.
However, Dan Fondelius (g, v, k) did have lots of ideas and inspirations, so he reformed the band for another time, this time with his former Doomsday Government-colleague Jens Bock on drums, as well as former Abramis Brama / Witchcraft-member Fredrik Jansson (b). The trio wrote, re-wrote and re-re-wrote some tracks, and finally they were ready to record the new long-awaited album, titled Mammons War.

The result is a worthy successor of any former material. Mammons War turns out to be a majestic and timeless recording, still dealing with humanity’s egoism (mammon is Hebrew for ‘money’ and in the Christian bible it’s a term that deals with greed and want-more-and-more). What strikes are the great vocals by Fodde: still very Ozzy-ish (or is it, in fact, Ozzy Osbourne sounding like Fodde, when playing live, for example???!!!), yet extremely varying too, even more than ever before.
Musically, the band still incorporates elements from their original period of existence, but the whole sounds much more mature and varying. The Traditional Doom-hymns aren’t that world-shocking, but all of them stand as a raised fist. Bells, acoustics, keyboards, all these elements are additions to the heavy, pounding tracks that exhale an old school-oriented spirit. Mammons War is emotional and spiritual at the same time, and the mesmerizing atmosphere goes well with the compact sound. And I am sure that every single fan of (Traditional) Doom in the vein of Trouble, Black Sabbath, Candlemass, Pentagram, Solitude Aeternus etc will appreciate this album a lot!

Total running time: sixty eight minutes.

85/100

Ivan Tibos.