Tiamat "Prey" CD

The latest full length by Tiamat titled "Prey" marks another step in Tiamat's musical progression. The band started out as a black metal band calling themselves Treblanka. They soon changed their name to Tiamat and started playing death metal with some mideastern influences. Soon they would release the WildHoney CD that would introduce fans to their atmospheric metal phase. They would then go into a goth metal phase with their "Skeleton Skeletron" release. With the release of "Prey" the band is once again returning to their atmospheric roots.
The album starts off the same way that Wildhoney did, with the birds chirping and singing. That's where "Prey" takes a complete turn from "Wildhoney." Where as "Wildhoney" was heavy and loud, "Prey" is incredibly soft and soothing.
During the entire album not once does Johan ever go completely crazy or too heavy. He displays his vocals talents perfectly by showing us that he can sing. He sings in the tenor to bass range during most of the album, and his voice is often times hauntingly romantic.
The instruments are played well, but are pretty slowed down. There aren't too many crazy distortions used by the guitars and bass. The drums are slowed down to, a definate change from past albums.
My only two problems with this album is that Johan seems to rely too much on keyboards for this album, and often times they can ruin the mood. My second complaint is that some of the songs feel like fillers to me.

Sample:

Official promo video: