Wildhoney (Tiamat album)

Wildhoney is the critically acclaimed 1994 album by the Swedish band, Tiamat. Released after their worldwide tour with Entombed and Unleashed, the record made the band one of the first (along with Opeth) to progress beyond genre lines in the renowned Swedish death metal scene. It is regarded as a cornerstone album in the genres of both progressive extreme metal and symphonic black metal, as it established many of the formulae that would be employed on future releases like Edge of Sanity's Crimson, Enslaved's Isa, and Dimmu Borgir's Death Cult Armageddon.

Stylistically, the album owes a lot to psychedelic and progressive rock; Pink Floyd and King Crimson have been cited by bandmembers as a particular influence on the album. Several tracks make references to hallucinogenic drugs (Jimsonweed and psilocybe mushrooms are explicitly mentioned), and the entire album has a transcendent, otherworldly quality, which is enhanced by the fact that the entire album, with the exception of a brief gap in between tracks five and six, is seamless. There are several sections of the album that barely even qualify as traditional metal at all, with four tracks ("Wildhoney", "25th Floor," "Kaleidoscope" and "Planets") being instrumentals (although the title track nonetheless features printed lyrics in the liner notes) and an additional two ("Do You Dream of Me" and "A Pocket Size Sun") containing no growled or shrieked vocals whatsoever. As such, Wildhoney is often cited as a strong introduction to death metal for fans of progressive rock.

Track listing

"Wildhoney" – 0:52
"Whatever That Hurts" – 5:47
"The Ar" – 5:03
"25th Floor" – 1:49
"Gaia – 6:26
"Visionaire" – 4:19
"Kaleidoscope" – 1:19
"Do You Dream of Me?" – 5:07
"Planets" – 3:11
"A Pocket Size Sun" – 8:03