Though Candlemass was alive and well in 2003 (and still is), founder Leif Edling nonetheless felt the need for a similarly styled band/project, and that's Krux. Edling has assembled a fine cast to surround him, with two members from Entombed on guitar and drums and former Yngwie Malmsteen man Mats Leven as vocalist. Whereas Edling's past non-Candlemass work has drifted from classic doom, Krux is very much a doom band, and Krux the album is solid and forceful, with Jörgen Sandström laying down prototypical doom riffs and Leven, while not the operatic showman that Messiah Marcolin is, provides a strong, steady voice that fits the style well. This might just as well have been a Candlemass album, as it fits nicely alongside their last two efforts (or even the monstrous Epicus Doomicus Metallicus debut of long ago), since Edling's trademark writing style is very much in evidence here. Candlemass fans will surely enjoy this, as well as anyone into solid traditional doom metal.