Candlemass
Bio
Every genre is shaped by pioneers and in terms of doom metal, the label ‘genre defining’ definitely applies to Candlemass and mastermind Leif Edling in particular.
In fact, the band’s 1986 debut ‘Epicus Doomicus Metallicus’ helped coin the very name of the genre. Like its successor ‘Nightfall’ (1987), the album was instrumental in creating the doom metal blueprint. Over the years Candlemass have had the good fortune to work with such great vocalists as Messiah Marcolin, Robert Lowe and Mats Levén and following a decline in popularity in the 90s and early 2000s, the band’s popularity soared once again in the Robert Lowe vocal era with three critically acclaimed albums: ‘King of the Grey Islands’ (2007), ‘Death Magic Doom’ (2009) and ‘Psalms for the Dead’ (2012). In 2018, original singer Johan Längqvist rejoined on a permanent basis on ‘The Door to Doom’, reinvigorating the band in the process. The ingredients of the Candlemass cocktail have largely remained the same over the years: molasses-paced riffs, angry/wailing/plaintive vocals and an atmosphere of utter despair and despondency, as witnessed on their latest slab ‘Sweet Evil Sun’ (2022).
