One of the founders of doom metal, Swedish Candlemass released four albums universally regarded as landmark works in the genre: "Epicus Doomicus Metallicus" (1986), and, featuring vocalist Messiah Marcolin, "Nightfall" (1987), "Ancient Dreams" (1988), and "Tales Of Creation" (1989). After that Messiah left, and the band itself broke up two albums later, reuniting again, breaking up again, and reuniting yet again in 2005 to deliver "Candlemass," featuring their glory lineup of: Messiah Marcolin (vocals), Mats Bjorkman (guitars), Lasse Johansson (guitars), Leif Edling (bass, main songwriter), and Jan Lindh (drums). LATEST NEWS: Messiah is now out of the band again, both sides claiming "for good," and Candlemass is currently looking for a singer.
NIGHTFALL (1987)
RATING: ***1/2
BEST SONGS: BEST SONGS: "The Well Of Souls," "At The Gallow's End," "The Samarithan"
If you are a doom fan, this album is a timeless masterpiece, which you keep under your pillow at night. If you are not, it's a good album. Apparently, "doom metal" is defined by how close one can replicate Black Sabbath (not by how well you play the game with the same name). By this standard, Candlemass is very good. Still, the songs are quite pleasant, especially in the first half of the album: slow and sludgy "The Well Of Souls" and "Samarithan," and pace-changing "At The Gallows End." Messiah Marcolin's voice sounds like a monk's chant, fitting the music perfectly and setting the standard for dozens of doomsters. The lyrics also match the music: depressing, gloomy, reflecting on various miserable aspects of human existence (which always culminates in death). The lyrics to the Candlemass's signature song, "Samarithan," might have been uplifting, but the music (save for the bridge) is just as dark as everything else. Album's fastest song, "Dark Are The Veils Of Death" is still very much in vein of Black Sabbath. The bonus cd also contains some pretty good material, namely excellent speedy "Battlecry."
CANDLEMASS (2005)
RATING: ****
BEST SONGS: "Black Dwarf," "Seven Silver Keys," "Born In A Tank"
This is the first Candlemass album I've heard in its entirety, highlighted by the much-hyped return of the vocalist Messiah Marcolin. And it sounds like a full-fledged Black Sabbath ripoff. They are good at it, mind you, but we have to give credit where it's due. One particularly good thing about the album is the sound of the guitar: it is perfect for creating the kind of atmosphere Candlemass is striving for. The sound is beefy but crunchy (I especially like the rhythm guitar sound), thumping on your skull with fervor. Marcolin, at times reminds me of Bruce Dickinson, especially in the higher end, and some of the musical moments are not unlike the ones found on "The Chemical Wedding." The opening "Black Dwarf" is probably the fastest song Candlemass did: it is of upper-mid-tempo variety and of a nearly perfect metal groove. The groove is what Candlemass is all about, and when it slows down to what made them (and the whole subgenre of doom) their name, the groove is what constitutes their best material. "Seven Silver Keys" is just that: a lower-mid-tempo, plodding, melodic trip on the seas of internal frustration. Next couple of tracks do not offer much variety: they compete in their slowness, which, I guess, you have to be a doom lover to appreciate. I wake up some time around epic "Witches," which at least features some semblance of a tempo change (from very slow to slow to low-mid-tempo), and it's a solid track. Then comes yet another semi-fast (for Candlemass) tune, "Born In A Tank," and it's pretty good, in spite of sounding almost exactly like "Children Of The Grave." And so on and so forth. Overall, this album seems to please all Candlemass loyalists as well as some of the general population, but it does not exactly convert me into a fan of doom.
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