Candlemass is a doom metal band formed in Stockholm, Sweden in 1984. Candlemass arose from the earlier Nemesis outfit belonging to bassist Leif Edling and guitarist Christian Weberyd. Prior to the dissolvement of the group, Nemesis had released the highly praised ‘Day Of Retribution’ album in 1984. Debuting Candlemass on the tape trading circuit with the four song ‘Witchcraft’ demo in 1984, featuring a line-up of Edling, Weberyd and drummer Mats Ekström, and a second demo that November, the band promptly signed to the French Black Dragon label. Having added former A.T.C. guitarist Mats Björkman (a.k.a. ‘Mappe’) the band began recording what would become the ‘Epicus, Doomicus, Metallicus’ debut at Thunderload Studios with Ragne Wahlquist, frontman for Heavy Load, manning the desk.
During the recording of the album Christian Weberyd opted to leave and by the time it was released the group’s newly acquired vocalist, Johan Lanquist, a former member of Jonah Quizz, and drummer Mats Ekström, had also departed. Still, the album, emerging in June 1986, considerably raised the band’s profile and impressed many critics with a penchant for specialising in grandiose, Doom laden Metal dirges that, at times, were hideously depressing but always exceptionally heavy. With Doom being scarce on the Metal landscape in 1986 many reviewers simply tagged the band as BLACK SABBATH clones but record buyers soon put this assumptions aside, recognising the band as an original force.
Line-up:
Leif Edling - Bass
Mats "Mappe" Björkman - Guitars(rhythm)
Lars "Lasse" Johansson - Guitars(lead)
Jan Lindh - Drums
Robert Lowe - Vocals
Tracklist:
01. Prophet (06:05)
02. The Sound of Dying Demons (05:30)
03. Dancing in the Temple (Of the Mad Queen Bee) (03:38)
04. Waterwitch (07:03)
05. The Lights of Thebe (05:49)
06. Psalms for the Dead (05:15)
07. The Killing of the Sun (04:09)
08. Siren Song (05:57)
09. Black as Time (06:47)
/ XBTT (1) by Dejavu