Candlemass was formed in Sweden during the early 80's, centering around bassist Leif Edling, the band's one consistent member and main songwriter. While not the first notable doom metal band (aside the
godfathers of doom themselves, of course), as Witchfinder General and Saint Vitus came before them, Candlemass was the first to incorporate a heavy epic feel in their work. With Johan Längqvist handling vocal duties, Candlemass released
Epicus Doomicus Metallicus (1986) which is now considered a landmark album in the genre. IMO while it was a good album, to be sure, it paled in comparison to what would eventually come.
(
Black Stone Wielder) - from EDM
Längqvist never intended to be the band's full-time vocalist and left after recording EDM. Edling put out an ad for a new singer and would receive a call from a 20 y/o classically trained tenor by the name of Eddie "Messiah" Marcolin. The story I've read is that Marcolin proceeded to belt out "Solitude" (from EDM) over the phone for Edling and was immediately offered the position. With Marcolin in place, Candlemass churned out three straight amazing albums in
Nightfall (1987),
Ancient Dreams (1988) and
Tales of Creation (1989).
(
The Well of Souls) - from Nightfall
(
Mirror Mirror) - from AD
(
Dark Reflections) - from ToC
Unfortunately, Messiah had developed the reputation of being a prima donna, which would lead to a falling out and his departure from the band. Edling would then recruit future-Therion vocalist Thomas Vikstrom to replace Messiah and release
Chapter VI (1992). Vikstrom is a good vocalist, and the material wasn't that bad, but it was a big come-down from the three Messiah albums and was not warmly received.
(
The Dying Illusion) - from C6 (warning: actual music video, featuring somewhat laughable imagery)
After C6, Edling disbanded Candlemass and formed another band called Abstrakt Algebra with another future-Therion vocalist Mats Leven, releasing a s/t in 1995. With AA not doing well, Edling took some of his AA-intended songs and instead released them under the Candlemass name with the album title
Dactylis Glomerata (1998), and then released a more Black Sabbath rock-toned album called
From the 13th Sun (1999). These two albums are quite a bit different from anything else released under the Candlemass name and so I tend to skip over them in my personal discography.
In 2004, Edling decided to make amends with Messiah and they reformed to go on a reunion tour. Reception from the reunion was so positive that they decided to make a return-to-form album, simply entitled
Candlemass.
(
Black Dwarf) - from s/t
Unfortunately after the tour for that album, Edling and Messiah had yet another falling out. Edling then went and pulled a major coup by picking up Solitude Aeturnus singer Robert Lowe. Using songs that were originally composed for Messiah, Edling recorded
King of the Grey Islands (2007) with Lowe on vocals. Most recently, Edling and Lowe produced this year's
Death Magic Doom, which will most likely be on my Top 10 at year's end.
(
Emperor of the Void) - from KotGI
(
Clouds of Dementia) - from DMD
