Candlemass

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Candlemass
Candlemass Logo.svg
Candlemass during her performance in Laager, 2015
Candlemass during her performance in Laager, 2015
General information
Genre (s) Epic Doom
founding 1984, 1997, 2004
resolution 1994, 2002
Website www.candlemass.se
Founding members
Johan Langquist (until 1987, since 2018)
Mats "Portfolio" Björkman (until 1994, since 2002)
Klas Bergwall (until 1987)
Leif Edling
Mats Ekstrom (until 1987)
Current occupation
singing
 Johan Langquist
bass
 Leif Edling
guitar
 Mats "Portfolio" Björkman (1984–1994, since 2002)
guitar
 Lars Johansson (1987–1994, since 2002)
Drums
 Jan Lindh (1987–1994, since 2002)
former members
singing
 Messiah Marcolin (1987-1991, 2002-2006)
singing
 Thomas Vikström (1991–1994)
singing
 Björn Flodkvist (1997-2002)
singing
 Robert Lowe (2006-2012)
singing
 Mats Levén (2012-2018)
guitar
 Michael Amott (1997-1999)
guitar
 Mats Ståhl (1999-2002)
Drums
 Jejo Perkovic (1997-2002)
Carl Westholm (1997-1998)
Candlemass at the Party.San 2017

Candlemass is a Swedish epic doom band founded by Leif Edling in the mid-1980s .

history

1980s

Leif Edling founded Candlemass after his previous band Nemesis broke up. The original line-up consisted of Edling (bass), Mats Ekstrom (drums), Mats Mappe Björkman (guitar) and Johan Langquist (vocals). Her debut album Epicus Doomicus Metallicus was released in 1986 and immediately became a trend-setting work in the still young Doom Metal scene. The cover picture shows a skull with horns through which two wedges in the shape of a cross have been driven; According to Edling, the symbol has no religious or other meaning, the band tried to create a suitable logo with skulls and crosses - the most extreme symbols they could find.

Before the recording of the second album Nightfall (1987) Langquist and Ekstrom got out and Messiah Marcolin (vocals), Lars Johansson (lead guitar) and Jan Lindh (drums) joined the band. With Messiah Marcolin's wide vocal range and his distinctive voice, Candlemass shaped Doom Metal with this album, the band recorded a music video for the song Bewitched . The album covers for Nightfall and its successor Ancient Dreams (1988) were taken from religiously influenced paintings by the American landscape painter Thomas Cole (1801–1844); these are the pictures Old Age and Youth from the cycle The Voyage of Life completed in 1842 . At that time, the stage outfit of singer Marcolin caused a stir, as he appeared in habit . The fourth album Tales of Creation (1989) was also a classic of Doom Metal.

1990s

Another live album followed in 1990 before differences between the band members resulted in Marcolin's departure.

Thomas Vikström became the new singer of the band and a new album was released with Chapter VI (1992). However, this record could no longer build on the successes of previous years and so the band broke up after Leif Edling started a new project (Abstract Algebra). But the new band didn't do well either and so Edling recorded the albums Dactylis Glomerata (1998) and From the 13th Sun (1999) in the studio with a completely new line-up .

2000s

In 2002 the band got back together and played a few concerts that were very well received by the fans; However, the relocation of several appearances at the Wacken Open Air 2002, about which the bands and visitors were not adequately informed by the organizers, ensured that numerous fans missed the Candlemass performance and the band appeared in front of a thrash and black metal audience ; the audience present, however, received the band well.

In the classic line-up, the band recorded another live album. At the end of May 2004, their renewed separation was announced. According to the band, "[t] he first small cracks [...] already appeared in the summer of 2002 because the members did not share the same vision regarding the performances, a possible new album, internal democracy and so on".

At the end of 2004, Candlemass and singer Messiah Marcolin got together again and announced a new album and an appearance at Bang Your Head . A new album was released on May 4, 2005 under the name Candlemass . After it remained unclear for a long time for the band itself whether the upcoming album with Messiah Marcolin would be recorded, this was replaced in January 2007 by Robert Lowe from the band Solitude Aeturnus ; Lowe saw “no problem in that, because he 'is not fully utilized' with Solitude Aeturnus, which only tour sporadically”. The first appearance with Lowe took place in Stockholm in the same year. With him the album The King of the Gray Islands was recorded, which was named album of the month in the music magazines Metal Hammer and Rock Hard .

On March 20, 2008, guitarist Mats Björkman was sentenced to two years in prison for stealing CDs worth SEK three million (~ € 310,000) six weeks before a planned US tour .

On June 2, 2012, the band announced on their homepage the departure of Robert Lowe , who will be represented at the upcoming concerts by Mats Levén . Mats Levén was the singer of Candlemass from 2012 to 2018 and was replaced by Johan Langquist (Epicus Doomicus Metallicus) in 2018, completely surprising to the entire fan base. Robert Lowe had forfeited credit with some fans because he often obviously read the texts from his notebook during live performances. Leif Edling also complained that he never learned the lyrics.

  • Mats Bjorkman

  • Lars Johansson

  • Mats Levén

  • Jan Lindh

Discography

Chart positions
Explanation of the data
Albums
Ancient Dreams
  US 174 01/21/1989 (6 weeks)
  SE 45 11/30/1988 (2 weeks)
Tales of Creation
  SE 48 10/18/1989 (1 week)
Chapter Six
  SE 43 05/27/1992 (2 weeks)
Candlemass
  SE 7th 05/12/2005 (4 weeks)
  DE 96 05/22/2005 (1 week)
King of the Gray Islands
  SE 32 07/05/2007 (2 weeks)
  DE 83 07/09/2007 (1 week)
Death Magic Doom
  SE 33 04/10/2009 (1 week)
  DE 52 April 20, 2009 (1 week)
Psalms for the Dead
  SE 19th 06/15/2012 (3 weeks)
  DE 58 06/22/2012 (1 week)
The Door to Doom
  SE 13 01.03.2019 (1 week)
  DE 18th 01.03.2019 (2 weeks)
  AT 54 03/08/2019 (1 week)
  CH 29 03.03.2019 (1 week)

Albums

  • 1986: Epicus Doomicus Metallicus ( LP / CD )
  • 1987: Nightfall (LP / CD)
  • 1988: Ancient Dreams (LP / CD)
  • 1989: Tales of Creation (LP / CD)
  • 1990: Live (LP / CD)
  • 1992: Chapter VI (LP / CD)
  • 1994: The Best of Candlemass - As It Is, as It Was (CD)
  • 1998: Dactylis Glomerata (CD)
  • 1999: From the 13th Sun (CD)
  • 2002: Black Heart of Candlemass (CD)
  • 2003: Doomed for Live (CD)
  • 2003: Diamonds of Doom (double LP)
  • 2004: Essential Doom (CD)
  • 2005: Candlemass (CD)
  • 2007: King of the Gray Islands (CD)
  • 2008: Lucifer Rising (CD)
  • 2009: Death Magic Doom (CD)
  • 2010: Ashes to Ashes (CD, Live)
  • 2012: Psalms for the Dead (CD)
  • 2016: Live at the Marquee - Nov 26, 1988 (double LP, vinyl)
  • 2016: Death thy Lover (EP)
  • 2018: House of Doom (EP)
  • 2019: The Door to Doom

Video albums

  • 2002: Documents of Doom ( DVD )
  • 2005: The Curse of Candlemass (DVD)
  • 2010: Ashes to Ashes (DVD)

Web links

Commons : Candlemass  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Interview with Leif Edling (Candlemass) ( Memento of December 3, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) (English, accessed on March 24, 2019)
  2. ↑ a b Candlemass . The fair is over . In: Metal Hammer , July 2004, p. 12.
  3. ↑ Berk: Interview with Leif Edling (Candlemass) - German version. (No longer available online.) Metal Music Magazine on Nov 28, 2002, archived from the original on Dec 3, 2007 ; accessed on December 11, 2009 .
  4. ↑ CANDLEMASS: Opinion on the Wacken shift. August 9, 2002, accessed December 11, 2009 .
  5. ↑ Band carousel . In: Metal Hammer , January 2005, p. 24.
  6. ↑ News . In: Metal Hammer , October 2004, p. 11.
  7. ↑ a b Petra Schurer: Candlemass . The baptism of fire . In: Metal Hammer , June 2007, p. 98.
  8. ↑ Petra Schurer: Candlemass + Grand Magus . Stockholm: The Shrine . In: Metal Hammer , June 2007, p. 136.
  9. ↑ Candlemass . King Of The Gray Islands . In: Metal Hammer , July 2007, p. 98.
  10. ^ Volume: Candlemass. Rock Hard Verlags- und Handels- GmbH, accessed on March 24, 2019 .
  11. ↑ Realtid.se: Känd svensk gitarrist fick fängelse ( Memento from October 6, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) (Swedish, accessed March 22, 2008)
  12. ^ Aftonbladet : Musician dömd till fängelse (Swedish, accessed on March 22, 2008)
  13. ↑ CANDLEMASS SINGER CHANGE! ( Memento from September 25, 2012 in the Internet Archive ).
  14. ↑ David E. Gehlke: Avatarium - Behold the Dark ... In Paradise. deadrhetoric.com, December 1, 2013, accessed March 24, 2019 .
  15. ↑ Chart sources: SE - Germany - Austria - Switzerland - US