Candlemass - S&D

lol @ me calling the amazing Robert Lowe a mere "post-Messiah vocalist". I take that back - loved his voice with Solitude Aeternus and while he didn't get to show off as much of his range here, I'm listening to Death Magic Doom for the first time now and he sounds great.

new one is dirgey af. much better than the good but forgettable EP from a few years ago

surely one of the more awesome octopus songs in the annals of octopus songs

Still to get this

I think I'm going to listen to Dactylis Glomerata later, wish me luck

also if you like Messiah and haven't heard him on Mercy's Witchburner you are missing out.

"I bind unto myself today the strong name of the trinity-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y"

Just started this band with Nightfall, wasn't sure I was liking it much at all in the first two spins but I'm really loving some of it now.

they're such an interesting band. have had at least 3 legendary vocalists in their ranks (Längqvist, Messiah, Robert Lowe), evil as fuck, thick riffs, almost as if they based their sound on the song "Black Sabbath".

Why evil? I'm not an expert but something interesting I've noticed is that a lot of older metal bands sound like the viewpoint of normal people or heroes beholding evil in terror and extreme metal is often from the viewpoint of evil. From Nightfall I thought they must be more of the former and the vocalist dresses like a priest.

oh I just meant the riffs sound sinister and evil af, not that they 'are' evil per se.

they are great at building imagery

"Holy looooooooooooooiiiiiiiight"

Would they have been considered retro back in Nightfall era?

the thing I find the oddest about Johan Längqvist is his falsetto just seems so unexpected on Epicus. He has this rich baritone range, and you think he's gonna mostly stick to that comfortable range, and then he pulls it out of nowhere on "Solitude", and then wails on "Demon's Gate", which really makes the chorus to me.

anyway my mental health has been trash for months, so Epicus is doing it for me right now. wearing an Epicus shirt rn.

https://www.discogs.com/Candlemass-The-Nuclear-Blast-Recordings/release/12797052
Is this a good bunch?

Wish you the best

Yea! I like most all of those albums.

"I bind unto myself today the strong name of the trinity-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y"

Seen a modern live performance of that on youtube and was disappointed to see him let the audience sing the word "trinity". Is that part too hard to sing now?

definitely more NWOBHM influence creeping in on this latest one. not like Pagan Altar where it's a 50/50 mix, but it's there.

Chapter IV is underappreciated. the production is too "big 80s rock", some of the synths do give it a 'lol what if Candlemass were playing doom metal AND Foreigner covers at the same time' feel, and it's more ear-wormy than sinister like the albums before it, but Thomas Vikström is a pretty phenomenal vocalist.

I definitely wouldn't put it up with their insane run from Epicus through Tales of Creation, but I dig.