This scribe remembers the early years of Candlemass trying to garner more than a cult/underground following during times when thrash, death, and extreme-oriented artists found most favor in the scene. To see the tides change and these veterans move deeper up festival bills plus gain US touring opportunities that pack venues warms hearts – proof positive that quality can win in a long sum industry that often looks for quicker hits. To honor their 40th anniversary, we get this latest EP Black Star – an offering that features two new songs plus two cover tracks of artists highly influential to the doom movement.
The title track starts the proceedings off in magnificent fashion – the poignant, reflective verses to heavier chorus momentum ideal as quintessential Candlemass, the classical-like textures bountiful in the heavier riff sequences plus emotive lead break from Lars Johansson. The background organ touches add depth to the gloomy atmosphere of this arrangement, while the swinging transition midway through should get all followers dancing in the aisles. We have “Corridors of Chaos” next, an almost four-minute instrumental that really showcases not only the classical-laden darkness for this genre the band possess, but also the melodic guitar textures plus a bevy of tricks in the Johansson playbook to squeeze every bend and squeal out of his fretboard in the concluding measure. Then it’s the tribute to Black Sabbath and Pentagram through their respective versions of “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath” and “Forever My Queen”. The former has Johan Länquist put on a gritty performance that may differ a little from Ozzy, but doesn’t diminish the earth-moving impact this song has had on the metal landscape since it hit the streets – while the latter’s driving main drum tempo courtesy of Janne Lind pushes the guitar/bass combinations into warm places, a groovy cut which should bring smiles to all.
Being a part of the heavy metal lexicon for over two-thirds of its existence, Candlemass deserves all the accolades currently bestowed upon them. Black Star may seem to some a stop-gap release while we wait for the next studio album, but to these ears it’s still a high-quality outing that illustrates the band’s knowledgeable approach to doom, squeezing out all the properties that keep them at the top of their game.