Candlemass: Live

Essential Candlemass!!!

     

Whether you've been following Candlemass for years or just discovering their brand of Doom Metal for the first time, 'Candlemass Live' is an excellent representation of the band's signature sound. The performance featured on this CD was recorded in the early '90's in Stockholm, Sweden (the band's home country) and highlights some their best material off of their first four studio albums. Those familiar with the band's studio material know that their style of Heavy Metal is usually slower compared to most. However, they discretely increase the tempo on a number of their songs, I'm assuming to keep a steady pace of a live performance. Vocalist Messiah Marcolin soars on this album and proves that he can project his voice just as well live as he does on studio recordings. One of the best aspects of 'Candlemass Live' is hearing Marcolin performing a number of songs that were featured on the band's first studio release, 'Epicus Doomicus Metallicus' - the album recorded prior to Marcolin joining the band. Tracks such as 'Solitude', 'Demon's Gate' and 'Sorcerer's Pledge', which were all featured on 'Epicus', were given a whole new dynamic with Marcolin’s own vocal interpretations and enhancements. Other points of interest on ‘Candlemass Live’ include the stellar solos provided by lead guitarist, Lars Johansson throughout the entire album. I would also recommend picking up their DVD, ‘Documents Of Doom’ which features the visual performance of this recording as well as footage of earlier and more recent concert performances. Even though the complete ‘Candlemass Live’ album is not available on iTunes, it’s still refreshing to see their albums becoming more readily available on this site. I hope iTunes will continue to add more albums from their catalog – particularly their earlier albums such as ‘Nightfall’, 'Tales of Creation' and the aforementioned ‘Epicus Doomicus Metallicus’.