CANDLEMASS — Epicus Doomicus Metallicus (review)

CANDLEMASS — Epicus Doomicus Metallicus album cover Album · 1986 · Traditional Doom Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
5/5 ·
Warthur
A foundational document of doom metal, the debut Candlemass album finds the band springing into being fully formed with an impressive command of their chosen style. Though they are not afraid to spruce up the compositions with some synthesiser embellishments here and there, the band know where their main focus needs to lie - heavy as hell Sabbath-inspired lyrics, wailing operatic vocals, and the nuanced songwriting of Leif Edling.

Solitude is an expression of unalloyed misery which is almost single-handedly responsible for the depressive direction of much subsequent doom metal, the concluding Sorcerer's Pledge finds Candlemass dabbling in the occult fantasy which would characterise most of their Messiah-era albums, and in between there's four doom classics which are just as influential (including Under the Oak, which would eventually be a cornerstone of the subsequent Tales of Creation concept album). Simply put, this album is 100% vital for anyone with even a passing interest in doom metal, particularly doom metal as it existed in the speed-obsessed 1980s.
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