Doom metal isn’t generally known for brevity, but in these busy times, a quick, four-track update from the Swedish kings of the genre makes perfect sense. Three years on from the release of “Sweet Evil Sun”, CANDLEMASS are celebrating their 40th anniversary with a little flurry of new material, and two rather apposite cover versions. Whether all of this is a precursor to a full studio record remains to be seen. But Leif Edling‘s legendary crew are clearly in good form, and “Black Star” is a welcome reminder that age has not diminished their powers one iota.
The title track is the main event. Vocalist Johan Langqvist has been a miraculous presence in CANDLEMASS since 2019’s “The Door to Doom”, which earned the band a Grammy nomination. It is his timeless voice that leads the way here, through a soporific maze of immaculate doom riffs, changing tempos, and refined, morbid drama with gently psychedelic undercurrents. As ever, the lyrics are both hazy and sinister, thoughts of “Luciferian light” and “the halo of Hell” bound up in the Swedes’ grinding grooves, as their singer basks in malevolent splendor. “Black Star” easily outstrips the entirety of “Sweet Evil Sun” and is the best CANDLEMASS tune since the Tony Iommi-augmented “Astorolus – The Great Octopus”. It is followed by “Corridors Of Chaos”: a succinct instrumental, featuring some blistering guitar work from Lars Johansson, and a fantastic array of riffs, woven together in Edling‘s trademark, meticulous fashion. The jury is out on whether “Corridors Of Chaos” would have worked even better with vocals and lyrics, but it is a sturdy effort, nonetheless.
The remaining two songs speak to some of Leif Edling‘s most cherished musical influences. CANDLEMASS could take on any of BLACK SABBATH‘s immortal classics and win, but “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath” may be the ultimate, perfect choice. Langqvist‘s gravelly delivery dodges a couple of high notes, but in every other respect he brings soul and grit to an already monolithic song. Meanwhile, his bandmates do a superb job of sticking to the original blueprint while adding just enough of their own color and charisma to make the whole enterprise worthwhile. PENTAGRAM classic “Forever My Queen” is looser in every sense: a rabid, lurching street-doom classic, reinterpreted by gnarled veterans with decades of doom metal experience, it has never sounded heavier than it does here.
Two new songs, two old songs, and yet more great riffs from the tireless mind of Leif Edling, “Black Star” may be a simple stopgap release, but it’s a really good one. Now, when’s the album coming out?
Source: blabbermouth.net
