The Chernobyl disaster rocked the then-Soviet Union in 1986. Ronald Reagan was the president. Gas was just over a dollar a gallon (Editor’s note, gas was $2.14 per gallon nationwide in 1984). Times were much different so many decades ago, which makes it all the more remarkable that epic doom metal pioneers Candlemass – who formed in 1984 – continue to wield the torch of the scene, guiding the masses and collecting newcomers along the way.
Sweet Evil Sun (Napalm Records) is lucky number thirteen for the Swedish legends. The record comes but three years removed from The Door To Doom, and it’s not at all that surprising. These wise men still have much to preach to anyone who will listen, and the band has withstood the test of time (unlike The Walking Dead).Though there have been some hiatuses along the way, the quintet is comprised mostly of original-or-close-to-original members, thus carrying the Candlemass caravan further into the annals of doom metal history with veteran zeal.
The chemistry is most evident on ‘Angel Battle,’ a piece that features spotless complementary drum-riff combos. The title track boasts a captivating synergy found between the vocals and the guitars. Everywhere you look, Sweet Evil Sun is armed with a connection not too often felt amongst bands. Axe-swingers Lars Johansson and Mappe Björkman expertly contribute down-tuned riffs and enticing, nifty guitar fills. ‘Sweet Evil Sun’ borders on Luciferian despite also laying down boppy rhythms.
An additional accolade worth bestowing upon Candlemass is their work ethic some forty-plus years after forming. Sweet Evil Sun took a year and a half to finish. The record is not the result of cutting corners or fluffing the finished product. Its outcome was bolstered by five seasoned musicians whose creative well shows no signs of drying up.
As they say, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Candlemass may be (much) older than when they debuted, but the meat and bones, the driving force that has cemented the band’s position in the doom metal pantheon, has been a constant for nearly half a century.
Buy the album here: https://lnk.to/SweetEvilSun
8 / 10
MATT COOK