First and foremost, listen to the track "Black Sabbath" from the self-titled album by the self-titled band — to get into the atmosphere, so to speak. It was precisely this band and above all this album that largely laid the foundation for an entire style: Doom Metal. When we speak that phrase, we think first of early ANATHEMA, PARADISE LOST, KATATONIA, and a number of other bands. Almost all of them played death-doom in the early 1990s, then noticeably shifted toward "pure" doom, and from there drifted into a sort of atmospheric rock. Of the bands from that wave, only MY DYING BRIDE remained faithful to the genre. But doom metal had emerged much earlier — before it had even borrowed elements from death metal, simply because death metal itself was only just forming at that time. We are talking about the mid-1980s; it was then, in Sweden, that a band appeared whom most consider the founders of doom as such — five people who called themselves CANDLEMASS. In 1986 they released their debut album. Just six songs, but with an absolutely unique sound: slow, extraordinarily heavy riffs — a striking contrast at a time when speed and thrash were in full bloom and most bands were competing in velocity. The music and lyrics were written by the band's founder and bassist Leif Edling. After that album, only Leif and guitarist Mats Björkman remained from the original lineup. New drummer Jan Lind joined, as did new guitarist Lars Johansson and, most crucially, vocalist Messiah Marcolin. Nightfall followed shortly. The next album, Ancient Dreams, made the band famous — they were invited to the leading European festivals, and thousands of albums found their way to a growing body of admirers. After the 1989 album Tales Of Creation, a live record was made the following year. Problems then beset the band; on Chapter VI, Messiah was absent — and along with his unique and powerful voice, some extraordinary atmosphere in the music disappeared too. Soon the band split. The musicians pursued their own projects; the band was resurrected five years later with two albums that once again bore no comparison to the records of the 1980s. In 2001 the early work was reissued, and not long afterward the classic CANDLEMASS lineup presented itself once more to fans of doom. In 2002 a live album appeared on which the 1980s hits were performed; three years after the reunion a new studio work finally arrived — the album named simply CANDLEMASS, its cover containing practically nothing other than a cross at its centre. The album returned us to the music Leif Edling had made 16 years earlier; in spirit it most resembles Tales Of Creation. It was released on the label giant Nuclear Blast. A tour began, and then came the wonderful news that the band would perform in russia. The concert took place on 26 August at the CDK MAI.
Now for the concert itself. The first thing to strike those entering the hall was the enormous white crosses placed on stage — against their backdrop the entire performance took place. The concert began with a short delay; the musicians took to the stage, the drummer climbed to his elevated position, and without any introduction they launched into the powerful opening track from the latest album: "Black Dwarf." And there he was — the portly, no-longer-young "mad monk" Messiah Marcolin in his unforgettable black habit. This composition — stylistically an extraordinarily heavy piece of heavy metal — opened the concert brilliantly. The emphasis that evening was chiefly on the latest album and on Nightfall. Next came "Mirror Mirror," followed by "Solitude" from the band's very first album — it must be noted that in Marcolin's interpretation the song takes on an even more vivid colour. "Copernicus" and the fast "Born In A Tank" followed — two more songs from the latest album. A familiar situation at the CDK MAI: sound problems in the first ten or fifteen minutes; by these songs the sound had finally levelled out. On this particular evening that was especially challenging — Marcolin commands an extraordinarily powerful voice, yet simultaneously the musicians play very heavily; it is extremely rare for clean vocals of this kind to be paired with guitar tones this heavy in metal music, and CANDLEMASS are the exception.
Then came "Under The Oak" — a song from the band's debut album, re-recorded by Marcolin for Tales Of Creation — followed by arguably the strongest track from the latest album, "Seven Silver Keys," and then another hit, the astonishingly beautiful "At The Gallows End" — it and the following song "Samarithan" seemed to have been written by Leif specifically to demonstrate what Marcolin can do with the upper registers of his voice.
"A Sorcerer's Pledge" crowned the main portion of the concert; on the album this song ends with female vocals singing a wordless melody — Messiah made the entire hall sing that melody. The band departed the stage, only to return shortly thereafter.
The encore was something remarkable: the band reappeared on stage wearing T-shirts bearing the words СCCP, РОССИЯ, МОСКВА — souvenirs of the Arbat variety — and in this attire performed "The WELL OF SOULS" and "Dark Are The Veils Of Death." The band left again; the house lights came on; people began slowly making their way toward the exits, yet did not stop chanting "CANDLEMASS!!!" — and then suddenly everyone understood that there would be a second encore, as the sound of the musicians tuning up was audible once more. Already rather tired, they returned to the stage for one final gift to moscow that evening: "Bearer Of Pain." And now the concert truly was over.
Overall, one of the most magnificent concerts of the year. Beautiful, emotional, and interesting in every respect — at last russian fans of the band had the chance to hear live Leif and Mappe's heaviest guitar riffs, Lasse's captivating solo passages, and the astonishing vibrato of Messiah Marcolin. What this man did on stage is a story unto itself: at one moment fleeing to the wings only to literally burst back onto the stage; at another appearing up beside the drummer; and of course above all — his vocals, which many place in the same category as DIO, Adams, KING DIAMOND, and the other legendary vocalists of heavy music.
The concert was also notable for the principled civility and composure of the audience. Stage divers were essentially absent; there were around 500 people in the hall, and no one was hurling themselves at anyone. Messiah ran through the crowd shaking hands, and no one from the audience interfered with him — and in general this was a performance that people came to listen to, not to party. The age profile was also non-standard for this setting: the 15–16-year-old demographic was virtually absent.
Shortly afterward, on the official website, Leif Edling's account of the stay in moscow appeared — he noted in particular that this had been the longest concert of the tour, at ninety minutes. Overall the band's bassist and leader spoke in more than positive terms about the concert and their days in moscow. Truly encouraging was the phrase: "In all we had a great time in russia and I'm sure we'll be back next year."
The full text of Leif's report can be found on the band's official website via this link.
Special thanks for the accreditation provided.
Report by Alan
Setlist:
1. Black Dwarf 2. Mirror Mirror 3. Solitude 4. Copernicus 5. Born In A Tank 6. Under The Oak 7. Seven Silver Keys 8. At The Gallows End 9. Samarithan 10. A Sorcerer's Pledge
Encore 1: 11. The WELL OF SOULS 12. Dark Are The Veils Of Death
Encore 2: 13. Bearer Of Pain