As a late addition bonus to Maelstrom readers is this
review of Powerline's first Candlemass reissue. In this case the album
is in fact Candlemass' debut, Epicus, Doomicus, Metallicus, which
is arguably the band's best work ever. This reissue is not part of the
more recent trio of releases, and so is packaged a bit differently.
The separation of the releases is logical, as Epicus...
was before the Messiah Marcolin-era. Although Johan Lanquist doesn't have
the pure character and stylistic force of his successor, he is very crucial
to the success of this album. (He's certainly much less cheesy.) Lanquist's
voice is very befitting a record that labels itself as doom, as his voice
conveys a definite sense of cold morbidity not felt till the melodies
of current Candlemass frontman, Bjorn Flodqvist. In terms of songs, Epicus...
has got some of the best Candlemass tunes ever, including the super slow
and heavy "Solitude," the first (and overall superior) recording
of "Under the Oak" (which would later be featured on Tales
of Creation), the epic "A Sorceror's Pledge," and "Demon's
Gate," which has one of the most memorable riffs in metal. Ever.
While the original version of this album sounded pretty
good to begin with, the remastering has been done very well - the best
of the four - and so it makes Epicus... worth getting for this
reason alone.
As is the case with all the Powerline re-releases,
this one also comes with a second disk. This time, it's all live tracks
that seem to be taken from different shows. None of these Powerline live
cuts are as good as on the original Candlemass Live album on Metal
Blade Records, but they're still quite good and very enjoyable. The funniest
part about all of them is how much Messiah Marcolin eggs on the audience
to sing along with him. Maybe it's just the way the shows were mic-ed,
but invariably the poor guy gets little if no response. However, this
gives Candlemass a sort of Spinal Tap appeal. As if this band wasn't loveable
enough already. I can't wait for the reunion at Wacken 2002.
