Candlemass supported King Diamond on their Abigail tour back in 87. Both bands were and still are good friends and we saw the Gothenburg, the Stockholm and the Copenhagen shows. At that time it was the ultimate bill. Abigail and Nightfall on the same stage, WOW🤘🏼🤘🏼

Nightfall is #1. Epic riffs!

Top three Candlemass albums for me are: 1. Epicus Doomicus Metallicus 2. Nightfall 3. Ancient Dreams All the rest are great as well but hard to rank and I don’t listen to them all that often except the three mentioned. Cheers and thanks for ranking Candlemass!

"Chapter VI" is underated as hell. Awesome album ! All their albums is good.

This episode is much appreciated as I've just started to get into Candlemass in the last 2 years and I do find their catalog pretty confusing, especially with the lead singer changes. But I will go now and burn Nightfall into my skull today!

Robert Lowe currently sings for Tyrant and they came out with the album Hereafter last year. If you like his other work you should enjoy this too.

We gotta be thankful for Leif Edling saving Nick Franco's life in Sweden.

Leif Edling said at the time of Chapter VI that he was going for a Tony Martin era Sabbath feel. I always loved Chapter VI and Thomas Vikstrom's vocals

Candlemass had 6 vocalists. Mats Leven sang on the Death Thy Lover Ep. and performed with them for 6 years, before he was replaced to bring back their original vocalist.

My top three Candlemass albums: 1. Ancient Dreams 2. Tales of Creation 3. Nightfall

I did their first gig ever as the promotor. It was Candlemass, Scandinavian Dynamite who had Tomas Wikström on vocals and our band Zaragon. Btw Mats Levén sang on the first Abstrakt Algebra record.

Candlemass is one of the more original and interesting Doom Metal bands. I love the subgenere don't get me wrong, but a lot of bands sometimes mindlessly drone along or keep taking inspiration from the same three Sabbath songs. These guys combined the best of both power and doom metal styles (my personal favorites) to create something truly unique, and Leif Edling is a true Sabbath fan that loves ALL eras, and it shows in the epic and melodic approach he took with his band's music, especially on the vocal front.

Candlemass is one of the most criminally underrated bands out there. Absolutely killer albums. I really enjoyed the video!!!

Thomas Vikström is in Therion now since 2009. You guys mentioned Tony Martin well he tried out for Candlemass in 2004 for the white album as well as Doogie White. Theres versions of them singing the song Witches you can find on youtube i believe. Mats Levén also was doing demos with them at this time.

From the 13th Sun is one of my favourite albums by Candlemass. It’s almost hypnotic. The SoT guys might not like it but it gets a big thumbs up from me.

Nightfall all the way! IIRC it was Kerrang’s album of the year back in 87’. I recall lending someone a tape ( old school) who soon after had an appendicitis. He claimed my doom metal had cursed him...seriously...lol!

Leif Edling is responsible for so much great music it's crazy. Candlemass, Abstrakt Algebra, Krux, Avatarium... really great albums released with each of those bands

Would love to see you do a ranking of Solitude Aeturnus. Such a great band that not enough people know about.

Top 5 1. Nightfall 2. Tales Of Creation 3. Ancient Dreams 4. Self titled album 2005 5. Death Magic Doom

Top 5: #1 - "Nightfall" - (1987) #2 - "Epicus Doomicus Metallicus" - (1986) #3 - "Ancient Dreams" - (1988) #4 - "Tales of Creation" - (1989) #5 - "Chapter IV" - (1992)

Listening to Solitude Aeturnus now, thanks to this episode! Thought I would compile a list of Doom albums since 2001 to listen to in the weeks to come. Anyone see any major ones that I missed? Downfall - Solitude Aeturnus 2001 Monument - Grand Magus 2003 Candlemass s/t 2005 Wolf's Return - Grand Magus 2005 Alone - Solitude Aeturnus 2006 King of the Grey Islands - Candlemass 2007 Iron Will - Grand Magus 2008 Death Magic Doom - Candlemass 2009 Last Rites - Pentagram 2011 Melana Chasmata - Triptykon 2014 Heartless - Pallbearer 2017 Door to Doom - Candlemass 2019 Wolf God - Grand Magus 2019 Forgotten Days - Pallbearer 2020

Thomas Vikstrom joined Therion after Mats Leven left in 2007. He is still the lead singer of the band

I've seen Candlemass live 2 times, always with Messiah on vocals. Great singer and great stage presence! My favorites? Nightfall and Epicus.

Mappe the best rythmguitarist in the world is so important for the Candlemass sound.

First time I came across them I will never forget. It was obviously Solitude, the most depressing, crushing, haunting song I've ever heard. I know Längqvist liked singing pop better than doom but damn, that's a hell of a voice.

The artwork on albums 2 to 4 are very cool.

The Nightfall album was earthshaking when it was released. There had never been anything like it before, and it was contrasted by the the plethora of speed/thrash releases at the time. Incredible riffs, haunting atmosphere, Messiah's vocals, arrangements, everything combined, makes it incredible, and timeless. Epicus is #2 for me. still stands today as a landmark release. Then I would go with Tales, and Ancient Dreams. You really cant compare the rest of their catalog to those first 4 releases. It's a mixed bag after that. I actually like the more esoteric, late 90's material quite alot, Dactylis & 13th sun , as I feel it was a more genuine expression of where their heads were at at that time, and not a contrived attempt to be " The classic Candlemass"

"I could listen to these guys riff all day." Perfect summation of it all. Candlemass is a fantastic band. Ancient Dreams is my favorite, but almost all of their stuff rules. Given your high ratings for Death Magic Doom, I'm going to have to listen again.

Tomas is in Therion now. He came to Candlemass from an AOR band Talk of the Town. He did some albums with Stormwind, Covered Call. But his mane band is Therion and has been for many years

Yes - love Candlemass, especially the early Messiah Marcolin period. Can't disagree with your number one pick at all, it's a doom metal classic and one of my all-time favorite metal albums. Great show as always!

Thanks guys, great show!!

Great video. Looking to explore these guys. Btw, what's the acoustic track that you guys mentioned?

The real, the most majestic epics and darkest were those with the evocative voice of MESSIAH.... Nightfall and Tales Of Creation will remain their masterpieces forever.....

Appreciated this ranking, good job! I see that the comments here below give you hints about the singers over the years so I'll not add my comments about them. Just want to say that I've seen Candlemass live a number of times and I appreciate it every time, so good entertainment and music. Also enjoyed there web-streaming they performed live during the Corona-lockdown, it was a real treat. If you haven't seen them live you have to grab the next opportunity.

Just started listening to these guys. Only have heard the first 4 albums and I like them so far.

"Epicus" was a statement. If they only released one record, that would be it.

The debut at number 7 Pete??? Seriously? lol. By far their masterpiece.

Tony Martin actually did demos with them. There’s a demo of “Witches” out there someplace. May be on KZfaq. Rob Lowe now sings for the classic US metal band Tyrant.

The one with Bewitched lol...just for that song alone. The guitar tone and riffs are haunting ...

Great Band! And yes Pete Solitude Aeturus is another great band!

I need to check them out more. My old best friend Jonathan from high school loved them and I just never got around to diving into their catalogue. He always listened to them on his Discman back in the day and wore the band shirts. Hell, he even kind of looked like that big guy singer, Messiah. Big dude. Frizzy afro and all. lol

I don't understand why I haven't heard about this Band for a while, This Band is awesome! 12 - Dactylis Glomerata 11 - From the 13th Sun 10 - Death Magic Doom 9 - King of the Grey Islands 8 - Psalms of the Dead 7 - The Door to Doom 6 - Chapter VI 5 - Epicus Doomicus Metallicus 4 - Tales of Creation 3 - Ancient Dreams 2 - Nightfall 1 - Candlemass 2005 The Self Titled Album really got me into the Band.

Candlemass did a tour with Solitude Aeturnus many years ago, by the way. And SA were huge fans, so yeah, it made total sense to get Rob in the band 🙂

Checked out this band because of a HVS episode where you guys were talking about bands you overlooked. Saw them on a youtube channel with a lot of metal and checked them out...ordered 3 of their CDs within a day. I foresee myself buying all their catalog very quickly. Thanks Nick Franco!

I really like The Doomsday Kingdom album. One of Leif Edling side projects with vocalist from Wolf Niklas Stalvind. Killer.

From the 13th Sun is one of my favorites actually.

Definitely one of my favorite bands, hands down. Pure magic.

Thank you for introducing me to Avatarium...amazing band!

Been a fan of Candlemass for a long time but my favorite album of theirs didn't come until "King of the Grey Islands" in 2007, with Robert Lowe from Solitude Aeturnus on vocals. Here's how I rank the rest of their catalogue. Ancient Dreams. Nightfall. Epicus Doomus Metallicus. Death Magic Doom. Tales of Creation. Chapter VI. From the 13th Sun. Psalms for the Dead. S/T. The Door to Doom. Dactylis Glomerata.

I absolutely love From the 13th Sun! That album is so damn doomy and Sabbathy

I've only heard Epicus Doomicus Metallicus and nobody here says that that's the best album and I love that album. I can't wait to listen to the others!

idk what took me so long? Can't listen to everything, eh? But, I finally started down the Candlemass road and am IN! Glad you did a ranking vid!

Great video! Still waiting on your ranking of Mayhem albums that was mentioned months ago.

Tony Martin sings on the Candlemass song "Witches" released on their compilation album "Doomology"

My favorite doom metal band! Here's my ranking: 13) Dactylis Glomerata 12) From the 13th Sun 11) Chapter VI 10) Psalms for the Dead 9) Candlemass 8) Death Magic Doom 7) Sweet Evil Sun 6) The Door to Doom 5) King of the Grey Islands 4) Tales of Creation 3) Epicus Doomicus Metallicus 2) Nightfall 1) Ancient Dreams Can't go wrong with these epic doom legends!

I'm really shocked that Pete hasn't heard of Thomas Vikstrom since Candlemass. He's been performing with Therion(symphonic metal band) since 2007, and in 2009 became a permanent member. Mats Leven, Snowy Shaw, and Messiah have all performed with Therion. I figured Therion would be right up Pete's alley if he likes Nightwish. I'm not big on Nightwish, but I love Therion.

I only have Nightfall which I love. Thanks for the great insight from you both now I have many more albums to explore. Another winning Sunday Brunch with Rich. Keep them coming.!!!

Was great to revisit this catalogue

Great show Pete! Thanks! May I suggest a show where you guys visit and recommend on the doom genre exclusively? Like you have done with prof rock, fusion, hard rock, NWOBM, etc?

Great lists, I just started listening to Candlemass a couple months ago! The middle part of their discography definitely gets weird, haha. I really enjoy all of the albums, but the debut is still my favourite. 🤘

Fun Fact: Johan Langquist, the Singer on Epicus and The Door to Doom, was almost Considered to Comeback to Sing on the Chapter VI album. He did Four demos of the songs for that album and You can find them on Candlemass' Doomology Box set. But Ultimately, Leif went with Thomas Vikstrom. A shame, because Johan Singing on those Demos are Unlike anything I've ever heard from him and he would've been back in the band Much Earlier; but on the other hand, it's cool that we got another great singer within the Discography of this band.

You guys nailed it. I love candlemass . I just picked up the album ancient dreams at random. Glad I did . I'm a fan of the Messiah. I like the nemesis album a ton too . Good job men .

As Robert Lowe was mentioned, could Solitude Aeturnus be next?

Yes! I love them so much. I was supposed to finally see them at Hell's Heroes last April, but it got canceled because of Covid :(

Love it. How about Solitude Aeturnus ranking? Can hardly find one on yt... :)

Pete hope when you mention animal attacks den i saw in 1976 movie Grizzly (arms flying through the air) is was 11 years old and in a double feature it was the scariest movie i saw but when i was and adult 20 years late it was different keep up the great work on the channel

Hello. Thomas Vikström sings with Therion since 2007. They're new album features Mats Leven on vocals also (he also was in the band in the past)

Underrated band.

Only got into this band in the past year, great riffs & Doom-y stuff. I don't mind the variety in the vocals either. For Doom, although they have fewer albums, I prefer Trouble... 1. Nightfall 1987 2. Epicus Doomicus Metallicus 1986 3. Ancient Dreams 1988 4. Tales of Creation 1989 5. The Door to Doom 2019 6. Candlemass 2005 7. King of the Grey Islands 2007 8. Death Magic Doom 2009 9. Chapter VI 1992 10. Psalms of the Dead 2012 11. Dactylis Glomerata 1998 12. From the 13th Sun 1999

Best Doom band next to Sabbath!

got and love all thire albums one of thos bands that so far dident do a bad one, the best doom metal band =)

1. Nightfall 2. Ancient Dreams 3. Tales Of Creation 4. Epicus, Doomicus, Metallicus

Of all the albums that they need to remaster, it is Ancient Dreams......My top three are: # 3 Epicus Doomicus Metalicus # 2 Death, Magic, Doom & # 1 Tales of Creation !!! Such an awesome concept album & also my intro to the band....Bought it in 1991 & was blown away!

We have the coldest winter in years in Sweden .In Stockholm it is -12 today

My number 1 album by candelmass was The Day Of Retribution, Nemesis. Is what they were called before Candelmass.

Lars johansson is so underrated it's ridiculous

This is a group I only followed for four albums: Epicus,Nightfall,Ancient Dreams,Tales of Creation. After that;I moved away from Doom Metal. Nightfall or Ancient Dreams....great by any genres' standard!

Nightfall 👌

Pete, have you ever reviewed Razor’s catalogue? Would you ever consider it if you haven’t?

Solitude Aeturnus is a must if you've heard Lowes vocals in candlemass.

when i hear candlemass i get a lot of the dio era rainbow and dio era sabbath i also hear european style power metal

My list without any explanations: 12) From the 13th Sun 11) Tales of Creation 10) King of the Grey Islands 9) Psalms for the Dead 8) Chapter VI 7) Ancient Dreams 6) The Door to Doom 5) Death Magic Doom 4) Dactylis Glomerata 3) Candlemass 2) Nightfall 1) Epicus Doomicus Metallicus Thanks for the list, duders! Stay safe! Overnight here in Minnesota we were supposed get freezing rain followed by up to 8 inches of snow. We got NOTHING. It's actually 35 today. I went for a long walk in the woods.

Tony Martin did try out for Candlemass back in 92. I believe there is a demo with him from that era.

From The 13th Sun is one of the best albums released under Candlemass moniker. Yes it is different, almost a Sabbath tribute but the lyrics are their darkest EVER. The whole album is about death and suicide. Apparently Leif Edling was going through big depression at the time. The raw production works because of the vibe & lyrical matter.

Nice, played Nightfall yesterday. Great band ... Epicus is my fave

I saw them life with Rob Lowe at the same Metal Way festival in Zaragoza (Spain) as Rich and had my copy of "Nightfall" signed by all the band... Amazing show which they ended with a blistering cover of Rainbow's "Kill the King". They fired Lowe because he couldn't remember the lyrics of the classic songs... 😂 Anyway, great singer but I think Mats Leven fitted better in the band. Here's my top. 1 Nightfall 2 Epicus Doomicus Metallicus 3 Ancient Dreams 4 Tales of Creation 5 Candlemass 6 Chapter VI 7 The Door to Doom 8 King of the Grey Island 9 Psalms for the Dead 10 Death Magic Doom 11 Dactylis Glomerata 12 From the 13th Sun Thanks for the show and greetings from Spain.

So many good Candlemass albums (and yes, do check out Solitude Aeturnus). Thomas Vikstrom went on to play in Therion. But all the Candlemass vocalists (sans Messiah) appeared on the 2007 live DVD that was really good. Their 20th anniversary party. Also had a few other cool guests like Tony Martin and Mikael Akerfeldt.

My favorite album by them is their first one

Candlemass is right at the top when it comes to doom metal bands

YES!!!!! Finally

1. Nightfall 2. Tales of creation 3. Epicus doomicus 4. Ancient dreams 5. Dactylis...

Have dug Candlemass since seeing them on an issue of the Hard N Heavy video magazine back in the late 80's. My top three favourite albums would be: 1) Epicus Doomicus Metallicus 2) From the 13th Sun (Sonically their rawest & heaviest album IMHO) 3) Nightfall

12) 13th Sun 11) Chapter VI 10) Death Magic Doom 9) Dactylis Glomerata 8) Psalms for the Dead 7) King of the Grey Islands 6) Door to Doom 5) Ancient Dreams 4) Candlemass 3) Tales of Creation 2) Epicus Doomicus Metallicus 1) Nightfall

Thomas Vikström is now with Therion as of late, but after Candlemass, he went to a band called Stormwind, and he is also involved with other projects. I agree he is good and maybe underrated, I could be wrong about that part.

Can you please do top Doom Metal albums.

John Perez put Solitude Aeturnus to rest some years ago. He continues to make music for his psychedelic band, Liquid Sound Company (new album out later this year). Robert Lowe sang on Tyrant’s last album and is also doing vocals for Minnesota band Grief Collector (their debut ep came out in 2019) who are planning on releasing new material soon.

Thomas Vikström as you both said is a great vocalist. He recorded three albums with Brazen Abbot (with Glenn Hughes, Joe Lynn Turner and Göran Edman) which were very good, more in a melodic vein that, I think, suits him better. He also had a band in the early 90's called Rat Bat Blue (after the Purple's song I guess). It is funny you mentioned Tony Martin as a good singer for the band, before Messiah came back Tony was supposed to be the new singer for Candlemass. There's a song of Candlemass sung by Tony Martin on youtube if you look for it. Thanks for this show!

I will forever champion the guitar mastery of Lars Johansson. Why is he not featured on more "best metal guitarists" lists? Like a stylistic mix of Wolf Hoffman, Andy Larocque, and Tony Iommi.

1) Epicus, Doomicus, Metallicus 2) Nightfall 3) Ancient Dreams 4) Tales of Creation 5) Candlemass 6) King of the Grey Islands 7) The Door to Doom 8) Death Magic Doom 9) Psalms for the Dead 10) Chapter VI 11) From the 13th Sun 12) Dactylis Glomerata

Love this band love this show