Candlemass
May 24, 2017
Regent Theatre – Los Angeles, CA
Swedish doom metal legends Candlemass made their first return to the USA since 2008. The downside is that they only announced four dates on this tour with three of them being in the USA and one in Canada. Los Angeles was lucky enough to be one of the stops on the tour and plenty of fans from different states showed up for their chance to see the doom metal masters. Norwegian black metal legends Taake were supposed to be a part of this show, but had to cancel this date and a few others due to some of the members that had yet to receive their visas. Nonetheless, Candlemass alone had a really good turnout at the show and it was set to be an incredible night.
The lights went out and the haunting intro of Marche Funebre (originally a piano sonata from Frederic Chopin) started which alerted fans that the show was about to begin. Candlemass came out and started the show with Born in a Tank. Fans started cheering and jumping along to the music. Many fans are still distraught over the fact that the band’s longtime singer Messiah Marcolin has no longer been in the band since 2006. Most of the band’s best material has been sung by Marcolin and is not the same as being sung by the band’s current singer, Mats Leven. Still, many fans had yet to see Candlemass and so came anyway because seeing the band as they are is better than not having them at all. Another member missing was the band’s founding member Leif Edling who has been unable to tour with Candlemass since 2014 due to possible health issues. For now, the band has a different bassist on duty.
The second track was the band’s most famous song, Bewitched. It features the classic doom metal sound that made the band famous and can be closely compared to the sound from Black Sabbath’s debut self-titled album. Fans went crazy when Bewitched was being played as Leven fans sing the chorus, “You are Bewiiiitched!”. Fans were very wild during the performance as a mosh pit stayed active throughout the night and with no barricade present, stage divers were also plentiful and kept security busy to be sure they didn’t interfere with the band’s performance. Candlemass continued to perform classic songs from their catalog such as: Gothic Stone/Well of Souls, Dark Are the Veils of Death, and Under the Oak. Candlemass played the last song At the Gallows End and left the stage. Fans stayed and hoped the band would come back out. They chanted the band’s name and after a few minutes, the band came back out for a couple of more songs. The first encore was Mirror Mirror. To finish up the show, Candlemass stayed with the debut album and played the classics Crystal Ball and In Solitude. Candlemass bowed to their fans and left the stage once again. Fans were super excited to see Candlemass either for the first time ever or seeing them again for the first time in a very long time. Hopefully it’s not a long time before they come back again.
Review by: Misael Ruiz
