| The Door To Doom | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
| Studio album by Candlemass | ||
| Released | February 22 2019 | |
| Recorded | 2018 at Deep Well Studio and Hagaton Studio | |
| Genre | Doom Metal, Epic Doom Metal | |
| Length | 48:48 | |
| Label | Napalm Records | |
| Producer | Marcus Jidell | |
| Candlemass chronology | ||
| House of Doom (2018) |
The Door To Doom (2019) |
The Pendulum (2020) |
The Door To Doom is the twelfth studio album by Swedish Epic Doom Metal band Candlemass. Released on 22 February release it is notably the first album to feature original singer Johan Längquist in 33 years, having previously appeared on the iconic 1986 album Epicus Doomicus Metallicus. It is also the band's first album since 2012's Psalms For The Dead, despite claims from bandleader Leif Edling that Psalms was intended to be the final studio album.
Background
Work would begin on a twelfth studio album as early as 2018 with the band hinting at new material. Originally Mats Levén was going to be the singer for this record as he had previously sung on the band's last two EPs Death Thy Lover and House of Doom. However in August Johan Längquist would return to Candlemass, his first live appearance returning with the band at the Southern Discomfort Festival in Kristiansand, Norway.[1] Through September and October Candlemass would upload "Snippets of Doom" on their official YouTube, showing that a new album was indeed in the works with Längquist.[2][3][4] On 10 December 2018 The Door To Doom would officially be announced and set for a 22 February release. Notably the song "Astorolus - The Great Octopus" would feature a guest spot by Tony Iommi (Black Sabbath), to which it would be spoken about in the press release:
| “ | “We feel very honoured that Tony Iommi said yes to play the solo on ASTOROLUS. The song was sent to the management and amazingly enough, the master agreed to let his mighty SG sing on the track! For me personally this is a dream come true. Tony Iommi has always been my hero and guiding light when it comes to heavy music, so to hear that he likes the song and also would like to play on it, gave me chills down the spine! I’m still in shock! But kudos to him to be so cool to even listen to it. Hats off! Tony Iommi is and will always be God!” | ” |
— Leif Edling, The Obelisk[5]
|
On 30 January 2019 the band would upload a NSFW music video for "Astorolus - The Great Octopus" to promote the album. A couple weeks prior the band had revealed the albums' closer in "The Omega Circle". On 20 February 2019 Kerrang! would stream the entire album along with interviewing Längquist to which he'd speak about his return to the band:
| “ | “Well, it happened pretty quickly, because they called me up in the end of August and they asked me if I was interested. I was thinking that this is the very right point in my life – my kids are all grown up – to come come over to them and listen to what they’ve done. And I said, ‘Yeah, I’m interested!’ And the day after that, we went over to the studio and listened to the songs and I said, ‘Wow, these are great songs.’ I really like the songs on this new album. And we actually started recording right away. So it all happened very quickly. We had talked about doing something together a couple of times through the years, and I as I said we knew each other pretty well. But when he called me up this last time and I heard the new album and we went down to the studio, it came up naturally. I started singing right away, and we did one or two songs the first day I was there. And we caught the spirit that the vocals should have for the songs. It was very fun doing that.” | ” |
— Johan Längquist, Kerrang![6]
|
The Door To Doom would be released on 22 February 2019 in CD, Digital and a special collectors box limited to 500. A 45RPM double LP would also be available in Black (Unlimited), Red (500 copies; Mailorder exclusive), Blue/Yellow (500 copies; Doom Over Sweden edition) and Gold (300 copies; Mailorder exclusive). The Japanese CD edition would notably contain the entire House of Doom EP as bonus tracks.
The Door To Doom has attained significant critical praise, a common theme of referring to the band as "rejuvenated and breathing new life". Doodlehound (Giving a "highly recommended" rating) described it as "a fantastic album not just among Candlemass records but among doom records as a whole" and that "Candlemass did the impossible"[7] while Exclaim! would give an 8 out of 10, describing it as "slow-motion Judas Priest" and praising "Astorolus – The Great Octopus" as a "showstopper standout".[8] Metal Injection would give the album a perfect 10/10 score, with reviewer Lauren Mercyr describing it as supremely gratifying from a variety of perspectives, also mentioning that initial skepticism of the record was quickly washed away.[9] The Obelisk would also praise The Door To Doom while observing the fear this album could be truly their last but ultimately closes the review with the album "adding an essential and unexpected chapter to their story that they’ve given such a righteous beginning here".[10]
On 20 November 2019 it would be announced that "Astorolus - The Great Octopus" would be nominated for "Best Metal Performance" at the 2020 Grammy Awards.[11] Astorolus would also attain a Swedish Grammis nomination and a German Grammy nomination.
CANDLEMASS "ASTOROLUS – THE GREAT OCTOPUS" OFFICIAL VIDEO
Tracklist
All music and lyrics by Leif Edling.
- 1. Splendor Demon Majesty (5:29)
- 2. Under The Ocean (6:13)
- 3. Astorolus - The Great Octopus (6:42)
- 4. Bridge Of The Blind (3:44)
- 5. Death's Wheel (6:51)
- 6. Black Trinity (6:05)
- 7. House Of Doom (6:27)
- 8. The Omega Circle (7:17)
Personnel
- Leif Edling - Bass
- Johan Längquist - Vocals
- Jan Lindh - Drums
- Mats Björkman - Rhythm Guitar
- Lars Johansson - Lead Guitar
- Tony Iommi - Guitar (3)
- Rickard Nilsson - Keyboards (1, 3, 4)
- Carl Westholm - Mellotron (4)
- Andreas "Habo" Johansson - Drums (8; Outro)
- Jennie-Ann Smith - Backing Vocals
- Stefan Berggren - Backing Vocals
- Mats Levén - Backing Vocals
- Michael Blair - Percussion
- Marcus Jidell - Assorted Additional Instruments, Producer
- Niklas Flyckt - Mixing
- Svante Forsbäck - Mastering
- Beatrice Edling - Layout
- Erik Rovanperä - Artwork
- Kinan Faham - Photography (Hearse)
- Anders Pålsson - Photography (Retouching)
External Links
- Loudwire Interview on The Door To Doom
- Interview via Revolver
- Blabbermouth
- Toilet ov Hell Review
- Review via The Soundboard Reviews
- Review via Roppongi Rocks
- Review via Metal Riot
- Review via Metal Observer
References
- ↑ Metal Injection
- ↑ Candlemass YouTube
- ↑ Candlemass YouTube
- ↑ Candlemass YouTube
- ↑ The Obelisk accessed 25th February 2019
- ↑ Kerrang! accessed 25th February 2019
- ↑ Doodlehound
- ↑ Exclaim!
- ↑ Metal Injection
- ↑ The Obelisk
- ↑ Candlemass Facebook