Album Review: Candlemass - The Door To Doom

To this scribe's mind, Messiah Marcolin will always be ‘the’ voice of Candlemass, but the return of original vocalist Johan Längqvist for the first time in 32 years is a monumental event for doom-metal fanatics.

The Door To Doom unleashes eight magnificent doom-metal anthems that contain some of the best riffs of the Swedes' entire career. From the glacier-like Black Trinity through to mid-tempo crushers (Splendor Demon Majesty and Death’s Wheel) the album boasts a glorious and triumphant feel, Längqvist seemingly in the same great form he showed way back on Epicus Doomicus Metallicus. Add in a guest solo from Tony Iommi on the monolithic Astorolus – The Great Octopus and you’d really have to be the most miserable of doom fans not to love this album.