As they say, when in Rome, do as the Romans do. When in a metal record store in Stockholm’s old town, you buy one of the most important records Sweden’s considerable metal scene.
I had been meaning to buy a copy of Candlemass’s legendary debut for a while now anyway. But when I discovered that they’re from Upplands Väsby, the Stockholm suburb where my brother-in-law’s family lives and was hosting us—it felt like destiny.
Epicus Doomicus Metallicus isn’t the first doom metal record—Black Sabbath deserves credit for that over a decade previously (a point that the clerk at Sound Pollution and I made at the same time). But this record was the first to give it a name, and established a pretty sizable portion of its aesthetic.
It’s easy to take for granted how revolutionary doom metal’s rise in the 80s metal scene must have been. Between the New Wave of British Heavy Metal in Europe and thrash metal in the States, most metal bands were chasing the fastest tempos and shreddiest riffs they could. Even Black Sabbath had set aside the sludgy plodding of Master of Reality for the breakneck pace of Heaven and Hell.
If you were to put on Epicus Doomicus Metallicus in the midst of this zeitgeist, you might think that you had it playing at the wrong speed. The churning guitars and ominous tempos are maybe a quarter of the speed of their contemporaries. But anyone who thought metal’s power came from its speed is steamrolled in a hurry. After its opening Baroque acoustic guitar figure, “Solitude” launches into a monstrously heavy groove. “Demon’s Gate” goes even further, pulling the tempo back and offering a massive nine-minute run time.
Throughout the record, this aesthetic plays on without much variation. There are flourishes of synths, acoustic guitars, female vocals, and horror-movie segues amid the trudging riffs, wailing solos, punishing drums, and baritone, operatic vocals, all of which would be emulated by thousands of doom metal bands to come. And if anyone isn’t convinced that the instrumental riffage isn’t the main event, look no further than the liner notes, where Johan Länkgqvist is credited as “guest vocals.” As an interesting sidenote, Wikipedia mentions that he hadn’t heard the band at all before entering the studio.
Sideman or not, Längqvist’s vocals are as indelible to the development of doom metal as the instrumentalists. Where most metal vocalists were either barking in a near shout or wailing in a piercing tenor, his vocals are marked by a lower range and dramatic delivery. It’s hard to imagine that doom metal would be as theatrical as it is now without his contribution.
Where many influential records are more important than they are listenable, this isn’t one. While Epicus Doomicus Metallicus certainly wears its age, it’s still an exciting and vital listen. Black Sabbath may have sown the seeds of doom a decade earlier, but Candlemass reaps the fruits of the harvest here. And brother, the harvest is bountiful.