Review by Ben for Candlemass - Nightfall (1987)

Candlemass' debut album Epicus Doomicus Metallicus caused shockwaves on release. Finally, a band took what Black Sabbath had hinted at and turned it into a full blown epic doomy slab of real metal. One of the greatest things about that album was the vocals of Johan Langquist, so there was much trepidation at the news that Johan would not be returning for their second album.

Enter Messiah Marcolin! Some hate him. Some think he is the greatest metal singer ever. But none can ignore the performance that he puts in on this album. His operatic soaring vocals, while fairly over the top, took Candlemass' sound to whole new level. I see a few detractors below that think his style doesn't fit the band, but I disagree. But enough about Messiah, what are the tracks like? Nightfall is filled with awesome doom metal and if maybe not quite as consistently excellent as the debut, makes for an extremely entertaining experience. It's hard to pinpoint just why I don't rate it quite as high as the first one, but perhaps it's simply due to the occasional riff not hitting the mark, and a couple of the short instrumentals simply treading water.

But the double of Gothic Stone and The Well of Souls start the album off beautifully, with a couple of riffs they are to die for. Samarithan and Dark Are the Veils of Death are brilliant examples of doom done well, and closer Black Candles moves me a lot more than a two-minute outro really should. If you like traditional doom metal, then you'll love this. It's that simple!