Author: Primož Novak
Video: Primož Novak
Location: Gradišče ob Soči / Italy
Concert date: 02.08.2014
Ticket price: €0.00 (free entry!)
The Italian festival Ciaoluca kicked off way back in 2002, but for ten years no big names ever hit its stage. It was only in the last two years that it started to get noticed, when Threshold and Vicious Rumors played. For this year’s edition, though, the festival announced doom metal legends Candlemass. The festival itself was free, so the only costs were gas and a drink or two.
After the album Psalms for the Dead, Candlemass announced they wouldn’t be putting out any more albums, but that they have no intention of ending the live shows. The band doesn’t do longer tours and only turns up at select festivals. Last year they also hit the stage at the Metaldays festival in Tolmin for the first time. Even back then they were fronted by Mats Levén, who replaced Robert Lowe.
There was a lot of speculation around Levén, with people saying he was a poor fit for Candlemass because he’d been active in other genres before, and he became especially well known when he sang with Therion. But despite the different timbre, Levén proved his versatility pretty quickly. He can sing power metal, symphonic, stoner, and of course doom metal.
Candlemass took the stage at Ciao Luca at half past ten, and with the opening track Mirror Mirror they took the crowd right back to 1988. With the next song, Bewitched, they went back one more year. And the classics didn’t stop there: Dark Reflections from the album Tales Of Creations followed, and the band’s old-school fans were licking their chops.
The band looked relaxed on stage, and the crowd backed many of the choruses with loud singing and headbanging. The tightness was more than up to par, and the sound was decent too. The band performed with a stand-in drummer, Olle Dahlstedt, who used to play in Entombed and now plays in the revamped Entombed, Entombed A.D. Dahlstedt, of course, played without any noticeable mistakes. The rest of the members also played with confidence, and there were no serious blunders to be heard even in the many faster songs, of which there were quite a few, unlike last year at Metaldays.
Despite the acclaimed classics, Candlemass didn’t forget the material recorded in the last decade. From the latest album Psalms for the Dead came Prophet and the gloomy Black as Time. From the album Kings of the Grey Islands they played Emperor of the Void. Sadly, though, the band forgot about the self-titled album from 2005 and Death Magic Doom from 2009. They made up for it with classics like At The Gallows End, Under The Oak, Crystal Ball, and the closing Solitude. By the finale, any doubts about the quality of Candlemass had melted away. Mats Levén is not Messiah Marcolin, and he’s not Robert Lowe either, but his charisma and strong, distinctive voice come across as more than convincing.
What the show actually lacked was some variety in the song selection, which, judging by their festival appearances, is pretty much the same everywhere, with the exception of the Roadburn festival, where the band played the album Ancient Dreams in full. In the end, it’s safe to say the band more than met expectations, considering they don’t rehearse all that much.
Candlemass undoubtedly enchanted the crowd, and the concert had a great atmosphere, without the usual festival crush. From what we saw, it’s fair to say the return of Candlemass is more than welcome.
Setlist
1. Mirror Mirror
2. Bewitched
3. Dark Reflections
4. Prophet
5. A Cry from the Crypt
6. Emperor of the Void
7. Under the Oak
8. The Bells of Acheron
9. At the Gallows End
—encore—
10. Black as Time
11. Crystal Ball
12. Solitude
Photo Gallery
