Nightfall (CD - 1987)

Candlemass: Messiah Marcolin (vocals); Mats Bjorkman, Lars Johansson (guitar); Leif Edling (bass guitar); Jan Lindh (drums).

Swedish doom originators Candlemass gave birth to an instant classic with their debut, Epicus Doomicus Metalicus. But their 1987 follow-up Nightfall managed to break even more new ground by introducing the operatic bellowing of new vocalist Messiah Marcolin, whose religious lyrics found the perfect match in the slow, grinding power chords written by bassist Leif Edling. Perfect examples of this formula like "The Well of Souls," "Samarithan," and "Bewitched" would become live standards for years to come and are nicely held together by short instrumentals, including a rendition of Chopin's "Marche Funebre." And while the band can't resist thrashing out just a tad on parts of "At the Gallow's End" and "Dark Are the Veils of Death," this is still a cohesive work, and a must for Black Sabbath fans ~ Eduardo Rivadavia minimize