CANDLEMASS leader Leif Edling has reiterated that the band’s upcoming reunion concert with Messiah Marcolin will be a one-off event, with no chance of further dates being added.
As previously reported, Messiah will front CANDLEMASS for an appearance at this year’s edition of the Rock Hard Festival Greece, slated for September 12-13, 2025 in Athens, Greece. It will mark Marcolin‘s first performance with CANDLEMASS in nearly 20 years.
In a new interview with Sakis Fragos of Rock Hard Greece, Edling stated about CANDLEMASS‘s upcoming concert with Messiah (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “Well, it feels great. And we [are celebrating CANDLEMASS‘s] 40-year anniversary with many happenings, so this is one of the happenings that we have. So we have a special EP out with a couple of tracks, and we will have a special line of merchandise out. And we will do special shows in Sweden, and we will also do the thing with Messiah Marcolin in Athens. So there’s several ways we can celebrate. We put a lot of old photos up on social media right now, for example, and I think there’s a documentary about CANDLEMASS being filmed during the year as well. So, we celebrate in many ways.”
Regarding the possibility of more concerts with Messiah being added, Leif said: “Yeah, it will be a one-off show. Absolutely. And we have no recording plans, we have no reunion plans. There are no plans whatsoever but just one show and one show only. So that’s the entire thought behind it. Go down to Greece where we have a lot of true fans, loyal fans, and have a blast. Play a great show and enjoy ourselves for the 40-year anniversary’s sake. Not many bands survive to have a 40-year anniversary. So we feel very lucky that we have managed to survive this long.”
Asked if he sees the upcoming concert in Athens as “the perfect closure” of CANDLEMASS‘s chapter with Messiah, Leif said: “I think we had a closure, like, 20 years ago, actually. [Laughs] I mean, we didn’t know that we would survive one year after Messiah left. And we didn’t know that we would be playing 20 years after. So this is a bonus. And it’s a bonus for all the people that would like to see us live with Messiah. So why not? Let’s do it. Let’s have fun for an evening in Athens.”
On the topic of the setlist for the Rock Hard concert, Edling said: “I think we’ll do the classics with a couple of surprises. So, I’m sure people will enjoy the setlist that we are discussing right now, actually. But I don’t wanna give anything away right now. Let it be a surprise. So I don’t think anybody will be disappointed. That I can say.”
During the chat, Leif also reflected on some of the “biggest challenges” CANDLEMASS‘s career, particularly in the first couple of decades of the band’s existence. He said: “Well, difficult times — I guess it was when Messiah left the first time, and also the second time. It’s not easy for a band to recover after that. We had quite a few changes of singers, and every time you make a singer replacement, you go through a difficult time. But it’s been 40 years, so I think it’s also kind of a natural thing, when you have such a long career. So, I don’t think of it as we have a band with a lot of problems or anything. I mean, if you change a singer every eight years or whatever, I think that’s quite natural that some members come and go. If it’s not the singer, maybe it’s the guitar player or the bass player or the drummer. So this happens in every band on the planet — they change the personnel. But we have four people playing for 40 years together — me, Jan [Lindh, drums], Mats [Björkman, guitar] and Lars [Johansson, guitar]. And now we have Johan [Längqvist, vocals] back in the band, and it’s fucking fantastic. So I think we are very lucky to have survived these 40 years, and we are lucky enough to still be regarded as a headliner band or co-headliner band. And we play great shows for a lot of people. And every gig we play, we have all the hands in the air and people are cheering. So it makes me feel fucking fantastic every time, because you still attract people, you still make people happy with your music. That’s absolutely fantastic.”
In a recent interview with Finland’s Chaoszine, Längqvist (a.k.a. Johan Langquist) was asked if he will be a part of CANDLEMASS‘s upcoming performance featuring Messiah. He responded: “No, I’m not a part of that performance, because the Greeks, they loved CANDLEMASS from the very beginning, and we are very popular in Greece. And I think the reason is because [Messiah] has a part of their history, the music listeners in Greece. So I do respect they wanted us to do a gig with Messiah.”
Johan continued: “What can I say? I wish him the best. And he was a character in the band and we’ve actually met two nights together, partying together. And I wish him the best. I hope they’re gonna make a great show down there. Yeah, that’s it.”
As the godfathers of epic doom metal, CANDLEMASS defined the genre with releases such as “Epicus Doomicus Metallicus” (1986) and “Nightfall” (1987). Through their evil riffs, crushing rhythmic attack and dramatic vocals, they changed the landscape of metal worldwide. Led by Edling, CANDLEMASS reunited with Längqvist in 2018, 32 years after the singer performed on “Epicus Doomicus Metallicus”.
Längqvist originally exited CANDLEMASS after “Epicus Doomicus Metallicus” and was replaced by Marcolin.
Marcolin exited CANDLEMASS for the presumably final time in 2006, one year after the release of the band’s self-titled album. He was later replaced by Robert Lowe (SOLITUDE AETURNUS),who sang on the band’s “King Of The Grey Islands” (2007),“Death Magic Doom” (2009) and “Psalms For The Dead” (2012) LPs. CANDLEMASS‘s frontman between 2012 and 2018 was Mats Levén, who previously recorded and toured with YNGWIE MALMSTEEN and THERION. Seven years ago, CANDLEMASS fired Levén and rehired Längqvist.
Back in October 2022, Messiah and longtime CANDLEMASS guitarist Mats “Mappe” Björkman joined Canadian metallers ANVIL on stage at the Slaktkyrkan venue in Stockholm, Sweden to perform the classic ANVIL song “Metal On Metal”. The event marked the first time in 16 years that the two musicians performed together.
CANDLEMASS‘s new EP, “Black Star”, came out on May 9 via Napalm Records.
Johan‘s solo project JOHAN LANGQUIST THE CASTLE will release its self-titled debut album on CD and vinyl on June 27 via I Hate Records. The record was initially made available digitally without a label in 2024.
Photo credit: Linda Åkerberg
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