Ex-CANDLEMASS Singer MESSIAH MARCOLIN And CANDLEMASS Guitarist MATS BJÖRKMAN Share Stage For First Time In 16 Years

Former CANDLEMASS singer Messiah Marcolin and longtime CANDLEMASS guitarist Mats “Mappe” Björkman joined Canadian metallers ANVIL on stage this past Thursday (October 27) at the Slaktkyrkan venue in Stockholm, Sweden to perform the classic ANVIL song “Metal On Metal”. Fan-filmed video and photos of their appearance can be found below.

Messiah told BLABBERMOUTH.NET: “It’s the first time in 16 years me and my old friend Mats Mappe Björkman from CANDLEMASS [were] together on the same stage. We are both old ANVIL fans since being teenagers. Since we are friends with ANVIL they invited us up on stage and it was great fun!”

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. Four years ago, CANDLEMASS fired Levén and rehired Johan Längqvist. Längqvist sang on CANDLEMASS‘s debut album, 1986’s “Epicus Doomicus Metallicus”, before exiting the group and being replaced by Marcolin.

Several years ago, Messiah told Metal Rules that he was “very honored” by new bands who cite CANDLEMASS as an influence on their music. “If anyone wants to be inspirited by CANDLEMASS, it is the most respectable thing what a band ever can get,” he said. “I love WITCHFINDER GENERAL which are very BLACK SABBATH influenced and PENTAGRAM, which is fucking great. The first PENTAGRAM album is great, and, of course, TROUBLE is influenced by BLACK SABBATH, and CANDLEMASS is also influenced by BLACK SABBATH — the whole fucking world is influenced by BLACK SABBATH. But, I mean, CANDLEMASS made its own style — we don’t sound exactly the same, but the heaviness is the same, but the music is different. We created our own style, doom metal stuff and all the other bands which have taken it after, it is a great honor.”