It's been ages since Messiah Marcolin graced a Candlemass album with his trademark voice of Doom. Almost as much time as it took me to sit down and write a review. The self titled album "Candlemass marks the return of the legendary doomsters. Since I am a major fan, I was really anxious about their new album; reunions seem to be a fashion lately and resulting albums are not always that great, or at least not up to the standards previously set by the bands.
But thank sadness (pun intended) this is not such a case. The magic is still there, the production is top notch, Messiah delivers an amazing performance in each and every song and soon you'll find your head following the well known rhythm of previous Candlemass epics.
The album starts with Black Dwarf a fast paced track that will make your neck sore and bring back memories of "Gallow's End.  After that it's time for what the band does best; pure, fucking doom. Seven Silver Keys follows and it's got everything. Every single note and vocal serves just one purpose; to pound your soul till it bleeds. The feeling is amplified in the next song, Assassin of the Light and establishes the fact that they are back for good. The eerie feeling is maintained in Copernicus and Messiah's haunting voice tells a story of how magic slowly faded from our lives. The whole song reminded me a lot of Black Sabbath and the concept is brilliant to say the least. The Man Who Fell from the Sky is an instrumental track that probably serves as a bridge to the next one. It maintains a standard riff throughout its duration and it can probably be used before their live starts or after it ends. Nothing too special here so we move on to the second fast-paced neck breaker of the album.
Witches follows and its riff will be engraved in your mind. Most definitely a song written for live performances, it walks the path of pure heavy metal (especially the solo) with the band's familiar elements always present.
The same applies to Born in a Tank which keeps up the pace with an intermediate section for Messiah's doom dancing. Spellbreaker is probably the most representative song of the band's style. Slow and fast tempo parts intertwine, the solo is fuckin' great and I don't think there's a need to mention the vocals, again. Pure classic.
The album ends with The Day and the Night. A 9 minute song with lots of tempo changes, a nice solo and most of the stuff that made Candlemass great. Not a masterpiece but definitely an excellent closure.
That is unless you have the digipack version with the bonus track. In which case Mars and Volcanos is included, yet another fast paced track. It's certainly a welcomed addition and above average quality. Nothing to get crazy about though.
As you may have already guessed, it seems that not a day has passed since the last time Candlemass doomed (pun int...oh fuck it, you know what I mean) our world. Old fans and new ones alike will enjoy this reunion. It was definitely worth the wait and all the "reunion saga. In the days where Ozzy does stupid reality shows and nu-crapcore bands sell a crapload of albums with no lyrics, talent or sense of music, the kings of Epic Doom have reclaimed their throne to show how it's done after so many years. Candlemass is a kick in the balls of everyone who believed that it couldn't be done and it's delivered in a slow pounding rhythm (ouch!). Welcome back guys!