Candlemass Vocalist Johan Längqvist On Opening The Door To Doom

Doom metal is sub-genre which is as old as heavy metal itself. After all, most people will point to Black Sabbath as the first band to perform both styles and soon after, bands like Pentagram and Witchfinder General were tuning low and playing slow much like the Brummie quartet. Since then, doom metal has gone on to become one of the most beloved, if not always most commercially successful of metal's vast offshoots and a big chunk of credit for its popularity is often given to a certain band from Sweden who unleashed their debut, "Epicus Doomicus Metallicus" in 1986; Candlemass.
Candlemass have, for over three decades, demolished everything in its path with powerful vocals, searing riffs and bombastic songs. The band are rightly hailed as icons of doom and their latest album, last year's, "The Door To Doom," shows that the band will not be softening their stance any time soon. "The Door To Doom" also marked a new era of the band, as it saw the return of vocalist Johan Längqvist, who previously had only recorded with the band on their debut.
This past week, I had the pleasure with speaking Johan over Skype, to discuss the new album, as well as the band's latest EP, "The Pendulum," how he feels singing songs from vocalists who came after him, the effect that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the band, the guest appearance from Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi on "The Door To Doom" and much more. You can watch the interview in full