Swedish Doom Metal pioneers, Candlemass, are back with their new EP titled The Pendulum. Released on March 25th, this album sees the band do what they do best, create some of the nastiest, most sludgy guitar riffs known to man. Having been around since the mid-eighties, these guys are no stranger to the Doom Metal sound. In fact, many would go as far as to credit them with creating the genre. And this album is no different. The band dive right back in where 2019’s The Door to Doom left off. 

The title track treats us to a beautifully melodic intro that lasts all of twenty seconds before the ass kicking officially begins with a thrashy guitar riff that’s sure to get your blood flowing. Don’t get too comfortable though because this roller coaster is just getting started. Around the one-minute mark, we are catapulted right into one of the band’s signature gloomy breakdowns highlighted by vocalist Johan Langqvist’s eerie vocal performance. It all culminates with an intricate and masterfully executed guitar solo that’ll have even casual listeners checking the mirror to make sure that their faces did not, in fact, melt. 

The epic Doom sound continues with the second track, “Snakes of Goliath.” It starts out with a slow, ominous guitar riff perfectly layered atop of Johan’s ghostly vocals. Unlike its high energy predecessor, this track is much more of a slow burn. It stays slow and gloomy for the first few minutes before really picking up at about the halfway mark with a crunchy guitar riff and catchy vocal hook. The song concludes with a melodic outro that is sure to leave you craving more almost as if there is still more to the story. 

Don’t expect to satisfy that craving just yet, however, because from here we get into the next track “Sub Zero” which is a short instrumental track. This track really serves to set the mood and build suspense for what is yet to come from “Pendulum.” After another short instrumental track, Aftershock, the band pick up where they left off with the song “Porcelain Skull.” This song seems to serve as the perfect accompaniment to “Snakes of Goliath” as it begins with the same tempo and energy level. It quickly steers us into new territory though as we near the halfway point of the song. The bridge and subsequent guitar solo on this song standout beautifully in an album that already is full of shining moments. The final track “The Cold Room” perfectly concludes the album with a beautiful acoustic outro. It serves as the perfect cool down after an intense, heavy metal, workout.

Few bands have remained as consistent with their sound throughout the years as Candlemass. Some would argue that all great bands should evolve over time. However, in the case of Candlemass, I would certainly subscribe to the, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” philosophy. Even throughout various lineup changes, the band have pumped out quality music for well over two decades forever cementing themselves as legends of their craft. The Pendulum adds more quality music to an already overflowing catalog and I, for one, am not complaining.

I’m Music Magazine Contributing Writer Jason Jarvis