CANDLEMASS - Epicus Doomicu Metallicus

There have always been disputes on what gave birth to the “epic doom metal” sub-genre: Psalm 9 of Trouble or this one. Each of them is a masterpiece in itself, but Epicus Doomicus Metalicus seems to have a little extra compared to Psalm 9 (it is logical in a way, there are 3 years between them so evolution is natural). If Eric Wagner offered the metal world since the early 80s a distinctive voice but different from any other doom voices before, Messiah Marcolin’s voice really set the standard for this kind of doom metal vocals. 

This album is blessed with somber yet melodic guitar riffs. After a first listening, you can easily remember the riffs that entered your ear, feeling how their weight pulls you down and creates the crushing atmosphere of doom metal. The quality of sound on Epicus Doomicus Metalicus seems PERFECT for any album, suffocated by reverb and not very clean, as any classic doom metal album should sound. 

I must admit that this was the first doom metal I ever heard (even before Saint Vitus, Black Sabbath or Pentagram) so, if anything hadn’t gone exactly according to my taste, I wouldn’t be a doom metal fanatic this day. Hearing it around the age of 12, I was attracted by the fact that there were only 6 songs and, while it was not a conceptual album (the title was probably meant to bring a few chuckles – reminds me of “Road Runner” then the image would stop on the bird or the Coyote chasing it and it would write things in fake Latin on the ground), feels like a story. A bit of King Diamond, yet unrelated. 

Matei T. Nota: 9.5