Candlemass bassist/songwriter Leif Edling has dubbed his latest project “music from the catacombs” as it was a visit to Paris’ bone-ridden underworld that inspired its creation. It’s an apt description. With The Doomsday Kingdom’s debut EP Never Machine, Leif’s music goes deeper and darker than it has for some time. The opening title-track and The Sceptre stick fairly close to Candlemass’ modern style but Niklas Stalvind’s grave and gravelly vocals and Marcus Jidell’s excellent, vintage soloing give the songs a fresh, grittier edge. But it might just have been a decent, unremarkable release if it wasn’t for the more interesting and engaging second-half. Zodiac City is a coiled and creepy serial killer yarn with a great chorus hook and the EP ends on a high with Edling taking the mic for The Whispering, a haunting and ghostly string-laden ballad. Never Machine doesn’t quite reach the inspired heights of Leif’s classic output but it’s a real grower and a definite improvement on last year’s half-(Candlem)assed EP Death Thy Lover. Candlemass might have fallen out of favour but these demos show promising signs that Edling still has what it takes to reign again as a king of doom.
(Here’s my copy. It’s the new edition released by Nuclear Blast. With new artwork, lyric sheet and red vinyl)
HEAVY METAL OVERLOAD 
Oh! I do like some of that… looks like a nice bit of vinyl there too. Also, “half-(Candlem)assed”? I tip my hat to you.
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Hehe thanks! Wish I’d bought the original version but it took a while for me to be convinced into wanting a physical copy! The new one is a nice edition though.
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I’ve found myself in situations like that more and more. Only a few artists that I tend to class as essential when it comes to physical copies.
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I still buy a lot of physical stuff but I’m increasingly happy just to stick with digital copies for a lot of stuff. If it feels like music for life then I’ll get a CD or vinyl.
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I haven’t bought as much physical product as I used to over the last few years. Just haven’t bought as much as I used to, really. Been a slow start to this year too… think I’ve bought two albums. Tends to be the ‘music for life’ stuff.
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I’ve still bought quite a lot!
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Lovely, lovely red. I like the ‘Zodiac City’ one.
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Coloured vinyl eh? It’ll never catch on if you ask me.
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When my band makes it big I’m going to release all my records in brightly coloured vinyl, with a limited edition of 100 copies on black vinyl. Either that or its all going on cock-shaped picture discs.
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My upcoming release Pancake Tuesday (due out 2018) will have Pancake-coloured vinyl. But it’ll actually just be a Pancake. See who notices… cause no one listens to these things.
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Great idea. I may just start releasing very limited edition pancakes, cut out all that music nonsense.
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Cut them into rude shapes. Call them Pancocks!
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Marry me HMO.
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Nice Candlemass/pancake wordplay!
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I do like a good pun!
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“half-(Candlem)assed”… Hahahahahahahahahaha!
You know I like this stuff quite a bit. Thanks for the heads-up! (way late, but there ya go).
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