Candlemass vocalist Johan Längqvist has confirmed that the Swedish epic doom metal pioneers are deep into work on the follow-up to their 2022 album Sweet Evil Sun, with a good chunk of the record already taking shape.
Speaking with Peter Kerr of “Rock Daydream Nation“, Längqvist offered an update on where things stand, crediting founding bassist and main songwriter Leif Edling with driving the new material.
“I’ve done a couple of demos for the moment. Leif [Edling] is writing on a new album for the moment, so there will be a new album. I haven’t got [a possible release date for the LP], but we’re working on it for the moment, and I’ve been singing demos with — I don’t know, maybe half of an album so far,” he said (as transcribed by Blabbermouth).
Pressed on whether fans might see the record land in 2027, the singer wouldn’t commit to specifics, but he was optimistic about the timeline:
“Maybe next year. Yeah. But I’m not the boss of all the things with the studios and things like that, so I can’t give you [and exact date]. But maybe next year. Something is coming out next year.”
Längqvist also opened up about how Candlemass songs come together, describing a close, trusting working relationship with Edling, who steers both the music and the words:
“Leif is the main writer of both the music and the lyrics. And if I’ve been doing a demo with Leif, then I’m back the very next day to finish it all, [and] then sometimes he has changed the lyrics… He’s the main man behind the lyrics as well, so that’s the way it is. And he’s working a lot with the lyrics, I can tell… And he always has got an idea of how it should sound… When we’re working right now, we’re trying out maybe six melodies in a chorus or something. And I’m very open-minded to try a lot of things. And sometimes he said, ‘Oh, Johan, we save this one. I liked what you did there.’ So, we have a good connection when it comes to the recording, so I can sing out, and sometimes he said, ‘Oh, we can’t keep this, Johan. It’s too wild,’ or, ‘I don’t like it.’ But we have a good time.”
He went on to explain how decades of writing have shaped his instincts in the studio, giving him a deep well of ideas to draw on:
“I’ve been into music all my life, and I’ve been writing songs all my life, so I’ve got a kind of library of melodies in my head because of that, all the experience that I have because of all the songwriting. It’s because of that, I think, I would try out a lot of melodies on one chord. It’s hard to explain, but when you’ve done… I don’t know how many songs that I’ve written, but at least hundreds, so you get some experience when it comes to improvising and finding the coolest stuff. But the main thing in the very beginning is to get into the music. To me, the songs [are] not only about the vocals when it comes to heavy metal. It’s a band. The whole thing, the whole sound wall should be one. And to find your way in with the vocals is very important. And when you try out different things, all of a sudden you feel that, I’m in the song. I’m in there right now.”
The new album will pick up a thread the band has kept busy in recent months. Candlemass put out an EP, Black Star, in May 2025 via Napalm Records, and last September the group reunited with former vocalist Messiah Marcolin at the 2025 edition of the Rock Hard Festival Greece in Athens — Marcolin‘s first appearance with the band in nearly two decades.
Widely regarded as the godfathers of epic doom metal, Candlemass helped define the genre with early landmarks like Epicus Doomicus Metallicus (1986) and Nightfall (1987), reshaping heavy music with their crushing riffs and dramatic, operatic vocals. Längqvist, who sang on that 1986 debut, rejoined the band led by Edling in 2018, 32 years after his original stint.
The singer’s return capped a long line of vocalists. Längqvist first left after Epicus Doomicus Metallicus and was succeeded by Marcolin, who himself departed for what was assumed to be the last time in 2006, a year on from the band’s self-titled album. Robert Lowe of Solitude Aeturnus followed, handling vocals on King Of The Grey Islands (2007), Death Magic Doom (2009) and Psalms For The Dead (2012). Mats Levén, previously of Yngwie Malmsteen and Therion, then fronted the band from 2012 until 2018, when Candlemass parted ways with him and brought Längqvist back into the fold.
