History was made in Athens this weekend as legendary doom metal pioneers Candlemass reunited onstage with their former frontman, Messiah Marcolin. The special one-off show took place Saturday night (September 13) at the Rock Hard Festival Greece and marked Marcolin’s first live performance with the band in almost two decades.
Marcolin, whose dramatic stage presence and operatic vocal style helped define the golden years of Candlemass, originally fronted the group from the late ’80s until his final split in 2006 following the release of the self-titled Candlemass album. His departure at the time was marked by controversy, with the band publicly criticizing his attitude and demands. Since then, Candlemass has carried on with different singers, including Robert Lowe (Solitude Aeturnus), Mats Levén (Yngwie Malmsteen, Therion), and most recently Johan Längqvist, who rejoined in 2018 after originally singing on the band’s legendary debut Epicus Doomicus Metallicus (1986).
Candlemass leader and bassist Leif Edling previously told Sakis Fragos of Rock Hard Greece that the reunion performance with Marcolin will be an exclusive, one-time event, with no intentions for further collaboration or a full-fledged reunion.
“Yeah, it will be a one-off show. Absolutely,” he asserted. “And we have no recording plans, we have no reunion plans. There are no plans whatsoever but just one show and one show only. So that’s the entire thought behind it. Go down to Greece where we have a lot of true fans, loyal fans, and have a blast. Play a great show and enjoy ourselves for the 40-year anniversary’s sake. Not many bands survive to have a 40-year anniversary. So we feel very lucky that we have managed to survive this long.”
Setlist for Athens show was as follows:
01. The Well Of Souls
02. Dark Are The Veils Of Death
03. Mirror Mirror
04. Darkness In Paradise
05. Bewitched
06. Samarithan
07. Black Dwarf
08. Crystal Ball
09. A Sorcerer’s Pledge
Encore:
10. At The Gallows End
11. Solitude
