Fast Rites: because sometimes brevity is fundamental.
Evidently the sessions that created last year’s The Door to Doom didn’t just lead to the best Candlemass record in over a decade – and the first with Johan Längquist as an official member – but also some extra odds and ends. The Pendulum compiles the rest of that material.
The EP’s title track starts things off in bangin’ fashion, and is the only song here presented in “finished” form (the rest are demos). “The Pendulum” is an occasionally faster, chunkier doom track in the tradition of songs like “Black Dwarf,” and features both Längquist’s smoky, charismatic vocals and a nice, smooth solo from the perpetually underappreciated Lars Johansson.
The other two full songs are also nice, demos or not. “Snakes of Goliath” overtly calls “Electric Funeral” to mind with its main riff, while “Porcelain Skull” carries a strong build from plodding doom to a more lively rock tempo. The three shorter, instrumental demos – likely fashioned as intended interludes – are less essential, but at least typically pleasant, showing that even when just noodling around, Candlemass is easy on the ears.
Not exactly for casual fans, but Candlemass diehards will find much more than just random curiosities within.
Release date: March 27, 2020.
Label: Napalm Records.
