- 01Welcome to HellVenom loosed Welcome to Hell on the world in 1981, with its iconic goat head pentagram on the cover.from the chapter
- 02“Sons of Satan”Playing songs like “Sons of Satan” and “In League with Satan,” the English proto-thrash band stirred fear and fascination in fans.from the chapter
- 03Show No MercySlayer put out Show No Mercy two years later. On that cover, the band’s logo sits inside a pentagram, with a goat-headed warlord wielding his blade alongside.from the chapter
- 04Metal MassacreA fat finger on the hand that molded thrash, Metal Blade put out the earliest recording of Metallica on a compilation called Metal Massacre in 1982, not to mention Slayer’s first album in 1983.from the chapter
- 05Psalm 9With Slagel working as producer, Trouble tracked its 1984 debut LP, now called Psalm 9.from the chapter
- 06“White Room”“The Tempter” starts the LP with swirling noise and a tom pattern that tips its hat to Ginger Baker’s drumming in “White Room.”from the chapter
- 07“The Tempter”Franklin and Wartell’s main riff in “The Tempter” is hands-down one of the heaviest songs to emerge from the early 1980s.from the chapter
- 08Hell Bent for Leather“Assassin” sounds too much like Hell Bent for Leather-era Judas Priest, but “Victim of the Insane” more than makes up for that mimicry with its death knell march.from the chapter
- 09The Yellow and Black AttackOrange County-based Christian hair metal band Stryper released its first album, The Yellow and Black Attack, the same year Psalm 9 came out.from the chapter
- 10The SkullThe band followed Psalm 9 with 1985’s The Skull. Featuring the epic “The Wish” and enforcers “Wickedness of Man” and “The Skull,” the LP doesn’t tap into Psalm 9’s intensity.from the chapter
- 11Run to the LightFacing those problems, Trouble was still able to hammer out 1987’s Run to the Light.from the chapter
- 12TroubleThe doom flagbearers needed a break, which might’ve turned into a permanent one if it weren’t for Rick Rubin, who breathed new life into Trouble by signing the group to Def American in 1989 and then releasing Trouble in 1990, the band’s strongest material since Psalm 9.from the chapter
- 13Manic FrustrationAlthough 1992’s Manic Frustration is Trouble’s best-selling record, it’s watered down by noticeable tinges of hair metal.from the chapter
- 14Plastic Green HeadEric Wagner, whose voice is elemental for Trouble’s sound, left the band following the 1995 album Plastic Green Head.from the chapter
- 15Simple Mind ConnectionTwelve years later, Wagner, Olson, Wartell, Franklin, and new bassist Chuck Robinson released Simple Mind Connection, after which Wagner left again.from the chapter
- 16The Distortion FieldThe band put out The Distortion Field in 2013 and toured alongside NOLA sludge legends Crowbar in 2016.from the chapter
- 17ProbotIn the Probot liner notes, Dave Grohl says that Psalm 9 gut-punched him in the same way as Sgt.from the chapter
- 18Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club BandIn the Probot liner notes, Dave Grohl says that Psalm 9 gut-punched him in the same way as Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.from the chapter
- 19WitchcraftThe Stockholm trio wasted no time, recording two demos, Witchcraft and Studio Garage, that first year.from the chapter
- 20Studio GarageThe Stockholm trio wasted no time, recording two demos, Witchcraft and Studio Garage, that first year.from the chapter
- 21“Bewitched”As word of the demos spread, Candlemass tracked an early version of “Bewitched,” a monolith that, far heavier than anything else coming out of Sweden, caught the attention of French independent label Black Dragon, who signed the band.from the chapter
- 22Epicus Doomicus MetallicusWith its first LP, Candlemass ventured beyond blues scales and into more brutal and epic territory, also cementing doom as a moniker in the metal lexicon by titling the album Epicus Doomicus Metallicus.from the chapter
- 23NightfallSoon after, the quintet once again entered the frozen recesses of Thunderload, this time to record Nightfall.from the chapter
- 24“Samarithan”The first song was “Samarithan,” and I remember saying, “Is there something wrong with the tape machine?from the chapter
- 25“Marche Funebre”Running further with that classical influence, Nightfall features a bastardized cover of Chopin’s “Marche Funebre.”from the chapter
- 26“Black Candles”“Mourner’s Lament” and “Bewitched” explore similarly dismal realms before the record drifts to a close with “Black Candles,” composed by Mike Wead.from the chapter
- 27Chapter VICandlemass hired Tomas Vikstrom to sing on 1992’s Chapter VI.from the chapter
- 28Dactylis GlomerataAfter releasing two LPs with Abstrakt Algebra, Edling cobbled together a new Candlemass lineup for Dactylis Glomerata in 1998, and then convinced Johansson, Björkman, Lindh, and Marcolin to reunite for 2005’s Candlemass.from the chapter
- 29CandlemassAfter releasing two LPs with Abstrakt Algebra, Edling cobbled together a new Candlemass lineup for Dactylis Glomerata in 1998, and then convinced Johansson, Björkman, Lindh, and Marcolin to reunite for 2005’s Candlemass.from the chapter
- 30Psalms for the DeadAlthough the group announced 2012’s Psalms for the Dead as its final LP, Candlemass returned in 2019 with The Door to Doom, a record featuring EDM vocalist Johan Längqvist and a track with Tony Iommi on guitar.from the chapter
- 31The Door to DoomAlthough the group announced 2012’s Psalms for the Dead as its final LP, Candlemass returned in 2019 with The Door to Doom, a record featuring EDM vocalist Johan Längqvist and a track with Tony Iommi on guitar.from the chapter
- 32“Tales of Brave Ulysses”Psalm 9 closes with a cover of “Tales of Brave Ulysses,” so the Cream influence is no surprise.from the chapter