For the first time ever (well kind of), Swedish epic doom metal pioneers CANDLEMASS will bring their monumental sound to Australian shores this September and October for a long-awaited debut tour in Melbourne, Sydney and Perth.
Formed in Stockholm in 1985 by bassist and main songwriter Leif Edling, Candlemass stand as one of the true architects of epic doom metal. Alongside Saint Vitus and Trouble, they defined the genre — pairing slow, crushing riffs with grand, operatic vocals and darkly majestic compositions.
Their 1986 debut Epicus Doomicus Metallicus didn’t just introduce a band — it created a movement. Over the next four decades, Candlemass built a towering discography and enduring global legacy, earning Swedish Grammis Awards and were also nominated for Best Metal Performance at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards in the US.
From the monumental weight of Nightfall and Ancient Dreams through to the modern doom mastery of The Door to Doom and Sweet Evil Sun, Candlemass have consistently delivered epic, crushing metal of the highest order.
The Australian Tour 2026
Now, Australian audiences will finally experience these hymns of doom performed live and as they embark on the tour I had the opportunity of sitting down with vocalist Johan Lanquist.
We begin the interview by laughing at the ‘kind of’ when it comes to the description of them touring Australia.
“This isn’t the first time you’ve been to Australia is it? Because I swear…” I say.
“We played in Tasmania a few years ago,” says Johan cutting in. “It is technically our first Australian tour – certainly outside Tasmania and it’s going to be great. I’m a big fan of Australia because of all the wildlife movies on YouTube and stuff, so it’s going to be a great experience. I’ve heard from the others that I’ve talked to that. You guys have been waiting for such a long time and now finally we are coming. I didn’t really know about how many fans we have Australia but now when I’ve been talking to a lot of other interviewers, I’ve realized that we have got a lot of fans in Australia, and that’s fantastic.”
The tour also comes about at a special time for the band with them celebrating their 40th anniversary and that is something I find out mean a lot to Johan.
“To me, it means a lot, actually,” he says with the emotion clear in his voice. “Even though I haven’t been a part of the band on the whole journey, I’ve been into music in one way or another all of my life, so… I feel honored to do what I love for the moment, and at this age, it’s a privilege to have the possibility to do this. So, yeah, I’m just enjoying the moment every single day.”
Despite the fact Johan joined the band at a later date (2018) he was around the band in the early days even playing with them in 1986.
“That is right,” he says. “I did but I also had my own band. That’s where my heart was at that time. And I told the guys in Candlemas that, you know, I have my own band, I’m writing songs, and that’s where my heart is for the moment. So we talked about it. To me, it’s important to be honest… and we talked about it, and they said, we want you to do the album anyway. And so we did. And… I’m proud of what we did at that moment. And we have been friends through all the years. You know, I’ve done a couple of shows with them in between ‘86 and 2018. So we will always have a kind of connection through the years in one way or another. I’ve done a couple of demos for other singers. But when they called me up now, 2018, it was the perfect time for me to just start it over again. And we actually went into the studio the very next day when I heard the songs, The Door to Doom album. I just said, yeah, I’m in. And here we go.”
Of course, then I had to ask the obvious question – with 40 years worth of music to celebrate what does the band have in store for their Australian fans?
“Leif is putting the set lists together and he wanted to do a lot of the old stuff that we have from the first albums that we did. I love all the epics but to me a great song is a great song, whoever did it. And, you know, the Nightfall album is amazing and Ancient Dreams. So, you know, I really love all the songs from that area so I’m looking forward to that. So be prepared for a lot of old songs.”
The Candlemass tour kicks off in Melbourne tonight.
