The Corroseum forum (new design under construction)

Seeing 3 of them live (Messiah in '89 if i remember correctly) and Lowe and Langquist now, i can say that Messiah was the best live performer/entertainer of the 3. I have never seen Vikström. I think that as far as singing abilities, Vikström is propably the best Candlemass singer BUT i still do prefer Messiah to watch live.

I was a little skeptical when I've heard that Rob Lowe was chosen as the new CANDLEMASS singer. But I must admit his voice fits their music perfectly, I really dig the two albums. I've never seen CANDLEMASS live with Lowe, I don't how he is on the band classics.

I´d say Messiah as an entertainer and most fitting singer. Even if the three other all did good to great jobs.

My first encounter with Candlemass was the video for "The Dying Illusion" (from "Chapter VI") on Headbanger's Ball back in the day. I loved that song right away, so to this day I never had a problem with Vikström and "Chapter VI" as a whole (helped off course by the fact that I didn't know the history of the band back then).

Langquist did a great job on the debut. Studio versions of "Epicus..."-songs redone by Messiah were okay, but couldn't match the greatness of the originals. Langquist was the right man for that album.

Messiah was the best frontman of Candlemass. But although he has a very original sounding voice, I must say that sometimes he sounds a bit too one-dimensional. But on stage he was the best of them all, replacing his (minor) limitations by sheer power and charisma.

Lowe is a great singer, one of my favourites, and I like his recordings with Candlemass, but on stage he's the weak link. Way too reserved and lacking the powerful delivery of Messiah. I guess that's okay when being on stage with Solitude Aeturnus (fits the more depressive sound), but Candlemass needs something more 'alive'.

Flodkvist's name should have been on albums from Abstrakt Algebra, not Candlemass. I wrote down an interview with Leif back in 1998, and he said that the only reason why there's Candlemass on the cover of "Dactylis Glomerata" (btw that the name of a flower he's allergic too), and later "From The 13th Sun", is because of the fact that Music For Nations didn't want to release them under the Abstrakt Algebra-moniker. There's some good stuff on those albums, and Flodkvist's a good singer, but it isn't really Candlemass, is it?

I'll go with talk of the town

My favorite Candlemass singer is when Messiah was the singer. I know this comes down to personal taste, and what one considers awesome. I have all the other albums with the other singers, but the Messiah-era is my favorite!!

omen of hate wrote:I've never seen CANDLEMASS live with Lowe, I don't how he is on the band classics.

I personally think he does a great job of the old material. Of course he doesn't convey the idiosyncrasies of his predecessors (e.g. Messiah's trademark vibrato) but he definitely has the range, and is also a good frontman in his own right.

1. Jonah Langquist
2. Rob Lowe
3. Messiah Marcolin
4. Thomas Vikstrom
5. Bjorn Flodquist
6. Lief Edling

Best Candlemass singer: Marcolin
Best singer: Lowe