Candlemass Cover Black Sabbath’s “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath” for 40th Anniversary
Making a good and respectable cover song can be a difficult feat. It’s easy to get wrong, and totally fuck up the beauty of the original track depending on who does and how similar a sound they have. We don’t have to worry about a cover sounding like shit in this case. Candlemass have been killing it at doom metal since the early 80’s, so the fact that they’ve decided to cover “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath” by the legendary, you guessed it, Black Sabbath, just makes sense. It’s part of the celebration of the band’s 40th anniversary, on their new EP Black Star. Check out the official music video for it below.
Candlemass founding member Leif Edling said this of their cover song choice:
“‘Sabbath Bloody Sabbath’ needs no introduction — one of the best songs ever recorded, if you ask me. Maybe not the obvious choice, but it’s been a dream for me to do it one day and here it is. Our rendition of ‘S.B.S.’ (Mass Bloody Mass?).”
As well, Edling spoke on what it’s like for them to make it to 40 in the first place:
“Not all bands get to see their 40th birthday and it certainly hasn’t been an easy ride. But many ups and downs later, we stand here as survivors, veterans even… a bit scarred perhaps? Still ready though to unleash another piece of doom-laden metal upon an unsuspecting world. You have to do something when you turn 40, right? Anyway, as always, it’s been fun recording some new stuff as well as covering a couple of old favorites.”
Black Star is out now on Napalm Records. It features two original tracks as well as two covers—the aforementioned Sabbath cover, and Pentagram’s “Queen My Queen”. I guess they have a thing for song titles that repeat themselves?
Candlemass also have a few shows coming up this year in Denmark, Norway, Greece among other countries. Their Greece date at the Rock Hard Festival will see them reunite with former Candlemass vocalist Messiah Marcolin.
Candlemass 2025 tour dates:
6/20–6/21 – Daun-Rengen, DE @ Der Detze Rockt
6/25 – Oslo, NO @ Tons of Rock
7/04 – Istanbul, TR @ Headbangers Weekend
7/20 – Cremona, IT @ Luppolo In Rock Festival
7/30–8/02 – Bergen, NO @ Beyond the Gates Festival
8/08–8/09 – Helsinki, FI @ Helsinki Metal Festival
8/08–8/10 – Kortrijk, BE @ Alcatraz
8/15–8/17 – Carhaix Breiz, FR @ Motocultor 9/07 – São Paulo, BR @ Setembro Negro
9/12–9/13 – Athens, GR @ Rock Hard Festival
9/28 – Barcelona, SP @ Okkult Session 11/29 – Gimle, DK @ Roskilde
11/01 – Stockholm, SE @ Berns01.11.25 SE – Stockholm / Berns
11/22 – Warszawa, PL @ Progresja
12/06 – Wolverhampton, UK @ Bloodstock Winter Gathering
