Nearly 40 years into their career, Swedish doom masters Candlemass haven’t lost a step. Since reuniting with vocalist Johan Längquist (who sang on their impeccable 1986 debut, Epicus Doomicus Metallicus) in 2018, they’ve been on a prolific streak, releasing two studio albums, an EP, and a live album in just four years. According to bassist and main songwriter Leif Edling, Sweet Evil Sun is loosely based around the Greek myth of Icarus. “It’s about the mocking, tempting sun that we desperately try to reach,” he tells Apple Music. “If we’re not careful, we’ll be burned. But we will get there one day, no matter what.” Like many Candlemass albums, it didn’t come easily. “Sweet Evil Sun took me about 18 months and a lot of money to make,” Edling says with a laugh. “But the result is what counts. We cut no corners and walked the extra mile. It was worth it.” Below, he comments on each track. “Wizard of the Vortex” “The guardian outside the gates of hell. Nothing and no one shall pass. But eventually, his powers and strong morals get weaker, and he lets evil pass little by little.” “Sweet Evil Sun” “A song about striving, hope, ambition, and failure. One of the earliest songs I wrote for the album. One of the quickest ones as well—took me maybe an hour. Others took me months to write.” “Angel Battle” “Maybe the heaviest song on the record. Also one of my favorites. Opens with a crushing riff, then a nice uptempo chorus. Ends with a fantastic narration done by legendary filmmaker Kenneth Anger.” “Black Butterfly” “Another heavy track, but more Black Sabbath on this one. This song took forever to do—nearly a year. One of the first I demoed, but one of the last I finished. Turned out pretty good in the end.” “When Death Sighs” “One of the best songs on Sweet Evil Sun. Great riff, and I love the chorus. Lovely vocals by [Avatarium singer] Jennie-Ann Smith there together with Johan. Nice duet! Great solo by [guitarist] Lars [Johansson] too! “Scandinavian Gods” “A song about the necessity to leave your old gods and the difficulty of doing it. We can’t build a better world if we don’t do it. Out with the old, in with the new.” “Devil Voodoo” “Cool track that many people seem to like. Uptempo riff followed by a nice bridge. Pretty intense chorus, including some steel drums that add to the atmosphere. ‘Devil voodoo—there’s still some fire inside you!’” “Crucified” “Another uptempo track. We’re riffing like crazy here! Heavy church bells and doom deluxe in the middle part of the song.” “Goddess” “One of the heaviest songs on Sweet Evil Sun. Took me forever to finish it. It’s about blind, fanatic worship.” “A Cup of Coffin (Outro)” “I couldn’t have ‘Goddess’ as the last thing that happens on the album. I felt I needed to take the energy down a bit before the album could end. So, I came up with ‘A Cup of Coffin’ as the last piece of music that we recorded. I wrote the riff and added the audience from Södra Teatern in Stockholm when we played there in November last year. Great ending to the record.”