Johan Langquist The Castle – Johan Langquist The Castle

If you’re a Candlemass fan, you’ve probably heard by now that Johan Langquist (heavy/doom metal pioneer with Candlemass) released his acclaimed and admired first solo album entitled Johan Langquist The Castle. The album (initially only released digitally and without a label in 2024), consists of eight semi-length tracks, got (re)released on a CD/LP earlier this summer through I Hate Records.

Tracklist:

1. Eye of Death

2. Castle of My Dreams

3. Where Are the Heroes

4. Raw Energy

5. Revolution

6. Freedom

7. Bird of Sadness

The debut, Johan Langquist The Castle, evokes the magic feeling of classic 70s and 80s heavy metal/hard rock in the vein of Black Sabbath, Dio, Rainbow, Grand Magus, Yngwie Malmsteen and Savatage, with a touch of his Candlemass style doom added for good measure, but not to the extent that it becomes too obvious!

From the haunting “Eye of Death”, to the hard rock anthems “Castle of My Dreams” (listen below) and “Revolution”, over “Where Are The Heroes” with an oriental flair, all the way to the epic doom hymn “Freedom” and dreamy and epic closer “Bird of Sadness”, Johan Langquist The Castle manages to maintain an admirable cohesion, mainly due to the unshakable bond of Langquist’s one-of-a-kind voice and artistic vision. I know that often the rest of the personel doesn’t get the recognition it deserves, but at the same time I can not avoid to emphasize the depth and strength in the vocals of Mr. Langquist, and his incredible conviction and clarity in the vocal delivering.

All tracks are more or less equally good and potent, but if I am to pick my favorites then it would be the already mentioned one “Castle of My Dreams” and the epic and majestic closer ,,Bird Of Sadness’’ – featuring a captivating atmosphere, emotional singing of Johan Langquist, and almost crying and intense and passionate guitars of Erik Henrikssen. It’s a fine closing song haunted by pure melancholy and some hypnotic harmonics.

It’s been a couple of months since its release, so I could see that the reception of the album has been rather feverish and exceptional, and it’s been making some noise all over the globe since then. Even after two spins in my stereo, I wanted to play it again this morning before writing this review. I guess it tells you about the impact this album leaves on the listener.

If you enjoyed Johan Langquist‘s voice with Candlemass, Johan Langquist The Castle will convince you from the very first riffs! It is a rather diverse album, while allowing the singer to show us the full extent of his talent.

Lastly; Johan Langquist The Castle is not to be seen as a ‘studio project’. On the contrary a full line-up is completed, where the man surrounds himself with Erik Henrikssen (guitar/keys), Fredrik Isaksson (bass), Stafen Englin (drums) and Emelie Lindquist (soprano & backing vocals).

This is a great combination of doom and heavy metal with the emphasis on heavy metal. Go check it out, it’s worth pursuing! For further informational on this particular solo effort from Johan Langquist visit their bandcamp and listen to “Castle of My Dreams” below.