Candlebox’s debut album, simply titled Candlebox, came out on July 20, 1993, via Maverick & Warner Bro’s Records.
It was a commercial success, selling over four million copies in the United States. It also reached #7 on the Billboard 200 chart and #1 on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart. The album was certified quadruple platinum by the RIAA in 1995 upon the success of its third and biggest single “Far Behind.”
The album featured four singles: “Change,” “You,” “Far Behind,” and “Cover Me,” released in that order. The music videos for “You” and “Far Behind” were featured on MTV quite a bit throughout the 1990s.
“Far Behind” was their most successful single, reaching #18 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The album itself remained on the Billboard charts for 104 weeks.
Kelly Gray, former guitarist of Myth, Queensryche, and Geoff Tate’s Operation: Mindcrime, produced the album. She had previously worked with other bands and artists such as Dokken, Brother Cane, and Bob Rivers.
The members of Candlebox, Kevin Martin, Peter Klett, Bardi Martin, and Scott Mercado, also assisted in the production of their self-titled debut album.
Recording Candlebox
Candlebox was recorded mostly at London Bridge Studios in Seattle, Washington. The band also recorded “Far Behind” and “You” at Robert Lang Studios in Shoreline, Washington.
The album’s sound is a blend of grunge, alternative rock, and hard rock. The lyrics are often personal and introspective, dealing with themes of loss, love, and redemption.
Candlebox’s debut album grew into a critical and commercial success. It helped to establish the band as one of the leading alternative rock bands of the early 1990s and the emerging Seattle grunge scene. The album remains a fan favorite 30 years later.
The success of Candlebox landed the band opening spots on Rush’s “Counterparts” tour and Metallica’s “Sh*t Hits The Sheds” tour. It also helped them work their way onto the main stage at Woodstock ’94.
After a brief hiatus in 2000 and a few line-up changes, Candlebox now features Kevin Martin on lead vocals and guitar, Adam Kury on bass guitar and backing vocals, Philadelphia’s own Brian Quinn on lead guitar, Island Styles (certainly a cool name) on rhythm guitar and backing vocals, and BJ Kerwin on drums.
Long Goodbye Tour
Candlebox is currently out on their 30th Anniversary tour as they are readying their eighth and apparently final album titled The Long Goodbye via Pavement Music. You can check out the first single of the album ,“Punks,” below.
Hopefully, The Long Goodbye is just an album name and truly not the end of Candlebox for good.
Also included below are some photos & video from the Candlebox acoustic show that I hosted at Harrah’s Philadelphia (Chester/Delco) on April 6, 2018. Brian Bortnick of Octane & Danny Beissel of Fosterchild/Featherborn opened the show, eventually joining Kevin & Brian from Candlebox for a few tunes. Franky Perez of Apocalyptica/Deadland Ritual also rocked the house with an opening slot that night.
