Multi-platinum selling Seattle rock band Candlebox is coming to St. Louis on Sunday, August 13 to headline Delmar Hall amidst their final tour. Celebrating 30 years of success, Candlebox – whose power anthems “Far Behind,” “You” and “Cover Me” off their 1993 debut, self-titled album exploded onto the charts – recently revealed their final studio album, titled The Long Goodbye, will be released on Friday, August 25th via Round Hill Records. The album’s first single “Punks” was just released on Friday, July 14th – PRESS HERE to listen and PRESS HERE to watch the official music video. The new track is a cautionary message to young bands that they won’t be the hot new thing forever. Charging forward with a slashing guitar riff and rapid-fire drums, front man and songwriter Kevin Martin howls about quick-burning success and vacuous trends.
Candlebox – Kevin Martin (lead vocals), Adam Kury (bass), Brian Quinn (guitar), Island Styles (guitar), BJ Kerwin (drums) – is currently on the road through early fall crossing the country supporting fellow rockers 3 Doors Down on their 46-date Away From The Sun amphitheater tour as well as their own headlining shows as Candlebox says their final, and long, goodbye. Visit https://www.candleboxrocks.com/tour for all ticket details.
The Long Goodbye, produced by Don Miggs, finds Candlebox taking stock of evolving maturity, fleeting time, and lasting love, all while kicking a lot of ass. In addition to the hard-rocking lead single “Punks,” the 10-track collection includes the sneering statement of independence “What Do You Need,” co-written by Nick Brown of the alt-rock band Mona, who also appears on the track, and the moody, atmospheric “Elegante,” where Kevin dives headlong into creative wordplay as Miggs and the band mimic a synth-pop vibe with guitars and drums. Elsewhere is the acoustic “Maze” and “Cellphone Jesus,” where Kevin allows some of his worldview to seep in as he searches for a sign from above for a damaged society. The Long Goodbye, Candlebox’s eighth studio album, is now available to pre-order/pre-save – PRESS HERE.
Emerging from Seattle’s burgeoning mid-90s grunge scene, Candlebox quickly found mainstream success with their deep, lyrically-driven melodies and big radio hooks, as evidenced by their massive hits “Far Behind,” “You” and “Cover Me” that propelled their self-titled debut album, a defining record of the decade, to sell more than 4 million copies worldwide. Their follow-up album, Lucy, earned a platinum certification and solidified Candlebox as a tour de force in the thriving alt-rock scene. While the commercial success of the first album played a pivotal role in the band’s trajectory to the top, it was their raw and unapologetically honest live performances that ultimately solidified their place among Seattle’s elite. In 1998, Candlebox released Happy Pills, which would be their last album before going on hiatus from 2000 to 2006. In 2008, the band reformed and released their fourth album, Into The Sun, and hit the road for the first time in 10 years, touring extensively and releasing Alive In Seattle, a live album that included tracks from every era of their career. 2016 marked the triumphant return of Candlebox with the release of Disappearing In Airports, a more classic rock-tinged album hailed by many critics and fans as their best work in years. Singles “Vexatious” and “Supernova” drove the album to debut at #9 on the Billboard Charts and spurred multiple U.S. and international tours including major festival appearances at Carolina Rebellion, Welcome To Rockville, and Lollapalooza Chile. While these iconic rockers have been blazing full-steam since, releasing their album, Wolves, in 2021, and recently issuing a live, acoustic album, Live at The Neptune, Kevin and Candlebox are calling it quits in 2023, but they’re not going quietly.
The Long Goodbye is ultimately a statement record, a document of a band that somehow survived an era that tragically proved too seductive for some of their peers to remain not only successful, but relevant. And after Candlebox wraps it all up at the end of the year, the hits will still live on, along with a legacy that serves to inspire the young punks who come after them.
