rock

Candlebox

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Seattle band who arrived in the wake of grunge's commercial peak and outlasted most of it — Kevin Martin's rasp still fronting the radio-rock songs that made their name.

Candlebox formed in Seattle in November 1990, its original lineup pairing singer Kevin Martin with guitarist Peter Klett, bassist Bardi Martin and drummer Scott Mercado. The band's name comes from a line in the Midnight Oil song "Tin Legs and Tin Mines," which describes being "boxed in like candles."

The band released their self-titled debut in 1993 on Maverick, the label then newly founded by Madonna. The record sold in large numbers on the strength of "Far Behind" and "You," went on to be certified quadruple platinum, and placed the band in rock radio rotation at a moment when major labels were signing almost anything from Seattle. Candlebox also played a main-stage slot at Woodstock '94 and opened tours for Rush and Metallica.

Their sound leaned more towards blues-inflected hard rock than the noisier end of the scene they were grouped with, built around Kevin Martin's hoarse, high-set vocals. Lauryn Schaffner of 106.3 The Buzz has counted the band among a "Big Four" of post-grunge acts.

Lucy followed in 1995 and was certified gold, and Happy Pills arrived in 1998 before the band broke up in 2000 amid troubles with their label. Martin has remained the constant through repeated lineup changes, and after reuniting in 2006 Candlebox kept recording, releasing Into the Sun, Love Stories & Other Musings, Disappearing in Airports, Wolves and, in 2023, The Long Goodbye.

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