new album of the year

As I Lay Dying


album:The Powerless Rise

Biography:As a wise band once pointed out, what happens on the road always comes home. Sure, you can read into the darker side of that sentiment, but if you're talking about the San Diego quintet As I Lay Dying, for whom the road literally has been home since day one, the never-ending trail of unfamiliar cities, stages and faces that comes with touring has only cut a path toward something brighter.

Formed in early 2001 to realize the developing musical vision of ex-Society's Finest guitarist Tim Lambesis, As I Lay Dying first took shape as a trio, with (now-former) guitarist Evan White and drummer Jordan Mancino rounding out the lineup. One month into their lifespan, the group hit the studio to record their first album, Beneath The Encasing Of Ashes, released that June by Pluto Records. As I Lay Dying caught the touring bug shortly afterward, and started what to this day remains a pattern: With each new tour stop came new converts to the group's sound, and as more people caught on, Pluto found a new best-selling release in Beneath The Encasing Of Ashes—which, massive as it was, barely hinted at the material As I Lay Dying still had brewing inside of them.

Released by Pluto in August of 2002, As I Lay Dying's split CD with fellow San Diegans American Tragedy offered the first sign of where the band was headed. Though the chugging breakdowns, growled vocals and dissonant riffs of Ashes were still present in As I Lay Dying's five tracks, a stronger sense of melody undercut the music's darkness, resulting in songs that not only stuck in your head as easily as they tore it off, but that also started to garner serious attention for the band. So, touring as relentlessly as ever behind their latest effort, As I Lay Dying found themselves landing on the radar of several prominent record labels, with Metal Blade ultimately sealing the deal in March of 2003—and the band's Metal Blade debut, Frail Words Collapse, dropping on an unsuspecting public that July.

Long story short: Produced by Lambesis, Frail Words Collapse crystallized everything As I Lay Dying had been working toward into a massive knockout blow. Even though mainstream acceptance still eluded them, it didn't matter: Sonically, the band had united the classic "Göthenburg sound"—the punch-press rhythms, snarling vocals and melancholy riffs of seminal Swedish bands like At The Gates—with the chugging heartbeat of modern hardcore, launching themselves into the forefront of a new scene of metal bubbling under in the U.S. Relentless touring, several lineup changes and a growing fan buzz later, As I Lay Dying found themselves setting records they didn't even know existed: Heavy rotation on FUSE and MTV2'S Headbanger's Ball for their "94 Hours" and "Forever" videos; a No. 1 most-downloaded spot at the now-defunct MP3.com; record sales in the solid six-figure range based heavily on word of mouth; and festival dates and world tours alongside heavyweights such as Killswitch Engage, In Flames, Shadows Fall, Lamb Of God and Hatebreed. And, of course, with each tour came new fans, who told their friends, who told their friends, who told… Well, you get the idea.


Enter 2005. Strengthened by the road, creatively on fire, and with their lineup both solidified and contributing equally to the songwriting process, As I Lay Dying enter Big Fish Studios in Encinitas, California (the same place they'd recorded Collapse), at the beginning of January. With Lambesis at the production helm, along with help from bandmate Phil Sgrosso, and engineer/co-producer Steve Russell once again behind the boards, the quintet sequestered themselves until spring and emerged with their leanest, meanest and most focused effort yet, Shadows Are Security.


"All the touring we did off Frail Words Collapse really helped us learn what songs worked in a live setting and which ones didn't," says Lambesis, "and that helped us focus on the direction of this record. There's a slower, ballad-type song ["Repeating Yesterday"], but even it serves a purpose in tying the whole record together. As far as energy goes, I think all these songs are gonna be tremendous live."


Thematically, the record is just as heavy, with Mancino's coffin-tight drumming and the guitarists' melodic, lockstep riffage dropping like exclamation points around Lambesis' lyrics. While he hesitates to call Shadows a full-blown "concept album," Lambesis admits there's definitely a concept, and a very intentional sequence, guiding songs like the soaring "Confined," the spiritually revealing "Control Is Dead" (featuring Zao's Dan Weyandt on guest vocals) and the album-summarizing "Illusions." "My lyrics have always come from a very personal perspective, but this record really is a story of the last two years of my life, and everything I've learned since then," says Lambesis. Lyrically, the record flows in the same way, where I start by questioning what I've been taught, re-evaluating what's meaningful and recognizing what's meaningless." If all that sounds a little lofty, Lambesis easily brings it back into perspective: "It's really about love, and learning how to love all over again.

new album of the year

Bullet For My Valentine



album 2010 :Fever

Matt Tuck spoke to Daniel Marez of Metal Hammer in March 2009 about the band's progress on writing and recording their third album. He stated that there were four or five songs that were finished and that "usually we write and record 14 tracks that I then have to write vocal lines for, but this time I’m trying to write the vocals as I write the music.Bullet for My Valentine confirmed in August 2009 that they were aiming for an early 2010 release for the new album, while Tuck stated that the upcoming record is "a lot more mature-sounding, it's a lot more classic. It'll stand the test of time [more] than both the previous things we've doneIn a January 2010 interview with Rock Sound, frontman Matt Tuck said the planned release date for Fever, the 11-track album is in late April 2010. He also said the album would sound more like The Poison than Scream Aim Fire and would contain no ballads.




Biography:
Bullet for My Valentine are a Welsh heavy metal band from Bridgend, formed in 1998. The band is composed of Matt Tuck (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Michael Paget (lead guitar), Jason James (bass guitar, backing vocals), and Michael Thomas (drums). They were formed under the name Jeff Killed John and started their music career by covering songs by Metallica and Nirvana. Jeff Killed John recorded six songs which were not released; two of these tracks were reworked later in their career as Bullet for My Valentine. Financial difficulties dictated the name change, which was followed by a change in music direction. In 2002, the band secured a five-album deal with Sony BMG. The band has stated that their music is influenced by classic heavy metal acts such as Metallica, Iron Maiden, and Slayer. The band is part of the Cardiff music scene.

Bullet for My Valentine's debut album, The Poison, was released on October 3, 2005 in the United Kingdom and on February 14, 2006 in the United States to coincide with Valentine's Day hence their band name. The album entered the Billboard 200 in the US at number 128. It was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. The band made appearances at the Download Festival and Kerrang! XXV, and undertook a US tour with Rob Zombie. Bullet for My Valentine's second studio album, Scream Aim Fire, was released on January 29, 2008 and debuted at number four on the Billboard 200. The band's third album, Fever, was released on April 26, 2010 and debuted at number three on the Billboard 200. The band has sold over two million albums worldwide.

new album of the year

Mortemia



album of 2010 Misere Mortem
Written, composed and arranged by Morten Veland.
Recorded in Audio Avenue Studios, Tau, Norway.
Produced, engineered and mixed by Morten Veland.
Choir recorded in Sound Suite Studios, Marseille, France.
Mastered by Mika Jussila of Finnvox.

Biography:Mortemia is metal and gothic scene veteran Morten Veland's latest project. His musical endeavors have been many since his early beginnings in 1992. At the age of 15 he entered the music scene with his first band Uzi Suicide, a band characterized by its fusion of rock and metal. With time, his interest for more alternative music grew and he soon discovered the UK gothic scene, inspiring him write darker and more melancholic compositions.
In 1995 he co-founded Tristania and signed his first record deal at the age of 19. He released 2 full length albums and several EP's with this band, taking the underground scene by storm and becoming one of the leading acts within the genre almost overnight. Extensive touring in Europe and America followed including performances at some of the biggest music festivals in Europe. As the band's lyricist and main songwriter, Morten played a major role in defining gothic metal early on.
In January 2001 Morten parted ways with Tristania to form Sirenia. His intention was to set a new standard, taking his songwriting skills to a new level with a strong focus on the melodic aspects, as well as the more accessible song arrangements, without ever losing the foundation of his musical expression. The dramatic, symphonic, and sonorous elements still had an important role to play in his compositions. To date, Sirenia has released 4 albums and 1 EP. The band has toured worldwide and climbed the album charts in 6 countries, topping radio charts and receiving great reviews from the international press.
With his new project Mortemia, Morten intends to bring a new musical concept into the metal scene by balancing metal and classical music. Mortemia's debut album "Misere Mortem" is filled with sonorous songs that perfectly blend classical with the massive and powerful sound of a metal band. The guitar work seems more dominant here than in any of his previous projects and boasts of powerful guitar riffs accompanied by melodic leads and solos.
The vocal concept in Mortemia is based on an interaction between Morten's extreme vocals and the choir's dramatic rendition. The interaction between the vocals adds diversity and dynamics to the songs. Morten chose not to include female lead vocals this time to more easily set Mortemia apart from his other bands, as well as to differentiate Mortemia from the many female-fronted gothic metal bands presently overrunning the scene.
"Misere Mortem" represents a new beginning for Morten in many ways. It is the first album in which he is credited as the sole producer, in addition to also engineering and mixing the album on his own. The recording and mixing sessions took place in Morten's Audio Avenue Studios in Stavanger, Norway. The choral tracks were laid at Sound Suite Studios in France. Morten performed and programmed every instrument on the album, limiting outside contribution to the extraordinary French choir comprised by Damian Surian, Mathieu Landdry, Emmanuelle Zoldan, and Sandrine Gouttebel.

Grindcore bands

01 Nasum



During the years, Nasum's had this lengthy biography which in reality is nothing else that a complete breakdown of the band's history, pointing out the highlights so far. This text has been rewritten and completed many times as soon as something new has happened. This is the last update, and the history of Nasum 1992-2004 is complete. The band was formed during the latter part of 1992 by Anders Jakobson (guitar) and Rickard Alriksson (drums/vocals) as a side project to the death metal band Necrony. The idea was to create true grindcore in the old Napalm Death style, no gore/porno-shit, just straight political grindcore. A couple of songs were written, but nothing really happened with the band. Spring 1993: Necrony's home label, German Poserslaughter Records offered Nasum to share a 7" EP with Australian goregrinders Blood Duster. Nasum accepted the offer, but in time the record turned out to be a Nasum/Agathocles split-7" EP. Two weeks before the first Nasum recording, another guitarist (Mieszko Talarczyk) was added. Together the band completed six tracks that were recorded at Unisound Studios in July 1993. The tracks were later released as the "Blind World" split-7" EP with Agathocles. Awaiting the release of the EP, a tape with the songs were sent out to different labels with the intention to pick up more offers for EP:s etc. Nasum recieved two positive answers; one offering a split-7" EP with Psycho on their label Ax/ction Records, but also an opportunity to participate on the well-reputated Swedish hardcore comp-LP "Really Fast"'s 9th volume. In November 1993 it was time for another trip to Unisound to record ten tracks; nine for the "Really Fast Vol 9" LP and one for Mieszko's comp-tape - "Corpse Flesh Genitals"' - second volume. Apparently, the track - entitled as the compilation - and the second volume ended up unreleased. The nine tracks (in all clocking 3.30!) contained a more rind/crust-inspired approach compaired to the grind/death kind of sound on the first recording, and the songs pointed out the future musical direction of Nasum. While dealing with Ax/ction Records, Mieszko decided to start his own label - Grindwork Productions - with a friend. As the label's first release a four-way split-3" MCD was planned, including Nasum, Retaliation (Swe), Clotted Symmetric Sexual Organ (Jap) and Vivisection (Jap). Eventually, Nasum yet again went to Unisound in September 1994, this time to record sixteen new tracks; eight which ended up on the "Smile When You're Dead" split-7" EP with Psycho and eight for the rindwork" split-3" MCD. On this recording the music took of where the preceding recording ended, but with a much heavier sound, changing the tuning from D to B. Inspired by Sweden's Regurgitate the next event in Nasum history was to record a demo, after two split-7" EP:s and two compilations! With a possibility to make a recording for free in a local studio, ten songs were written in a rush, and together with two re-recordings from the first two recordings and two covers, the songs were recorded as the "Domedagen" demo in November 1994. Since the recording was made in co-operation with inexperienced students learning to be sound ngineers, the sound turned out dark and muddy and obviously half of the new material turned out bad because of the rush.After two and a half years it was finally time for a record of their own as Poserslaughter Records offered a MCD. In February 1995 Nasum went to Unisound for the last time to record eighteen songs; twelve brand new ones and six re-recordings of the best songs from the "Domedagen" demo. One different detail from the previous recording was that fifteen of he songsincluded Swedish lyrics, although Nasum used lyrics in their native language on three tracks on the demo. The title of the MCD was "Industrislaven". In connection with the release of the MCD (September 1995), Poserslaughter invited Nasum to Berlin for a concert with labelmates Dead and Manos who released some records at the same time. Also a gig in southern Sweden were booked the day before. This led to some trouble as Rickard announced that he didn't want to do shows. Mieszko and Anders then got in touch with Per Karlsson (then a member of Suffer) who accepted the conditions for the "tour". So Nasum did their stage debute in Åstorp, Sweden, together with Kurbits I.R., Arsedestroyer, and Mentally Unstable, September 16th and then played in Berlin the day after with Dead and Manos This was the very end of Rickard's time in Nasum. He didn't share the same enthusiasm for the music and the lyrics as Mieszko and Anders, so he decided to quit. After an audition that didn't work out, Anders decided to take the empty place behind the drums leaving Mieszko alone with the strings. In November 1996 it was time for the "new" Nasum to do their first recording. Twentyfour tracks were recorded - eight for "The Black Illusions" (a split-7" EP with Abstain released by Yellow Dog Records, Germany in 1998) and sixteen for Nasum's first full-7" EP - "World In Turmoil", released by Blurred Records, Japan. This mighty recording was made in Nasum's rehearsalplace on a 8-tracker with a friend behind the soundboard. Although the conditions, this became Nasum's most brutal and rawest production up to date. The line-up was: Mieszko - guitar/vocals and Anders - drums/bass/vocals. June 1997, time for the seventh Nasum recording and this time 17 tracks were put on tape in Mieszko's own studio Soundlab. 16 tracks were recorded for an international grindcore/power violence compilation CD ("Regressive Hostility", released by Finnish Hostile Regression Records 1998). The seventeenth track was Discharge's "Vision Of War" recorded for a Scandinavian tribute to Discharge, released by Swedish Distortion Records a couple of years later. The complete recording was one of Nasum's best so far, hard hitting songs with a killer production. A tape with the songs was sent to American Relapse Records who, according to themselves, were "psyched" and wanted to sign the band for a fullength album. Nasum accepted at once and worked hard the whole fall of 1997 with the songs for the album, and in December Nasum once again entered Soundlab Studios to record what would be the "Inhale/Exhale" album. 42 new songs were put on tape over a two month period, of which 38 ended up on the final product. Even harder and more varied than before, Nasum brought some new blood to the grindcore style. In connection with the 42 songs, Nasum recorded 4 cover songs that was released as a bonus 7" in the vinyl version of "Inhale/Exhale" by Distortion Records in the fall of 1999. November 1998: Yet another visit to Soundlab Studios to record eight new tracks, four which were sent to Relapse to be used on compilations and eventually a split 7" EP with Warhate. The other four songs (clocking in at 1.20 minutes) were recorded only to appear on a split 5" EP together with three other split 5" EP's in a very interesting box set "Better off dead" which was to be released by Clean Plate Records. That never happened.After almost four years as a duo Nasum felt that it was time to expand the line-up with a bassplayer, since the offers for shows and tours started pouring in more frequently. In the spring of 1999 Jesper Liveröd (Burst) was tested and taken into the band. This was the start of a new era since Relapse not only offered Nasum to fly to USA to appear on the 13th Milwaukee Metalfest, but also to appear on a tour with four other Relapse acts following the festival. Summer 1999: After months if intense rehearsals the "new" Nasum debuted live on the Relapse stage at the Metalfest, almost four years since the last show in Berlin, Germany. Directly after the festival, Nasum did 10 more shows in the middle and east states as part of the Contamination 1999 tour with labelmates Today Is The Day, Soilent Green, Exhumed and Morgion.Nasum 2000. The Mark 5 line-up: Jesper - bass, Mieszko - guitar/lead vocals and Anders - drums/vocals.Fall 1999: Following the tour, Nasum wrote new songs and rehearsed intensly for six weeks before the recording of the second album started. This time Nasum devided the recording into two sessions, the first session in early October and the second one in late November/early December.The new songs showed a wider range of sounds compaired to the old material. Impressions picked up during the time in the states expanded the dynamic style of Nasum to a more varied version, with an addition of even more true grindcore. 31 songs were recorded, of which 25 ended up on the album, making it a shorter album with less, but longer songs compaired to it's predecessor. The album - "Human 2.0" - was released by Relapse Records during April 2000. In the middle of the recording, Nasum started to do shows in Sweden, with an appearence on a punk/HC festival in Umeå (way up north in Sweden). Later on, early January 2000, Nasum played in their hometown Örebro, with Entombed, and in March Nasum did a weekend-tour with Skitsystem. Spring 2000: In between doing shows in Sweden Nasum recorded the song "Tools of the Trade" for a Carcass-tribute. Summer 2000: Nasum did a couple of festivals, most memorable headlining the Fuck the Commerce III-festival in Germany and performing at the classic Hultsfred-festival in Sweden. Nasum also played with Napalm Death at the Dist 2000-festival in Forshaga, Sweden. By the end of the summer, Nasum recorded five new songs for the split 7" EP with Asterisk*. Fall 2000: Nasum did a seven week European tour supporting Napalm Death. Eight countries (France, Spain, Switzerland, Italy, Czech Republic, Germany, Holland and Belgium) and forty shows. Nasum had an online tour diary, which was updated while on tour. Only four days after the tour's last show, Nasum did their final show of 2000 in Gothenburg, Sweden, with Obligatorisk Tortyr and Mindsnare. Spring 2001: After not touching their instruments for over two months, Nasum rehearsed a few times and went out on a 14 days/14 shows tour together with The Haunted and Nine, doing 12 shows all over Sweden and one in Copenhagen (Denmark) and one in Oslo (Norway). The tour was a success, with a lot of media attention - features in the big newspapers, live recordings for the national radio and a 30-minute feature on national television (with all three bands). The toured showed that there are a big interest for harder music in Sweden (the show in Nasum's hometown Örebro was totally sold out - 560 people). Summer 2001: Cooling down after the intense spring tour, Nasum wrote a couple of new songs and got into the studio in May to record eight new songs, five for a split 7" EP with Skitsystem and three for the Swedish "Polar Grinder" compilation LP. The rest of the summer was spent on four festival shows in four countries, starting with the annual Arvikafestivalen in Sweden followed by an appearance at the Knock Out-festival in Switzerland. The biggest show during the summer was without doubt the Wacken Open Air in Germany where Nasum played at the Party stage in front of several thousands of people. The summer festivals tour then concluded with a return to the Milwaukkee Metalfest in the USA. Fall 2001: Another fall and another continent to visit - Nasum took part of the "Extreme the Dojo"-tour in Japan together with jazzy hardcore-rockers Candiria and the brutal deathmachine Cryptopsy. During three dates in Osaka, Nagoya and Tokyo this line up made the dojo extreme with different kind of underground music. Meeting the Japanese fans for the first time was a pleasure for Nasum and the tour was a great success for all parts. Spring 2002: After a pretty long break from everything Nasum flew to England and shared a nightliner with The Dillinger Escape Plan and Rabies Caste doing six shows together in England, Ireland and Scotland during a week in May. Playing for the fans in this part of Europe was something Nasum had been waiting to do for a long time. Summer and fall 2002: During the late summer Nasum started to write and rehearse songs for the third album, having just a short break in October to do two shows in Sweden (Stockholm and Örebro) with old friends Nine, Skitsystem, Daybreak and Relevant Few. Fall and winter 2002/2003: Nasum got into the studio and recorded the third album, entitled "Helvete" (Swedish for "Hell"). The recording was documented weekly in an illustrated studio diary on the website. Nasum was joined briefly by Shane Embury of Napalm Death and Jörgen Sandström of Entomber, playing bass and singing on some songs. Some local guests also appeared in the studio, the original drummer/singer Rickard Alriksson and Petter Freed of 2 Ton Predator came into the studio for some additional guitar noise. he third fullength from Nasum turned out to be a hellish album taking the "Human 2.0" style even further in it's variety, this time with a fullblown and powerful production, such the music of Nasum demands. Clocking in at 35.16, "Helvete" included 22 strong songs. Spring 2003: Avaiting the release of "Helvete" Nasum took the ferry to Finland for a short tour with fellow grinders Rotten Sound. Another country to add to the list. In May "Helvete" was released in Japan (by Ritual/Howling Bull again) the 8th, in USA (by Relapse) the 13th and in Europe (also by Relapse) the 19th. Nasum mark 6:Starting with the release party for "Helvete", Nasum was now a four piece, at least live. Urban Skytt from Regurgitate joined the band on the vacant second guitar spot. Summer 2003: Nasum played at some of the more important festivals in Sweden, starting with the infamous Hultsfredsfestival, where Nasum now played at a bigger stage compared to the 2000 show, further on to the Arvikafestival (again at a bigger stage compared to the 2001 show) and ending at the Augustibuller festival which also happened to be the last show Jesper did with Nasum. Jesper had even before "Helvete" was released announced to the other members in Nasum that he had decided to leave the band after the summer, to concentrate more on his other band Burst, who also released an album on Relapse during 2003. Fall 2003: A replacement for Jesper was found in Jon Lindqvist, a long time fan of Nasum and friend of the band. Jon, who also plays in bands like Sayyadina, Acursed and Victims, joined after only one audition and quickly became a full Nasum member alongside Urban who also joined the band as more than a live guitarist. The new line up debuted at a show in Uppsala together with Tragedy. Parts of the show was filmed by Swedish TV who did a feature about Nasum in the music show "Studio Pop". Nasum continued to establish the new line up with four more shows in Sweden before 2003 ended. Winter 2004: Nasum went for a second tour in Japan with Napalm Death, A.C. and Pig Destroyer in the seventh volume of the "Extreme the Dojo" tourpackage. A double pleasure this time, since it was great for Nasum to meet up with the Japanese fans and friends and also meet and tour with Napalm Death again. Back in Sweden Nasum attened two award ceremonies since "Helvete" had been nominated for best metalalbum of 2003. First of was the P3 Guld awards, which is the Swedish National Radio's award for new music. Nasum went to the award ceremony in Gothenburg and won the price! Just one week later Nasum went to Stockholm to take part of the Manifest award, which is the independent labels' Grammy award, and again Nasum won the price! Spring 2004: In frustation from a cancelled "Helvete" tour (slated for the fall of 2003) and inspirered by a new record deal with European, Swedish and even local label Burning Heart Records Nasum suprisingly, and secretly decided to do a new album. While the new deal, which also included licensing to Relapse in the US and to Ritual/Howling Bull in Japan, was worked out Nasum wrote and rehearsed new songs. Summer 2004: Unlike any other album recording, Nasum spent a month in Soundlab Studios during the hot season creating what would become the fourth album "Shift", a title chosen to pinpoint the changes the band had been through. While a load of new songs had been written, including stuff by the two new members, two old songs eventually made it to the album. One being a reworked leftover from the "Helvete" session, one being a personal favorite from the Abstain split 7" EP. Yet again, some friends were invited into the studio to add something extra, 2 Ton Predator's Petter Freed played some solos and Rogga Johansson put down all the low vocals. ust before, during and after the recording Nasum went to different festivals including a second visit to "Fuck The Commerce", the huge Finish festival "Tuska Open Air" and a gigantic free of charge show in Gothenburg. By that time the new deal was complete and Nasum could as a total surprise for most people announce the change of record label and the new album. Fall 2004: Awaiting the release of the album, Nasum recorded their first promotional video ever. The song chosen was the mid paced Carcass reminiscing "Wrath". The video was show at the classic Stockholm club Kafé 44 with some extras dressed in white coveralls and gasmaskes. "Shift" was released mid October and Nasum embarked on their first headlining European tour just a few days after the release. Starting in Stockholm, the four weeks on tour took Nasum through Germany, Holland, England, Scotland, Belgium, France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Austria and finally Denmark. Before 2004 was over Nasum managed to do one show in Sweden and one in Cremona, Italy together with Regurgitate, Cripple Bastards and Yaecopse. The year ended with high hopes of the future. A new recording was planned, a Swedish tour under consideration and new trips to the USA and Europe, not forgetting Nasum's most exciting show to date: an appearence at 2005's P3 The year ended with high hopes of the future. A new recording was planned, a Swedish tour under consideration and new trips to the USA and Europe, not forgetting Nasum's most exciting show to date: an appearence at 2005's P3 Guld award show to be aired live in national radio and TV


02 amon amarth




Deeply rooted in death metal with firm beliefs in Viking mythology, AMON AMARTH formed in 1992 in Tumba, Sweden, a southern suburb of Stockholm. They began writing material with lots of melodies, harmonies and lyrics about Vikings and the northern gods. In summer 1993 they entered Lagret Studio to record the never released demo "Thor Arise". The band continued to rehearse and writing stronger material and again entered the studio. The result was the second demo "The Arrival Of The Fimbul Winter". This time the band was much more satisfied with the sound and songs and launched it to an unsuspecting underground. The response was overwhelming, quickly selling out of the first pressing and secured them a one off deal with Singapore's Pulverised Records.

This time they decided to use Abyss Studio, owned by Peter Tägtgren of Hypocrisy, and during five days in November 1995 the MCD "Sorrow Throughout The Nine Worlds" was recorded. The five track recording contained three new songs plus two re-recorded tracks from the band's second demo. The MCD was released in April 1996 and continued the band's build to world dominance. June 1996 saw the exiting of drummer Nico who was quickly replaced with Martin Lopez. During this time labels began to show interest and after much consideration the band chose to sign with Metal Blade. In March 1997 AMON AMARTH entered again Abyss Studios to record their Metal Blade debut "Once Sent From The Golden Hall" with Peter Tägtgren. The result proved that they were destined to become force of fury in the Swedish Death Metal scene and beyond.

After the recording of "Once sent...", guitarist Anders Hansson quit just a month before their first major tour with Deicide, Six Feet Under and Brutal Truth in June 98. They quickly recruited Johan Söderberg to make the line-up complete. The line-up was now solidified. "The Avenger" was recorded at Abyss Studios Sweden February to March 1999. Produced by the band, the seven track album is a lesson in pure Viking aggression and brutality blurring the line between death and black metal. The tour following this release was the X-mas massacre festivals, headlined by Morbid Angel.

In November 2000 the band entered The Abyss Studio for, as it would turn out, the last time. This time they recorded the album "The Crusher" (released in 2001). Living up to it's name, "The Crusher", the album is the most brutal album the band has produced so far. This release gave Amon Amarth the opportunity to tour a lot more than before and right after the recording they went on their first headlining tour through Denmark and Germany with Purgatory and Seirim. That tour ended up with great succes and they also managed to be the first metal band entering the German stages for the century. 00.05, 01 of January in 2001 in Guben. Then they went on the No Mercy Festivals 2001 with bands like Marduk and Vader. In the fall of 2001, AMON AMARTH was supposed to support Marduk on their American tour, but due to the events of September 11th, that tour was postponed until January 2002, and if that wasn't enough, Marduk couldn't make it over to the states. So AMON AMARTH got to headline their very first US tour, supported by Diabolic from Tampa, FL. The tour was a huge success, but unfortunately the tour agency decided to cut the tour short with one week. Returning to Europe, AMON AMARTH was offered the possibility to headline their own full European tour, and in April 2002 they went on the road together with Swedish "gore-masters" Vomitory. During the tour the band kept writing new material for an upcoming album.

August 2002 started with the bands second appearance at Wacken Open Air. Approximately 12 000 people saw the show, and the response was overwhelming. Almost going straight from Wacken to the Studio, AMON AMARTH began recording their new album "Versus the World" on August 7th. This time, however, the band had to use a new studio, since Peter no longer produces or records any bands, except his own, in his studio. The choice fell on Berno Studio in Malmö, and it turned out to be a great choice. Berno Studio has a great reputation in the scene and AMON AMARTH found it to be very easy to work with both Berno (owner, engineer) and Henrik (engineer). Recording in a new studio gave new dimensions to the bands sound. During the recording, the band managed to squeeze in a trip to Germany and the Summer Breeze festival, where they made a successful appearance.

AMON AMARTH toured incessantly to promote this album (3 American and 2 European tours, no less), the press woke up to their qualities, and legions of followers put the band on one level with those acts who had dominated the scene for years on end. This set the stage for "Fate Of Norns", AMON AMARTH's breakthrough album and highest charting release to date. Once again recorded at Berno Studios, "Fate Of Norns" saw the band touring Europe and America to ecstatic response from their fans, as well as conquering several new territories, such as Iceland, Mexico, Ireland, Poland, Croatia, and Norway. One of the highlights of the "Fate" touring cycle was undoubtedly when over 30,000 rabid fans gathered in front of the stage at 2AM to celebrate their heroes at Wacken Open Air 2004.

As a tribute to their loyal following, the band released a 3 DVD set entitled "Wrath Of The Norsemen", comprised of five full shows, in May 2005. With no less than six weeks in the German Music DVD Charts as we speak, the momentum gathered by the band by now is one that marketing strategists and industry people would kill to be able to reproduce. Talent, perseverance, and hard work do pay off after all. Which brings us to "With Oden On Our Side"…

In January 2006, the band started writing the follow-up to "Fate Of Norns". Being able for the first time to concentrate 100% on the music, the sessions proved fruitful, as guitarist Olavi Mikkonen confirms: "We nailed down all ideas we had from the past year and we rehearsed 5 days a week, 9 to 5. At the end of the month we had finished a 5 song demo." After a two-month break, the band returned to write the rest of the material: "We started up where we had left off and began working on all new ideas we had. Again 5 days a week, 9 to 5. This time around we had 4 new songs and the album was written. We had never written an album under these intense circumstances, but we found out that this was totally right for us." The new masterpiece "With Oden On Our Side" was born.

03 Devildriver





A devil driver is the name witches give to the bells they use to drive evil away when they are casting their spells.
For lead singer Dez Fafara, music has always been a devil driver of sorts - allowing him to drive away all of the demons of his world with a bellowing howl that is distinctively his. Ten years long and ten years strong, his assault on music has created a sound that remains both remarkably resonant and pertinent in today's metal world. DevilDriver's second album, The Fury Of Our Maker's Hand , produced by Colin Richardson, sees Fafara and the band reaching well beyond the rock solid foundation of their self-titled debut and scaling all new sonic precipices.
While most bands mature from their debut to their follow-up, DevilDriver did so by growing tighter as unit and enabling every member of the band to add to the musical sound of the band. Like many bands before them, DevilDriver went through a number of transitions during this period, and rather than finding those changes to be creatively constrictive, they allowed the band to grow as a creative unit. A true collaborative effort, The Fury of Our Maker's Hand was built riff by riff, song by song, by Jeff Kendrick & Mike Spreitzer (guitar), Jon Miller (bass) and John Boecklin (drums). "This band is amazing," says Fafara. "They all strapped on guitars and really came together around my musical vision." Together they created an album whose sonic breadth is truly a testament to their collaborative effort. "There's more melody, more hooks, more solos. There's more symbiosis in the band. Everyone is playing together really well."
Songs like "End of the Line" and "Driving Down The Darkness" are unrelenting compositions of equal parts speed and fury, showing what team-work can actually accomplish, taking DevilDriver's sound into the red. "Sin & Sacrifice" is an opus in the truest metal sense with a DevilDriver twist, starting off with an eerie orchestral intro and slowly building into wave after wave of menacing metal madness. "Hold Back The Day", the first single from Fury , combines the old with the new, simultaneously harkening back to their debut album while clearly reaching into new and fresh directions. "The songs are all separate from each other, but they've also got that grindy groove sound that only we can capture," says Fafara. "We've got our own sound and that's what we set out to do."
Not only has the bands' music matured, but Fafara's lyrics have done so as well. Gone are the days of free-floating, non-linear vocal lines that have become Fafara's trademark of sorts, rather Fury finds Fafara tackling issues and telling stories in a more traditional lyrical sense. "Before you had to try and figure out what I was saying in my lyrics. On the new album I'm trying to be more of a storyteller." While DevilDriver was laced with some of Fafara's familiar cadences, The Fury of Our Maker's Hand finds him breaking free and redirecting his sound in line with that of this band.
Fafara looks back with respect on his Coal Chamber days, but DevilDriver is the realization of all his true musical aspirations. "The influence to start this band was that I wanted to do something that was heavier, darker and full of more of my metal influences that I listen to on a daily basis. Every time I get on stage, I want to feel the music behind me. That is DevilDriver." Born out of frustration with his former band, cultivated through numerous barbecues and free-flowing red wine and solidified through a near-death experience in an RV, DevilDriver is not Dez Fafara and crew - rather it is a hard-as-nails metallic maelstrom that pounds out some of the most vicious music heard on the metal landscape today.
A balancing act of contorted melody lines, jagged guitars and staccato double bass drumming, The Fury of Our Maker's Hand delivers a uniquely sinister sound. An uncompromising tirade on all that is wrong in the world and all that is right in metal, it delivers a resounding F*** YOU to the world at large. Joined by his band and fueled by perseverance it's good to see that after 10 years Dez Fafara's middle finger is bigger than ever.


04 Cattle Decapitation





Over the span of a decade, Cattle Decapitation has forged its not-so-humble beginnings in gore-grind into one of extreme metal's most relentless forces, encompassing a sound as schizophrenic as their record collections but with a determined lyrical stance resolutely damning the ills of humanity.

After a couple early line-up shifts, "Human Jerky," Cattle Decapitation's first full-length, was released in 1999 as LP-only by Nevada label Satan's Pimp. The album featured the bass-less trio of Travis Ryan on vocals, Gabe Serbian on guitar and Dave Astor on drums. Serbian and Astor split duties with the ubiquitous arty-grind act The Locust. "Human Jerky" as well as 2000's "Homovore" (released by San Diego's Three One G label) showcased Ryan's obsessively gore-oriented musings laced within his pro-vegetarian/anti-human posture. In keeping with the spirit of the genre as well as the lyrical urgency, the 90's trio was additionally known for its ultra-short songs and unforgettable live performances (Ryan was known to occasionally perform in a mask sewn
of beef jerky). The band procured Venezuelan installation artist Nelson Garrido's arranged pieces of deceased livestock for two unmistakable album covers.

The early twenty-first century brought about a slew of changes in personnel and increased sonic brutality. Shortly after the release of Homovore, Troy Oftedal filled the formerly-vacant bass slot. Josh Elmore (previously of notorious humor-grind act 7000 Dying Rats) was brought into the fold on second guitar only to take on sole duties after Serbian's departure to focus on The Locust. The revised line-up carved their debut for Metal Blade with 2002's "To Serve Man," a coalescence of brutal grind and death metal with an increased spotlight on Elmore's arrival. After months of touring in support of the album, the band parted ways with longtime drummer Dave Astor and swiftly brought aboard good friend Michael Laughlin, formerly of San Francisco's tech-grinders Creation is
Crucifixion. With Laughlin instantly adding an increased rhythmic dynamic to the group, the relentless tour cycle was resumed straight up to the release of 2004's "Humanure." The album offered a beefed-up production, an evolved song craft and artwork that perfectly depicted the ultimate revenge on humanity, a cow excreting human remains (resulting "Humanure" as their most-banned album domestically as well as overseas). The band's experimental leaning on this record reared its head in the form of a ten-minute long track constructed almost entirely of slaughterhouse field recordings.

Between more tours Cattle Decapitation recorded 2005's split 7" shared with the canine-fronted grindcore oddity Caninus. This material saw a return-to-form in terms of song lengths but introduced an increasingly-diverse range of extreme metal. This has laid the framework for 2006's full-length, "Karma.Bloody.Karma." In Ryan's words, "This will be
the most nihilistic, pessimistic and hateful record we've ever done lyrically. Musically, imagine the Caninus split material, just longer in every way." The album features guest appearances by Joey Karam (The Locust) and John Wiese (Sunn0))),Bastard Noise) and
production by Billy Anderson (Swans, Mr. Bungle, Melvins). Since the recording, Laughlin has parted company and J.R. "Kid Gnarly" Daniels of Tampa, Florida's Unholy Ghost has stepped in to fill drum duties.

05 Napalm Death



Napalm Death was originally called "Civil Defence" and started in Birmingham, a working class city, in 1982. Information about the background of the band during this period is very scarce, since they did little recording. Anyway, it started as a Punk rock project by high school student Nick Bullen, Miles Ratledge and some friends they met at school. At this stage, the band had a punk rock/hardcore sound and was strongly inspired by the band Crass and the anarchopunk scene that took place in England in the early 80's.
As this was a very different band, I have made a special page just with detailed information dealing with the origin of Napalm Death. For a bio, interview, notes and graphics of that era: EARLY NAPALM DEATH HOMEPAGE. This page wouldn't be possible without the help of Miles Ratledge and Stewart Lee, so a mighty thanks goes out to both of them.
This incarnation of Napalm Death didn't last very long though. In the beggining Napalm didn't sound like the holocaustic destruction that we know today, but they were more inspired by early punk bands and other underground acts such as Amebix and Crass.Within that style, the band recorded a few demos and a participation on the compilation "Bullshit Detector#3", that being a compilation of punk bands made by Crass records, a label owned by Crass, a very political and socially aware british band. This is the first official Napalm Death studio recording. They were developing quite a strong following, and the band started to grow.
Meanwhile, young guitarrist Justin Broadrick was playing by himself in a project called "Final", which he taped in his room or wherever (and whenever) he could, and didn't do much else (Justin still plays and releases records under the name Final, together with Godflesh's bassist B.C.Green). Nick Bullen met Justin Broadrick in a record shop that both used to hang out in Birmingham. They had similar interests (Punk Rock, Metal, Throbbling Gristle...) and soon enough Justin was admitted into Nick Bullen's project. This was around May 1985, and with him came the very first metal sounds. "Justin came about and presented a more metallic style, combined with loose Killing Joke playing" says former drummer Mick Harris. They then recorded a legendary demo (Hatred Surge). On the Hatred Surge demo they had some funny pseudonymous. The line-up described on the tape is: Nik - Vox, Just - Guitar, Nuts - Bass, Rat - Drums.
After recording the Hatred demo, The Rat got out (Harris says that they were having problems with him) and Mick Harris, a local fan who didn't even owned his own drum kit was admitted into the band. As he says: "I had become a keen fan watching every local show and got the job I guess. (...) all I had was a pair of sticks and i wanted to go Maniac behind the kit". The band then became a three piece (with Nik Bullen taking over bass duties besides singing) and having Justin only on guitar and newcomer Mick on drums. "It became more metal influenced as the three of us played more" continues Mick.

Then, they actually became the most extreme grindcore act ever. After getting in touch with Digby Pearsons, the owner of the small label "Earache Records", through mutual friends, Napalm Death signed a deal and recorded half (yes, HALF of the songs!) of what was to be their debut album "Scum" in 1986. As Dig himself says: "I first met them in 85 or 86, they had putted a demo out, and no one would touch it. But I listened to it, and I loved it, so I decided to put it out". The album was yet unreleased.
Although ND was the first band who actually coined the word "Grindcore" to classify and define the type of music that they played, lots of other bands where already doing it for a while. Acts such as Siege, Repulsion, Macabre, S.O.B., Larm, Heresy, Criptic Slaughter, Nausea, Death and many others where all known for playing ultra fast and brutal songs. They didn't actually "invented" grindcore, but more like helped it evolve and go forward. Anyway, Napalm Death was the first to actually pigeonhole those bands within a style, and to establish themselves as kings of the genre.
"Grindcore was Micky's (Mick Harris) term" says singer Mark Greenway: "It didn't come from the press, we invented it". Concerning the definition of what is grind, he says:"Grind can be anything from ultrafast thrash to really slow, heavy and dense music like early Swans". The grind scene was then beggining to take shape, and soon all bands would be led by Napalm Death.
At this time Nik Bullen was both playing the bass and singing but that was soon to change... As with everything in Napalm Death. In order to make things easier to Nik, a new bassist, Jim Whitley, was called, and Nik concentrated in singing.
On they went playing in small clubs and the like, gaining a small but loyal following.
During one of the concerts, the band played with fellow noisiers Head of David (which was also a brutal band, but industrial like) and Justin, which was absolutely mad about the guys, was offered to play with them, provided that he left Napalm. He didn't think twice before leaving Grindcore for good, and joining Head of David on drums. Napalm Death didn't have a guitarrist anymore.
Not long after Justin left, Nik Bullen ALSO left. According to Mick Harris he was loosing interest, showing up late for rehearsals, etc. He was asked to settle or get out. Obvioulsy he chose the latter, left the band and wen't to collage. (Later, he formed the ambient-dub-drum 'n' bass-industrial-dance-whatever combo "Scorn" with Mick Harris, but more of that in proper time). The lyrics sheet in Scum has a message from Mick Harris to both Nik and Justin, saying goodbye and telling them to keep together, which, to tell you the truth......they didn't!!!
The band was then reduced to Jim on Bass and Mick on Drums, and things were clearly not going anywhere this way.....they had to look for new members. Guitarrist Bill Steer played in a local grind band called Carcass, (you might have heard about them!!!) and given the afinity between the bands, he soon joined Mick and ND. Also, a new singer had been called: Lee Dorrian!! Yes!!! the king of screaming Grindcore himself! So now the band, whose original members where all gone (but Mick) had a new guitarrist (Bill), a solo singer (Lee), Mick on drums and Jim on bass, a lovely line-up.
With this line-up they recorded what was to become th B side of "Scum", and the result was finally released trough Earache as MOSH 3. An instant hit among the underground community, Scum sold very well as soon as it was released (more than 90 thousand copies in England only). It caused an impact in extreme music that is felt 'till today, influencing bands from all around the world. This classic attempt against logical musical structure and good taste features seminal Grindcore classics such as "Dragnet", "Mind Control", and the yet to be surpassed "You Suffer", an exquisite piece of composition which lasts for about 0.7 seconds (a world record for the world's shortest song maybe?)
After the warm welcome from thrashers, punks, metalheads, moshers, grinders and the like, the band went on tour. Nevertheless, no stranger to line-up changes, ND lost another of its members. Jim was out of the band just before the tour for "Scum" was about to be (again for reasons unknown...as one can see Napalm Death is a rather misterious band). Enter Shane Embury, the guy with the ugliest hair in the history of Grindcore. After this small line-up change, they took part in two compilations (North atlantic noise attack and the Pathological), recorded two Peel sessions and a Split 7" with japanese grinders S.O.B. On top of that, our adorable grinders went to Rich Bitch studio once more and recorded their second insult to moralistc society, the controversial classic "From Enslavement to Obliteration".
Very much in the same vein of "Scum", "From Enslavement..." differs from "Scum" as far as production goes, but that's about it. Here, again, we have the same bombastic waves of noise and ultra-fast-light-speed thrash that made our hearts warmer when listening to "Scum". Bill's guitar shreds through thin air, and Lee's vocals sound as if he was vomitating and agonizing in pain. Pure joy and clean entertainment for the whole family, a classic no doubt. Following the release of FETO Napalm had a participation on BBC's Arena Heavy Metal Special, which proved how successfull the band could be.
The band went on touring around the world for a while, but as soon as they came back home from Japan, in july 1989, Bill and Lee decided to quit and follow their own paths. Well, once again Napalm was reduced to a pair of members. But both Shane Embury and Mick Harris knew what to do, so it didn't take long before they contacted what were to be the new members of ND.
Soon enough they contacted Jesse Pintado (who had played in a Grind project called "Terrorizer"). A new singer, Mark "Barney" Greenway, who sung in the Death Metal act "Benediction" was also called, and immediatelly joined the Wild Bunch. The band was now ready to rock, and so they did.
After recruiting new members for the Napalm front, the band took part of the Grindcrusher tour, with fellow labelmates Carcass, Bolt Thrower and Morbid Angel. After the touring, our toxic avengers decided to change things a little bit.They called in a second guitarrist, Mitch Harris (Ex Rightous Pigs), and soon started writting new songs with this line-up. With different members, and differnet things in mind, Napalm Death now also wanted a new producer. On they went to american Death Metal producer extraordinarie Scott Burns (of Sepultura and Death fame), who lives and works in Florida. Burns records most of his stuff on Morrisound studio, a kind of "meeting point" for extreme bands. The place has already been used by acts such as Obituary, Fear Factory, Deicide, Death and others. It was time for Napalm Death to be introduced to this wonderfull place.
The band went to Morrisound and started working on their new album: "Harmony Corruption". While writting "Harmony..." they definitely changed their style a little, going from the straightforward, no-holds-barred Grindcore, to a healthy "mix" of good old sonic blast beats and some slower, more rithmic parts. It is much more Death Metal influenced than the previous albums, and it was a good progression as far as the compositions went. But, nothing is perfect, and Scott Burns production on this record is really shitty. Like me, the band also didn't like Burns's work, and never worked with him again.
After releasing the new record, ND went on touring around the world (starting with Brasil!!! yeah!! being supported by Sepultura during the Beneath the Remains era) and from the material filmed at those concerts they released a home-video, "Live Corruption". Napalm's last founding member, Mick Harris wanted to change the band. He was bored by all the Death/Thrash thing and wanted to experiment a little, try new things, risk a little more. His idea was to introduce things like samplers and drum machines into the band. Well, the other guys didn't like those ideas very much. They still wanted to play straighforward Grindcore!!! And so Mick was forced to quit Napalm and started his own band, Scorn. Ironicly enough, he called ND's original Bassist/vocalist Nik Bullen, and ND's original guitarrist Justin K. Broadrick, and together they went to the studio to record Scorn's debut, "Vae Solis".
An extensive US tour with Sepultura, Sacred Reich and Sick Of It All followed, widening the Napalm Death audience even further.
In the meantime, ND released a new record, "Utopia Banished". Now working with producer extraordinarie Colin "mr. soft" Richardson. This release was a kind of "return to the roots". Bombastic, "take no prisioners" grindcore is played here, no survivals at all costs!!! Much more minimal than "Harmony", this record follows the same style we had in "Scum" and "From Enslavament". A very nice record on the early ND tradition. After recording "The World Keeps Turning" EP, the band trekked Europe with Dismember and Obituary on the "Campaing for Musical Destruction" tour. The tour continued in the US, with Napalm playing with Cathedral, Carcass and Brutal Truth.
Things then went more smoothly to our dear Napalmers. The line-up was never to change again. Mitch, Jesse and Danny all went to England to live with Shane, and the only one living alone (in Bimingham, the others live in Wolverhampton) is Barney. After all the touring and stuff, the band rested for a while, went to the studio and recorded "Fear, Emptiness, Despair...". Now this was a major change!!

No:1 Atmospheric Death metal ever

Septic Flesh




The band was originally formed under the name Septic Flesh in March 1990. Their first MLP "Temple of The Lost Race" was released in December 1991. It was completely sold out and now is a real cult item. Two songs from this release and the song "Morpheus (The Dreamlord)" formed the "Morpheus Awakes"-promo that gained them a contract with Holy Records.

"Mystic Places of Dawn" was their first full length album, a journey to ancient mysteries and places of myth and fantasy. It was recorded on Storm Studio, with Magus Wampyr Daoloth as co-producer, and was released on April 1994. It was one of the first underground releases that presented to the audience, the combination of fast speeds and brutality with melodic atmospheric parts, the sound that later was labelled as "Dreamy Death Metal". The devastating track "Return to Carthage" was chosen from this album to appear on the Nuclear Blast's "Death Is Only The Beginning III" compilation.

One year later on June 1995 the band returned with "Esoptron". It was recorded again on Storm Studio with the help of Magus Wampyr Daoloth as co-producer. The result was a unique threnody exploring the chaotic ego in a dark romantic way. The tempo this time was slower, and the band inserted more doom elements to the music. On the other hand, the influences from the ancient Hellenic culture and music were at their peak.

The next album "Ophidian Wheel" came out on May 1997 and exceeded all expectations raising the popularity of the band. This time the band used Praxis Studio and Lambros Sfyris as co-producer. The addition of female vocals, with the help of Natalie Rassoulis, and the neoclassical influences that were brought from Chris A. (due to his studies on an English university of music), made the songs sound even more theatrical and technical. As for the lyrics, they were designed to form a mystical concept about the secret "engine" that generates change and motion in reality...

"A Fallen Temple" was the last album under the name Septic Flesh and the last cooperation of the band with Natalie Rassoulis. The band decided to close the first chapter on March 1998, presenting to the fans the hidden treasures of it's history, the extremely rare songs of "Temple of The Lost Race" MLP. For that purpose, they entered Praxis Studio to re-record the old material. In addition, they recorded five new songs to give a taste of the future. Songs like "Marble Smiling Face' and " The Eldest Cosmonaut" became soon very popular.

"The Eldest Cosmonaut" was the band's first videoclip. Later it was included in a special package, along with a MCD filled with 4 bonus tracks. The title of this release was representative of what would come... D.N.A, a Dark New Age of musical enchantment.

The success of the "Temple of Humiliations" tour, with Natron and Misanthrope as supporting bands, proved that the followers of the Dreamlord are indeed powerful and their legions have grown a Hell lot! The time was right for a big bold step forwards...

On the 12th of June 1999 started the "Revolution DNA", on the Swedish Studio Fredman (Arch Enemy, In Flames, Hammerfall etc.), with the help of Fredrik Nordström as producer. The result is simply, innovative metal music for the Dark New Age. This album is the final breath of the flesh and the birth from its burning ashes of the Chaostar. The new name has the aura of the dark sun that rules the infinite worlds. Songs as "Nephilim Sons", "Last Stop to Nowhere", "Age of New Messiahs", "Android", "Chaostar", are destined to haunt the dreams of those that will unlock the doors of Revolution DNA. One small taste is capable to leave one addicted to the intense guitar melodies, the sharp rhythm section and the ocean of experimental sampler sounds that stigmatise this album. The vocals of Spiros A. are more theatrical and soulful now. As for the performance of Sotiris V., it is electrifying! Surely, the fans of the band will be more than satisfied, as the band has developed the music in a refreshing way, without loosing the elements that were always on the core of its essence.

Two years have passed since the release of the " Revolution DNA" album the band decided to move forward and expand its horizons. HOLY RECORDS was too limited for their ambition, demands and musical genius, so they started working with HARVEST MUSIC management, looking for a label fitted to their musical abilities. The search was on for months and several negotiations with big labels, multinational and independent, took place. Contracts were reviewed, deals were discussed. Finally in late 2001, the band found its new home: the European death metal factory of the mighty HAMMERHEART RECORDS. The pact was done!
In summer 2002 they entered the infamous FREDMAN STUDIO once again in order to record the new masterpiece! After 6 weeks of intense recordings in the Swedish land, the new opus was ready: " Sumerian Daemons"! As it is clear from its title the new album is their fiercest album to date! Sheer brutality combined with their classic melodic lines, mixed with pure devilry and symphonic, operatic parts of the highest musicianship! Everything packed together in an unbelievable combo: aggression, speed, melody, profanity, classical orchestrations and a devious dark atmosphere which engulfs everything!
For the photo session and layout photos the art of the notorious Alahouzos brothers (the famous special FX duo) was summoned. With their help, the band managed to transform their nightmarish music into images! Such profanity has never printed on film before! The experience of the Alahouzos brothers in horror movies, gave to SEPTIC FLESH the sinister atmosphere other bands luck! Be prepared for a piece of extreme art fuelled with visions from your worst nightmares! You have been warned...
Septic Flesh is the sick union of the following beings:
Spiros A. (Dragon Voice \ Bass) Sotiris V. (Vocals \ Guitars) Chris A. (Guitars \ Samplers)Akis K. (Drums)

the best Gothenburg metal 2010

....Soilwork The Panic Broadcast....




Soilwork's eighth album 'The Panic Broadcast' marks the return of guitarist Peter Wichers. Since Wichers exited the band due to feeling he couldn't top what the band had done prior, it was crucial that this new album didn't repeat any patterns.

"We wanted to do a record that felt spontaneous yet genuine, not just using the formula that has worked in the past. We challenged ourselves," Wichers told Noisecreep. "In the past, we focused on that one song that could get radio airplay. We gave that a good shot, but it never 'happened.' So we were going to write what we felt is awesome and not focus on length and make sure the songs are interesting all the way through -- and not compromise to keep the length at [three and a half mintues]. I felt like that was one of the major differences."

Other differences and improvements on 'The Panic Broadcast' include extended verses, which is new for Soilwork. "We hadn't done that before and we are bringing back older elements," Wichers, who lives in North Carolina and is a transplanted Swede, said. "Also, with guitar solos, the problem we had [was] not working on what's behind the lead. It's usually just straight chords and then someone shreds for a minute. But if you write a specific part for the lead underneath, it's more interesting than people who just like a shred. Girls don't just love guitar solos!'

Like Wichers, much of the band splits time between the U.S. and Sweden and doesn't live in Sweden full time when not touring. Wichers feels like a resident of the U.S., too. "I am used to how it works here, so I am Americanized," he said. "When I go home, it's like, 'What do you mean the grocery store closes at 8? I can't get a burger at 2 AM? It's the convenience factor. You get used to that, and you can't beat the weather here compared to Sweden."

THE MERCURY ARC

Heavy, all-out and riddled with multi-layered melodies - the distinctive metalcore mix of THE MERCURY ARC definitely thumbs the eardrums of demanding fans of relentless music.THE MERCURY ARC stands for impulsive tension, reactive melodies and aggressive audio-impact. Mercury is known for it's toxicity and for it's liquid state of aggregation which is unique among metal. So is the dynamic music of the band, named after the physical mercury phenomenon, which shifts the listener into a toxic flush. The band's name has been chosen consciously to express how the band's sound unifies metallic heaviness, liquid liveliness and melodic ease. Since 2006 it's the stated aim of the band to establish a musical massif of various styles of Metal and Hardcore. These six blooded musicians: Dennis Diehl, Benny Richter begin_of_the_skype_highlighting end_of_the_skype_highlighting, Thomas Helten, Dominic Paraskevopoulos, Andy Posdziech and Andy Latzko from the Ruhr-Area, Germany are now recording their debut album which will be released on 6th of November 2009. The upcoming record embodies the fast-paced development of THE MERCURY ARC. With the new record in stores and their new band name (formerly Butterfly Coma) along with their new guitar player these musicians will push the envelope in 2009. The sound of THE MERCURY ARC stands out with it’s cutting aggressive guitar riffs, paired with catchy melodies which are borne by several voice vocals and spherical keyboards. The driving drum rhythms and grooving bass lines along with the brute shouting of the singer form the backbone of the songs. The blend gets flavored with cutting-edge scratches and samples. Producer of their debut album is Benny Richter, who has previously worked in the studio with bands like Caliban, Krypteria and Emil Bulls. The soundtrack of the successful Halloween-event Terenzi Horror Nights also bears his musical signature. After the album release in autumn the band is up for an extensive support tour.

Top 10 Swedish bands

01 Soilwork




Soilwork was first formed in the end of 1995, but under the name Inferior Breed with the following line-up: Peter Wichers - rhythm guitar, Jimmy Persson - drums, Bjorn Strid - vocals, Mattias "Nizze" Nilsson - lead and rhythmguitar and Carl-Gustav Doos - bass.
This sound was mostly technical stuff in the vein of Machine Head and Pantera.
As the time went by we started to get more and more intrested in the melodies. By the fall of 1996, we decided to change the name to Soilwork to fit the new sound we had created. We did a demotape that was entitled "In Dreams we fall into the eternal lake", this demotape consited of 5 songs. One of them was just a philosofical break, but the other four had good potential. The Demotape was passed out to many record companies and we actually hooked up with Mike Amott from ARCH ENEMY. Mike worked at a local recordshop in Helsingborg, and as we one day came in to glance the CD's we thought that it would be a good idea to give him a copy of the tape, so we did! Mike liked the demo very much, so we asked him if he could pass it on to some labels, and he did.
During the break between the demo and the album we maneged to get a new bassplayer by the name Ola Flink. He was tall as hell and most certainly could rock! We got in touch with two labels, which were very interested in us. Things took it's turns and we decided to write with a promising label from France called LISTENABLE Records. Shortly after we wrote the deal, we went into the famous Studio Fredman to record our debut album " Steel Bath Suicide ".

02 Scar Symmetry




Just when you think a genre has exhausted its possibilities, when a certain style of metal has hit the wall of mediocrity, along comes a band to jolt life back into it. Hailing from Sweden - a mecca for melodic death metal - and on a quest to pioneer their own form of that well-established genre, SCAR SYMMETRY proved to be an exceptional gathering of talents able to produce an eccentric mixture of metal that can only be described as an intoxicating, modern hybrid of melodic death metal. Encapsulating everything each band member loves about metal - harmony, melody, brutality, exceptional songwriting, complex instrumentation - this union of Yin/Yang elements lent itself to SCAR SYMMETRY's blueprint of amalgamation in their quest to make unbridled music devoid of borders.

The band's name - thought into existence by drummer Ohlsson - denotes a peculiar balance. A combination of a "hard" word (scar), and a "soft" word (symmetry), it symbolizes the emotional scars everyone harvests from living a human life and the symmetry we share with each other as a result. For Jonas Kjellgren (Carnal Forge, Centinex, World Below), Henrik Ohlsson (Altered Aeon, Theory In Practice, Mutant), Per Nilsson (Altered Aeon), Christian Älvestam (Unmoored, Incapacity, Torchbearer), and Kenneth Seil, the symmetry existed in spades. There was an instant "click" between these musicians hailing from different regions of Sweden, and difficult as it is to believe, the band sent the Stockholm-based Cold Records their one-track (!) demo, "Seeds Of Rebellion," and landed a deal in mid-2004.

For their debut album, SCAR SYMMETRY entered Kjellgren's own Black Lounge Studio to record and self-produce Symmetric In Design in three months. Featuring artwork by Pär Johansson, the lyrics tackled mystical & cosmic themes such as astral projection, reincarnation, and dark prophecies of a dystopian future. Showcasing ambient vocal harmonies, striking & intricate transitions, and a deeply rooted spirit of experimentation in all twelve tracks, SCAR SYMMETRY created one of 2005's buried treasures, as Symmetric In Design went on to place in multiple end-of-the-year lists among the metal press under various categories: "Best Debut Album," "Best of 2005," and "Bands You Should Know." Vocalist Christian Älvestam demonstrated all the signs of multiple personality disorder with his Mikael Åkerfeldt-styled guttural death growls, his higher, sadistic register similar to Hypocrisy's Peter Tägtgren, and ultimately unleashing an emotionally clean voice bordering on the likes of AOR-styled rock. "A standout first effort," hailed AllMusic.com, while Outburn Magazine praised: "Complete with amazing guitar work, dark symphonic synthetic ambience, and bone-crushing thrash-heavy grooves, SCAR SYMMETRY reaches into little-charted territory to capture the imagination."

With less than eight months between releases, SCAR SYMMETRY's ambition seeks to flex its muscular and melodic aggression once again with Pitch Black Progress. Featuring the same stellar cast from their debut album, this sophomore effort proves they have created a dominion of inherent diversity where THEY control the extremes. Re-entering Black Lounge Studio (owned and run by Kjellgren, who comes from a family lineage of professional musicians) with their no-holds-barred approach to music making, SCAR SYMMETRY dive deep into their collective subconscious and resurface to unveil another sonic tapestry of astoundingly versatile textures. With the aim to resurrect the awe in their listeners, "The Illusionist," "Slaves To The Subliminal," "The Kaleidoscopic God," "Calculate The Apocalypse," and "Retaliator" all exemplify Älvestam's extreme range (which takes you between fearsome death growls & blissfully clean vocals and back again), Kjellgren & Nilsson's tricky fretwork & heroic, prog-infused guitar solos, Seil's precise bass lines, and Ohlsson's exacting drum work. Every track converges into a pinnacle of raw talent that flourishes with its expression.

03 Arch Enemy




Who is a rebel but someone inclined to resist authority? What is rebellion but open defiance of that authority?
With a band name meaning chief attacker, principle opponent, and eminent hostile foe, ARCH ENEMY's blatant philosophy of insurgence is exactly what propels them out of the masses of convention and into the frontline of a movement that dares to defy imposed limitations on musical creativity.
Throughout his career, former Carcass guitarist and ARCH ENEMY founding member Michael Amott has never been concerned with conformity. In 1996, his pursuit to merge melody with aggression and technicality led him to collaborate with brother Christopher Amott, drummer Daniel Erlandsson, and vocalist Johan Liiva. Without even circulating a demo, they teamed up with the celebrated producer Fredrik Nordström and delivered ARCH ENEMY's debut, Black Earth - an album that is still hailed as a milestone in Swedish death metal. Michael Amott and Fredrik Nordström co-produced 1998's Stigmata, which pushed the band to new heights with its technical execution. Welcoming Mercyful Fate bassist Sharlee D'Angelo into the ranks for 1999's Amott/Nordström-produced Burning Bridges, ARCH ENEMY's now undeniable musical pedigree delivered an intricate and devastating album. Despite a North American tour with Nevermore, European tours with In Flames, Children Of Bodom, and Dark Tranquillity, three Japanese tours, performances at The Dynamo Festival, a co-headlining appearance in Santiago, Chile with Hammerfall, and sharing a bill with Cradle Of Filth in London, Michael Amott felt there was still more territory to cover, as all high-achievers are wont to believe.
In a completely unexpected turn of events, Angela Gossow - a completely unknown vocalist from Germany - replaced Johan Liiva in 2001 and delivered a staggering debut performance on the Wages Of Sin album (produced by Fredrik Nordström and mixed by Andy Sneap), marking the first time a band of this caliber and ferocity was fronted by a woman. The reception given to Gossow by the sold-out crowd at her worldwide debut in Los Angeles in March 2002 was nothing short of overwhelming. The album was bathed in unending universal praise from daily newspapers, front cover press in worldwide national magazines with Wages Of Sin proudly claiming stake in end-of-the-year "Best Of..." lists, while the metal underground showcased a faithful display of allegiance to the new line-up. Metal Maniacs hailed the album as a "relentless, eclectic and wholly charged album to keep even those with the shortest musical attention spans entertained." Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles insisted the album "requires a double-take, as Angela's gurgling undertow sticks needles in your eardrums while your eyes can't believe where it's coming from." Metal Edge declared Angela Gossow to be "one of the most promising talents in years." North America's Alternative Press quickly identified ARCH ENEMY as one of the five bands who exemplify "the sound of things to come" in 2002. This claim would soon prove itself prophetic during the band's performances at Japan's Beast Feast, the Milwaukee Metalfest, the New England Metal & Hardcore Festival, a North American tour supporting Nile, their own headlining North American tour, and six sold-out dates in Japan.
Fueled by their success and teaming up with producer English producer extraordinaire Andy Sneap for Anthems Of Rebellion, ARCH ENEMY unveils yet another stratum of their impressive musical depth, the obvious being Gossow's talents of enunciation, which truly rank with the accomplishments of Death's Chuck Schuldiner and Carcass's Jeff Walker. Filled with the trademarked tandem guitar work of the Amott Brothers and the flawless D'Angelo/Erlandsson rhythm section that has earned the band staunch recognition, "Tear Down The Walls/Silent Wars" is the articulation of awakening, a mandate for change; "We Will Rise" is a call to consciousness, a declaration of war against everything mediocre force-fed to us by society; "Leader Of The Rats" is a reminder of the much-needed cynicism that can keep everyday life in perspective; and finally, "Despicable Heroes" is a scathing critique of the hypocrisy of those appointed to leadership who abuse the loyalty of their followers.

04 Dark Tranquillity




Back in the early '90s Sweden's DARK TRANQUILLITY were laying the foundations for a style of metal that they could call their own. Having identified the limitations within the strict and rigid framework of the downtrodden death metal genre, DARK TRANQUILLITY began experimenting with and incorporating advanced melodic patterns and non-linear song structures into their intense, aggressive and accomplished music. Last year's Projector showcased DARK TRANQUILLITY's ability to expand their musical borders and constantly challenge their listeners: That diverse and introspective album brought home euphoric reviews and even got the band nominated in the Hard Rock category in the Swedish Grammy awards. 2000 brings yet another new opus from DT, perhaps even more ripened than its predecessor, the monstrous and challenging Haven.
Formed in 1989, DARK TRANQUILLITY have had a huge influence on the European underground scene, pioneering the now-archetypal style that journalists and fans have dubbed the "Gothenburg sound" (alluding to their native town in Sweden of course). This term is characterized with dueling guitar harmonies and complex song structures combined with an intense aural assault rooted in the '80s thrash tradition, although with a more melodic approach. Within the first several years DT released three full-length recordings and two EPs (the first two on Spinefarm and the next three on Osmose) and became one of the most heralded and talked-about bands in the entire Scandinavian metal movement. Their third full-length The Mind's I and its preceding EP Enter Suicidal Angels displayed the expected DARK TRANQUILLITY trademarks and characteristics, however the songs began to get shorter and more compressed, focusing on energy and vitality while still retaining the accurate sense of melody that have graced the band's past material. In early 1999 the band signed a deal with Century Media Records, who released the band's 1999 album Projector to the entire world. Projector was the band's most dynamic work to date, seething with technical power while representing more progression for the group in terms of creative maturity and approach. Mikael Stanne's voice was more effective and identifying than ever, while the playing of guitarists Niklas Sundin (who actually writes lyrics for fellow Swedes In Flames) and Fredrik Johansson amazed even the most selective of metal fan. The core elements of DARK TRANQUILLITY (who are rounded out with bassist Martin Henriksson and drummer Anders Jivarp) were very present, while newer influences and approaches were also integrated, resulting in an album that was as modern as it was impacting, and as aspiring as it was identifiable. Their European tour with In Flames, Children Of Bodom and label mates Arch Enemy did not only fulfill the dreams of every true Gothenburg-sound disciple, but turned out to be a triumphant advance for lovers of intelligent, extreme music that dares to embrace melody. Soon it was followed by two successful shows in the land of the rising sun with Soilwork, filling the overflow of Japanese crowds with rabid enthusiasm.

05 Nightrage




NIGHTRAGE was originally formed in Greece/Thessaloniki back in the year 2000 by Marios Iliopoulos (formerly of EXHUMATION) who released three high-quality death metal albums, all produced in Sweden). And his blood brother Gus G.

Now NIGHTRAGE is back after 2 excellent releases at Century Media Records. "Sweet vengeance" became fast one of the most spoken of and interesting melodic death metal releases of the year (2003) and the follow up "Descent into chaos"; (2005) got great reviews worldwide. From the very beginning this band has always stood for high quality melodic metal packaged in a perfect production. NIGHTRAGE have collaborated with highly skillful musicians like Tomas Lindberg (ex AT THE GATES, THE GREAT DECEIVER), Gus G (ex DREAM EVIL, FIREWIND), Per Möller Jensen (THE HAUNTED) and now the band have signed a new worldwide deal with Lifeforce Records.

The band did many shows so far including an opening slot for ARCH ENEMY, THE HAUNTED, and DARK TRANQUILLITY show at Forum/London, a USA tour (first ever US tour for NR) with bands like MANNTIS, GOD DETHRONED, Lifeforce Records label mates HELL WITHIN and THINE EYES BLEED, also a really successful sold-out European tour with BOLT THROWER, MALEVOLENT CREATION and NECROPHAGIST, and some festival appearances at Inferno festival/ Oslo and Lorca rock/ Murcia Spain, festival along with headline shows at Underworld/ London and Portugal/ Lisabon.

The remaining force of the band: Band-leader/song-writer/guitarist Marios Iliopoulos, bass-player/song-writer Henric Carlsson (ex CIPHER SYSTEM) along with new extreme vocalist/song-writer Jimmie Strimell, who is being described as the one of the best vocalists of his genre, are now working together with the new material for the third album. The results are amazing and some song-titles like:" A Condemned club" and "Reconcile" shows the progression that the band achieved and the new songs feel like having the edge of world class material.

06 Miseration




There's no big secret about the musical focus of Miseration: This Swedish quintet is death metal to the core! Miseration is the latest effort from Scar Symmetry Vocalist Christian Älvestam and Jani Stefanovic (Essence of Sorrow), who together perform a fast, brutal and aggressive melodic style of metal, what their homeland Sweden is best known for. Lifeforce Records is proud to give the band's critically acclaimed debut album "Your Demons, Their Angels" a worldwide release and help spread their metallic plague throughout the world.

07 Meshuggah



Meshuggah was formed in 1987 in Umea, Sweden. Guitarist Fredrik Thordendal, bassist Peter Nordin and vocalist Jens Kidman all played on the debut-EP of 1989. At that time Jens Kidman played the guitar as well. Umea has a healthy scene, and a lot of people are involved in rock music. According to Jens Kidman there are a lot of good bands from Umea, "probably because there is not a lot to do". The fact that there is a university in Umea might also strengthen the rock-scene. A lot of people play in bands, but few of these are known outside the town. The majority of the musicians wanting to get anywhere with their music leave town. Many of the session-musicians in Stockholm are from Umea, according to Marten Hagstrom.

It is quite easy to hear some of Meshuggahs early influences on their first release, "Psykisk Testbild" from 1989. (The title translates to something like "Psychological Test-Picture".) Metallica definitely was a major influence. The music of this EP is simplier and more "straight-forward" than their more recent material, but some of their more progressive elements are present in the form of time-changes and polyrythmics, and Fredrik Thordendals lead-playing stands out.

Tomas Haake joined on drums before Meshuggah recorded their first LP,"Contradictions collapse", which was released in 1991. The band had signed a recording deal with the German record-label Nuclar Blast, which specializes in metal-releases. The songs on this record are much longer and ymore complicated, in both structure and rythmics. The record company did nothing to promote the album, which consequently sold badly. Between this record and the next one guitarist/vocalist Jens Kidman decided to concentrate on the singing and left the guitar duties over to Marten Hagstrom, who had played in a band with drummer Tomas Haake already when they were in sixth grade (!). Marten Hagstrom feels that the song-title 'Building a big building' from that time accurately characterizes that band ...

The new line-up recorded the EP "None" in 1994. It was not until now that the record label realized that the band has a certain sales-potential, but a couple of accidents forced the band to remain silent for the rest of that year. Fredrik Thordendal managed to cut off the tip of his left middle- finger (He is a carpenter).The finger tip is sewn back on, and he is able, to a certain degree, to play with it again. As if this wasn't enough, Tomas Haake shortly after mangled his hand in some sort of grinding machine. Several months passed without much practice. the EP "Selfcaged" was recorded in April and May 1994, but the release was delayed with one year due to the accidents.

January 1995 saw the band returning to the public, when they left off for a short European tour organized by the record-label. Short after returning back home they recorded the album "Destroy, Erase,Improve", and then they were off again on a two month European tour supporting the american band Machine Head. Halfway through this tour bassist Peter Nordin became ill, and got problems with the balance nerve in his inner ear - he was chronically dizzy, consantly feeling like he was falling! He had to go back home to Sweden, leaving the band on tour without a bassist. The bassist of Machine Head offered to help out, but Meshuggah decided to try out as a 4-piece again. On some shows Fredrik played the bass through his guitar rig, on others they went with just 2 guitars - with Marten playing through a pitch shifter - shifted one octave down. When Fredrik handled the bass he even played his leads on it - taking care of tapping etc. ! "Destroy,Erase,Improve" was released in May 1995, this time with a more proper marketing by the record label. In the autumn of 1995 they did a short tour with Clawfinger, through Scandinavia and Germany. The first couple of shows were done without a bassist - Peter Nordin having now left the band. A replacement bassist joined the band for the show in Hamburg, this was Gustaf Hielm (formerly of Charta 77). During that fall Meshuggah also went on a month tour with Hypocrisy.

08 Sonic Syndicate


It all started in 2002, when Roger, Richard, and thirteen-year-old Robin wanted to start a band together after taking a break from playing in various other bands. They previously had a band together with a few classmates, but wanted to start a new project and take the music in a different direction. This new project became known as Fallen Angels, and played heavy metal influenced by Iron Maiden and Helloween. Fallen Angels completed their first gig at a school talent show in March 2003. They made it to the final but sadly didn't win the competition. Still, the band was satisfied enough with the great response from the crowd and everyone else involved in the competition. Shortly after, the band had made themselves a name in their hometown of Falkenberg, on the west coast Sweden.

In under a year, Fallen Angels recorded three demos. The 2nd and 3rd demo the band decided to record at Studio Mega (The Crown, Beseech, Lake of Tears) and shortly after started to play shows throughout Scandinavia. In December of 2004, Fallen Angels signed with Pivotal Records in the USA to release their debut album "Eden Fire". With their debut album on the way the band felt they had to decide on their final name. They had been searching for a band name for quite a while and thought Sonic Syndicate sounded more like them! The name was much more unique and is also a statement to enhance their musical direction. With time booked in Studio Mega in the spring of 2005 and the release date set for September 13, the band was rolling! With their sound of Swedish melodic metal and American hardcore Eden Fire has started to prove that Sonic Syndicate is a band that will break everything in its path. Eden Fire has been compared worldwide to acts such as In Flames, Children of Bodom and Killswitch Engage and the list goes on.

09 Kid Down


Kid Down är ett svenskt rockband. Bandet bildades 2002 i Åmål, Sverige och har gjort flera turnér bland annat med amerikanska Fall Out Boy och svenska the Sounds i Tyskland. Deras debutalbum And the Noble Art of Irony gavs ut Europa och Japan i mars 2007 av Burning Heart Records/Epitaph och 2008 släpptes I Want My Girlfriend Rich, även denna i Europa och Japan som följdes upp av ytterligare en europaturné under 2009 tillsammans med Underoath, Taking Back Sunday och Thursday och bandet drog till sig en ny stor skara fans ute i Europa.

10 Chemical Vocation



Chemical Vocation is a pop punk band, inspired by post-hardcore. The band members are from all over the west coast of Sweden. They met in highschool in Uddevalla and in 2005 they signed to an indie label called The Emo Foundation. In the Summer of 2005 their self-titled debut EP was released, leading with the catchy and memorable track ‘Unspection’.
Their full length album called ‘A Misfit In Progress’ was released on September 24th 2008 through the the indie label Panic & Action.