Swedish Death Metal

Other than being home to Bathory, Sweden was not recognized as a region of import by the general metal underground in the early to mid-1980s. There was a lack of any kind of unified scene in Sweden during this period. Mefisto and Merciless made some noise, but not enough to generate a significant interest in the area from outside its borders. It wasn’t until Stockholm’s Nihilist came onto the scene with two demos released in 1988, "Premature Autopsy" and "Only Shreds Remain", that serious interest started to generate within the international tape-trading underground. Just in their mid-to-late teens, the band exhibited an impressive accomplishment of accelerated musical maturation, through a singular individuality in the realm of expression and style. The success of these demos inspired and motivated other young musicians to create their own bands, most of which were similar in approach to Nihilist, yet possessing a unique identity enough to distinguish them from each other as significant acts in the contribution to the development of the localized scene. Following Nihilist’s reformulation into Entombed, and the 1990 release of their classic debut Left Hand Path, bands such as Dismember (morphed from the ashes of Carnage), Unleashed, and Grave delivered fantastic efforts which established a foundation for further activity within the local underground metal community. This was a close-knit scene, involving friendships between bands who shared similar influences, ideas and resources, which assisted in the unification of the scene and its unique characteristics which would come to serve as the identifiable elements of its particular flavor of death metal. This was a brief period, which met its first signs of splintering during 1992-1993, as leading bands such as Entombed altered their approach away from pure death metal, while others disbanded or failed to match the success of earlier efforts. A number of foundational bands are currently fully operational, either having remained active through the years or reforming after a period of inactivity, yet none have released music that rivals earlier work.

Hardcore Punk/Crossover Thrash: The rhythmic immediacy and compositional brevity, along with the lawless execution and nihilistic attitude, of 1980s hardcore punk was a significant influence on Swedish death metal. In particular, it was the "D-beat" common to hardcore punk, an insistently simple and urgent drum beat popularized by Discharge and others, which inspired the rhythmic approach of early Swedish death bands. Additionally, the heavily punk-influenced style of thrash, crossover, played an important influential role for its rapid-paced hostility and structural simplicity. Nihilist/Entombed drummer Nicke Andersson, perhaps the most prominent figure in the initiation of Swedish death metal, originally played in crossover act Brainwarp before starting Nihilist, bringing his already accomplished skill and knowledge of D-beat and thrash drumming into the death metal sound of his new band. Notable band influences are Discharge, GBH, DRI (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles), Deathstrike and Anti-Cimex.

Speed Metal: The sophistication of speed metal compositional structure and riff technique was crucial to the formulation of Swedish death metal, in that it merged with the raw energy of the hardcore influences, resulting in a sound peculiar for its seemingly controverted elements. Though there was a pronounced anarchy in the primitive nature of the rhythmic attack, this was contrasted in a seamless combination with transitional riff patterns and layered repetition. The structures of many Swedish death metal songs are shaped by varying chord progressions which suddenly shift the atmospheric and emotional climate much in the way classic speed metal songs did. Primary influences would be Slayer, Kreator, Destruction, Nuclear Assault, and Possessed.

Proto-Death Metal: The grinding power and vigorous yet festering absorption of the early death metal bands from the mid-to-late-1980s was the essential spark of conception in the formation of Swedish death, but also something that was less established as hardcore punk/thrash and speed metal was. Sweden’s death metal evolution occurred during the era when death metal itself was in its initial stages of establishing itself as a recognizable and legitimate sub-genre of metal, with the Swedish scene playing a key role in this overall development of the style itself. The themes and imagery of horror in early Death and Autopsy, and the repugnant expression of those themes, fueled the Swedes to further explore carnal morbidity in both expression and theme in the endeavor to create sick, twisted, and evil music that equally glorified and was horrified by its own artistic malignance. Prime influences are Autopsy, early Death, Repulsion, Xecutioner and early Morbid Angel.

Guitar Tone: The most obvious stylistic characteristic distinguishing Swedish death metal is the "buzzsaw" guitar tone. This distinct sound is credited to the Boss Heavy Metal guitar pedal used on the Nihilist demos. The sound is achieved by setting the mid-knob to maximum level along with the other knobs set to ten, creating a thick wall of excessively fried distortion when channeled through a small amplifier. The result is a thundering, electric buzz which was quickly adopted by the region’s other bands, and came to be the single most identifiable feature of the Swedish death metal sound.

Chord Progressions: The strict and discriminatory approach to chord progressions in Swedish death metal is carried out as a matter of artistic life and death. Recognizing the importance of intelligent and effective transitional phrases in the determination of compositional quality, these bands applied a regulatory method to chord choices and riff structures. The majority of riffs are played in E, with a common progression being in the form of E-F-G, or G-sharp, yet with the instrument downtuned to a B or C. Almost all Swedish death metal riffs are created from these four chords. While this is a commonality in death metal beyond Sweden, the Swedes apply this method with a more serious and faithful prejudice. This approach was developed from the study of Autopsy and Repulsion riff structures.

Melody: European metal in general has always featured a stronger pronouncement and developmental continuity of melody compared to American metal. This is certainly not to say that American metal is melodically under-developed,, but that European metal typically emphasizes melody over rhythm. In the realms of death, The Swedes explore melody through the conjoining relation of obscure aural formations and evanescent and violently clashing chordal patterns which produces a secretly introverted and vast beauty. Lacing with streams of melodic flow the grime and reckless abandon of the rhythmic attack, these bands open the sonic gate to a path of transcendence, an ascension from the prison of physicality, reaching past material confinement in a dare to dream of something beyond. To witness this in its highest level of achievement, check Dismember’s Like An Ever Flowing Stream, with particular attention paid to "Override Of The Overture", "Into Death’s Sleep" and the intro to "Dismembered".

Anarchic execution: Unlike the American standard of death metal execution, the Swedish death bands valued mood/feeling and atmosphere over technical proficiency in instrumentation and precise transition. This is primarily a product of a stronger hardcore punk influence on the Swedish bands, who chose a primitive rhythmic attack (not necessarily in percussive quality, but specifically the delivery or "attitude") and dirty, lawless approach to guitar sound and playing style. This was brutality through simplicity, with the aggression and sickness arising through and as a result of the mood established through this style of execution. In short, Swedish death metal (and European death metal in general) emphasizes mood over instrumental technicality, whereas American death metal emphasizes sonic brutality and accomplished musical skill over atmosphere. There are exceptions, of course, but this is the general distinction.

Morbid Groove: The descent into festering, creeping, swampy breakdowns, particularly when following a rapid tempo, gloriously represents the inexorable morbidity of decompositional processes. This slow trudge of murky riffs and grinding bass oozes putridity through an atmosphere of hovering and threatening darkness. The ubiquitous doom of death dwells within the unforgiving and obscure grooves and immense weight of a wall of thick and buzzing guitars over a relentless and crawling rhythm. Swedish death metal contrasts with American death metal in its usage of percussive speed. The blast-beat is implemented sparingly in Swedish death, reserved for specific sections of a song as a way to briefly enhance rhythmic intensity. The primary tempo is usually the D-beat or an accelerated speed metal tempo. This is a distinct characteristic in the comparison with American death metal, which typically features a more liberal use of blast-beats, which are sometimes used as a defining rhythmic foundation for an entire song. Swedish death metal strives more for mood over hyper-speed extremity. Early Autopsy are a paramount influence here, with Entombed (check "Revel In Flesh" and "Morbid Devourment") as the masters of this defining feature.

Sunlight Studios: Most bands of the Stockholm scene recorded their work at Sunlight Studios with producer Tomas Skogsberg. Early demos by Morbid, Treblinka, and Nihilist were the first metal recordings at Sunlight. The studio became a popular choice among the area’s bands, before attracting acts from outside Sweden who hoped to achieve a similar sound. Recordings from this studio feature a spatial yet solid sound-quality which produces an ambient-like heaviness and striking instrumental clarity in an excess of digitized power.

Nihilist/Entombed: The initiators of Swedish death metal as it came to be known internationally. Along with the legendary demos, their first two albums, Left Hand Path (1990) and Clandestine (1992) united intensified hardcore rhythms with an angry urgency and lurking darkness in the form of intelligent song-structure and overflowing energy.

Carnage/Dismember: Following the disbandment of Carnage after one album, the essential and persistently vile Dark Recollections in 1990, Dismember was formed out of the ashes. The 1991 debut Like An Ever Flowing Stream was a face-shredding attack of violent death metal laced with transcendent streaming melodies.

Unleashed: Formed by ex-Nihilist bassist Johnny Hedlund, Unleashed is savage and elemental death metal with an emphasis on relentless rhythm driving traditionally structured songs of Scandinavian mythology and Viking warrior pride. First two albums Where No Life Dwells (1991) and Shadows In The Deep (1992) are powerful displays of harsh, cold, and barbarous death.

Grave: This band’s first album, 1991's Into The Grave, brilliantly represents the Swedish morbid groove in brute force of rhythmic determination. Primitive reveling in morbid delights in astute songs of obscure attack.

At The Gates: A bridge between the early-90s Swedish death metal scene and the melodically enhanced mid-90s style, At The Gates applied an adventurous spirit to Swedish death metal standards of melody and rhythmic flow, pioneering a progression in systematic method and compositional structure on 1991's The Red In The Sky Is Ours and 1993's With Fear I Kiss The Burning Darkness.

Nirvana 2002: Never advancing beyond the demo stage, Nirvana 2002 created wandering, adventurous, melodically advanced, and mystically spirited death metal on a series of demos from 1989 to 1991 before disbanding. Though obscure, this band is important for their application of receptive harmony in explorative compositions emerging from primordial swamps to chase the stars.

Edge Of Sanity: Insanity and genius in the form of Unorthodox (1992) and The Spectral Sorrows (1993), Edge Of Sanity pushed lunatic aggression and melodic awareness to the max in dark death metal spiced with the creativity of multi-talented vocalist Dan Swano, whose unconventional ideas gave the band a sense of unpredictability and intrigue.

Therion: On Of Darkness (1991) and Beyond Sanctorum (1992) Therion displayed a flair for the dramatic in a sound merging primordial darkness with theatrical structures. Later albums saw the band adopting a more symphonic approach.

Necrophobic: Occult-inspired dark melodic death metal in the traditional Swedish style of simplistic yet ferocious rhythms and atmospheric melodies, best exemplified on debut offering The Nocturnal Silence in 1993.

Cemetary: Before evolving into a pure Gothic metal/rock band, Cemetary released an album of captivatingly atmospheric and gloomy death metal in 1992's An Evil Shade Of Grey. Melodically catchy and Romantic in its yearning, this release brings a sinister elegance to a Swedish death metal foundation.

Hypocrisy: The most American-sounding of the Swedish death bands, Hypocrisy took the speed and raging power of bands like Deicide and Morbid Angel and merged these elements with Swedish darkness and melody on 1992's Penetralia and 1993's Osculum Obscenum.

Eucharist: Taking cues from early At The Gates, Eucharist offered a progressive form of highly evolved melodic continuity in sophisticated songs fueled by complex rhythms and restless energy on 1992's Greeting Immortality and 1993's A Velvet Creation.

Afflicted: On 1992's Prodigal Sun, Afflicted perform complex death metal with an adventurous spirit of 1970s progressive rock under psychedelic skies. Noteworthy for its combination of technical skill with Swedish grooves and melodies.

Desultory: Overlooked band who released an album of melodically advanced and rhythmically aggressive death metal in the tradition of Entombed and Dismember on 1993's Into Eternity. Astrally atmospheric and intelligently structured, this album joins with works from At The Gates, Afflicted, and Eucharist in the progression of Swedish death metal.