Adrian Erlandsson
Encyclopedia
Adrian Erlandsson is a prolific Swedish
heavy metal
drummer
, who currently plays in Brujeria
, Netherbird, with his wife in Nemhain
and in Yorkshire doom metal
band Paradise Lost
. He has also been a member of At the Gates
, The Haunted
, Cradle of Filth
and Needleye.
father and a Swedish
mother, Erlandsson was born in Malmö
, Sweden
on 27 October 1970. Erlandsson's younger brother is Daniel Erlandsson
, the drummer of Arch Enemy, and recently, Carcass
. They both grew up together in Sweden and started playing drums at a very young age. He got his brother into drumming as Daniel admits “If it wasn't for him I probably wouldn’t be playing today.”
He began drumming at the age of 11 when he got his first drum kit, and with friends began playing covers of classic rock songs. They also started playing with their music teacher at school, and eventually began to write their own songs and formed a band. Erlandsson went on to form Penance, a thrash metal
band, which never recorded a demo
, although they did record some rehearsal tracks.
, where in 1990, he joined the Swedish death metal
band At the Gates
. He was the band's drummer until they broke up, and received critical and fan praise for his speed and precision.
When asked what each At the Gates member contributes to the group's overall sound, bandmember Anders Björler
said that Erlandsson “hit the drums hard”. In 2007 At the Gates reunited for some festival shows in the summer of 2008 and headlining US tour which was dubbed Suicidal Final Tour. They have more shows coming up in 2011.
and Jonas Björler
, later formed The Haunted
with Mary Beats Jane
vocalist Peter Dolving
. Erlandsson also played in Skitsystem
and Nifelheim
. In 1999, Erlandsson left the band to join Cradle of Filth
. Due to Cradle of Filth’s bad reputation in the black metal
scene, he was fired from Nifelheim, who said it was “like a very bad, bad dream” to have had “a drummer who plays in CRADLE OF WIMPS now”, and that he was “a schooled drummer” but “had problems to understand the most twisted and sickest riffs”.
. But by the time he left the group, he had appeared on six of their albums. He departed the band in November 2006. According to an official Roadrunner press release, Erlandsson left with the intention of devoting his energies to his two side projects the now-defunct Needleye and Nemhain
. “I have enjoyed my time with Cradle but it is now time to move on. I feel I am going out on a high as Thornography
is definitely our best album to date”.
with his wife Amber Erlandsson. The band returns Erlandsson to his roots as a rock drummer.
Nemhain recorded its debut album From the Ashes in Studio Fredman during the late spring 2008 due for a release in April 2009.
In September 2006, Erlandsson joined Mexican death metal band Brujeria
for some concerts in Spain
, using the nickname “El Podrido” (‘The Rotten’). Erlandsson is still with Brujeria
, who are set to release a new album in 2010 or 2011. During the spring of 2006 Erlandsson joined Needleye for the recording of their yet unreleased debut album Ode to None. Needleye disbanded after the recording of this album.
In 2007, he played drums on the Samsas Traum
album Heiliges Herz – das Schwert deiner Sonne (‘Holy heart - The sword of your sun’) and he also played a handful of shows with them on the tour prior to the album’s release in 2007. In 2007, he joined Swedish metal band Netherbird as guild member and recorded drums for the Lighthouse Eternal (Laterna Magika) EP, later as a full member for the albums The Ghost Collector 2008 and Monument Black Colossal 2010.
He recorded drums for British/Norwegian black metal group Code
for the Resplendent Grotesque album 2009. In late 2007, Erlandsson recorded the drums for a 3-track EP for London band Green river Project. 2008 saw Erlandsson fill in for Deathstars
on their tour in Europe supporting Korn
. He recorded drums for Deathstars
on their third album Night Electric Night
on the bonus track Night Electric Night. In 2008, Erlandsson joined At the Gates on the reunion for the Suicidal Final Tour.
under Jeff Walker's recommendation.
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
, who currently plays in Brujeria
Brujeria (band)
Brujeria is an extreme metal band formed in Tijuana, Mexico in 1989. Their name comes from the Spanish word for "witchcraft". Their songs, which are sung in Spanish, are focused on Satanism, anti-Christianity, sex, immigration, narcotics smuggling, politics....
, Netherbird, with his wife in Nemhain
Nemhain (band)
Nemhain is a London-based rock/punk/gothic rock influenced band named after Nemhain, the mythological Celtic goddess of battle fury. It was formed by Adrian Erlandsson, then with Cradle of Filth, and his wife, model Morrigan Hel in 2006....
and in Yorkshire doom metal
Doom metal
Doom metal is an extreme form of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other metal genres...
band Paradise Lost
Paradise Lost (band)
Paradise Lost are a heavy metal band that formed in 1988 in Halifax, England.-History:Their first three full-length albums are examples of the death/doom style, although the latter two incorporated some melodic and gothic elements...
. He has also been a member of At the Gates
At the Gates
At the Gates is an extreme metal band from Gothenburg, Sweden, and a major progenitor of the Gothenburg death-metal sound. Their early albums lean towards a death metal sound, but later albums sound more like melodic death metal.Initially active from 1990 to 1996, the band reformed in 2007 for a...
, The Haunted
The Haunted
The Haunted is a Swedish metal band from Gothenburg, formed in 1996.The original members were Anders & Jonas Björler, Peter Dolving, Adrian Erlandsson and Patrik Jensen...
, Cradle of Filth
Cradle of Filth
Cradle of Filth are an English extreme metal band, formed in Suffolk in 1991. The band's musical style evolved from black metal to a cleaner and more "produced" amalgam of gothic metal, symphonic black metal, and other extreme metal styles, while their lyrical themes and imagery are heavily...
and Needleye.
Early life
Born to a RomanianRomanians
The Romanians are an ethnic group native to Romania, who speak Romanian; they are the majority inhabitants of Romania....
father and a Swedish
Swedes
Swedes are a Scandinavian nation and ethnic group native to Sweden, mostly inhabiting Sweden and the other Nordic countries, with descendants living in a number of countries.-Etymology:...
mother, Erlandsson was born in Malmö
Malmö
Malmö , in the southernmost province of Scania, is the third most populous city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg.Malmö is the seat of Malmö Municipality and the capital of Skåne County...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
on 27 October 1970. Erlandsson's younger brother is Daniel Erlandsson
Daniel Erlandsson
Daniel John Erlandsson is the drummer in the melodic death metal band Arch Enemy.His early work includes drumming on the In Flames album Subterranean...
, the drummer of Arch Enemy, and recently, Carcass
Carcass (band)
Carcass are an extreme metal band from England, who formed in 1985 and disbanded in 1995. A reunion was enacted in 2008 without one of its original members, drummer Ken Owen, due to health reasons....
. They both grew up together in Sweden and started playing drums at a very young age. He got his brother into drumming as Daniel admits “If it wasn't for him I probably wouldn’t be playing today.”
He began drumming at the age of 11 when he got his first drum kit, and with friends began playing covers of classic rock songs. They also started playing with their music teacher at school, and eventually began to write their own songs and formed a band. Erlandsson went on to form Penance, a thrash metal
Thrash metal
Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...
band, which never recorded a demo
Demo (music)
A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...
, although they did record some rehearsal tracks.
At the Gates (1990-1996, 2007-2011)
Erlandsson then went to University in GothenburgGothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
, where in 1990, he joined the Swedish death metal
Death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....
band At the Gates
At the Gates
At the Gates is an extreme metal band from Gothenburg, Sweden, and a major progenitor of the Gothenburg death-metal sound. Their early albums lean towards a death metal sound, but later albums sound more like melodic death metal.Initially active from 1990 to 1996, the band reformed in 2007 for a...
. He was the band's drummer until they broke up, and received critical and fan praise for his speed and precision.
When asked what each At the Gates member contributes to the group's overall sound, bandmember Anders Björler
Anders Björler
Anders Björler is a musician from Sweden. He is the current lead guitarist for heavy metal bands The Haunted and the well-known melodic death metal band At the Gates. He joined them in his former position on a reunion tour in 2007...
said that Erlandsson “hit the drums hard”. In 2007 At the Gates reunited for some festival shows in the summer of 2008 and headlining US tour which was dubbed Suicidal Final Tour. They have more shows coming up in 2011.
The Haunted (1996-1999)
Erlandsson, alongside At the Gates members AndersAnders Björler
Anders Björler is a musician from Sweden. He is the current lead guitarist for heavy metal bands The Haunted and the well-known melodic death metal band At the Gates. He joined them in his former position on a reunion tour in 2007...
and Jonas Björler
Jonas Björler
Jonas Björler is the bassist and one of the founding members of the melodic death metal band At the Gates, along with his twin brother Anders Björler, Tomas Lindberg, Alf Svensson, and Adrian Erlandsson....
, later formed The Haunted
The Haunted
The Haunted is a Swedish metal band from Gothenburg, formed in 1996.The original members were Anders & Jonas Björler, Peter Dolving, Adrian Erlandsson and Patrik Jensen...
with Mary Beats Jane
Mary Beats Jane
Mary Beats Jane was a Swedish hardcore / thrash metal band from Gothenburg. Their self-titled 1994 album won a Swedish Grammy in 1994.Singer Peter Dolving, who went on to join The Haunted around 1997, has said the band is dead and won't be making any more music.-Members:*Peter Dolving -...
vocalist Peter Dolving
Peter Dolving
Peter Dolving is a guitarist, songwriter, and spoken-word performer who is best known as the singer of the Swedish metal band The Haunted.-Career:...
. Erlandsson also played in Skitsystem
Skitsystem
Skitsystem is a Swedish crust punk band formed in early 1994. Their sound was heavily influenced by death metal and d-beat. In actuality, band members originally came from different death metal bands, bonding over a common interest in d-beat. The band announced in December 2007 that they were on...
and Nifelheim
Nifelheim
Nifelheim is a Swedish black metal band. The band was formed in 1990 by the twin brothers Erik and Per Gustavsson, under the stage names Tyrant and Hellbutcher...
. In 1999, Erlandsson left the band to join Cradle of Filth
Cradle of Filth
Cradle of Filth are an English extreme metal band, formed in Suffolk in 1991. The band's musical style evolved from black metal to a cleaner and more "produced" amalgam of gothic metal, symphonic black metal, and other extreme metal styles, while their lyrical themes and imagery are heavily...
. Due to Cradle of Filth’s bad reputation in the black metal
Black metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....
scene, he was fired from Nifelheim, who said it was “like a very bad, bad dream” to have had “a drummer who plays in CRADLE OF WIMPS now”, and that he was “a schooled drummer” but “had problems to understand the most twisted and sickest riffs”.
Cradle of Filth (1999-2006)
It was originally intended that he only record one session with Cradle of FilthCradle of Filth
Cradle of Filth are an English extreme metal band, formed in Suffolk in 1991. The band's musical style evolved from black metal to a cleaner and more "produced" amalgam of gothic metal, symphonic black metal, and other extreme metal styles, while their lyrical themes and imagery are heavily...
. But by the time he left the group, he had appeared on six of their albums. He departed the band in November 2006. According to an official Roadrunner press release, Erlandsson left with the intention of devoting his energies to his two side projects the now-defunct Needleye and Nemhain
Nemhain (band)
Nemhain is a London-based rock/punk/gothic rock influenced band named after Nemhain, the mythological Celtic goddess of battle fury. It was formed by Adrian Erlandsson, then with Cradle of Filth, and his wife, model Morrigan Hel in 2006....
. “I have enjoyed my time with Cradle but it is now time to move on. I feel I am going out on a high as Thornography
Thornography
Thornography is the seventh full-length studio album by Cradle of Filth released through Roadrunner Records in October, 2006. The album is produced by Anthrax guitarist Rob Caggiano, engineered and co-produced by Dan Turner and mixed by Andy Sneap, and once again features narration by Doug Bradley...
is definitely our best album to date”.
Recent years (2006-2009)
In March 2006, Erlandsson formed NemhainNemhain (band)
Nemhain is a London-based rock/punk/gothic rock influenced band named after Nemhain, the mythological Celtic goddess of battle fury. It was formed by Adrian Erlandsson, then with Cradle of Filth, and his wife, model Morrigan Hel in 2006....
with his wife Amber Erlandsson. The band returns Erlandsson to his roots as a rock drummer.
Nemhain recorded its debut album From the Ashes in Studio Fredman during the late spring 2008 due for a release in April 2009.
In September 2006, Erlandsson joined Mexican death metal band Brujeria
Brujeria (band)
Brujeria is an extreme metal band formed in Tijuana, Mexico in 1989. Their name comes from the Spanish word for "witchcraft". Their songs, which are sung in Spanish, are focused on Satanism, anti-Christianity, sex, immigration, narcotics smuggling, politics....
for some concerts in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, using the nickname “El Podrido” (‘The Rotten’). Erlandsson is still with Brujeria
Brujeria (band)
Brujeria is an extreme metal band formed in Tijuana, Mexico in 1989. Their name comes from the Spanish word for "witchcraft". Their songs, which are sung in Spanish, are focused on Satanism, anti-Christianity, sex, immigration, narcotics smuggling, politics....
, who are set to release a new album in 2010 or 2011. During the spring of 2006 Erlandsson joined Needleye for the recording of their yet unreleased debut album Ode to None. Needleye disbanded after the recording of this album.
In 2007, he played drums on the Samsas Traum
Samsas Traum
Samsas Traum is a band from Germany fronted by Alexander Kaschte now based in Austria. Their music consists of elements of Symphonic metal, Neue Deutsche Härte and Cantastoria. The name is derived from the 1915 novel The Metamorphosis's character Gregor Samsa by Franz Kafka.- Biography :Samsas...
album Heiliges Herz – das Schwert deiner Sonne (‘Holy heart - The sword of your sun’) and he also played a handful of shows with them on the tour prior to the album’s release in 2007. In 2007, he joined Swedish metal band Netherbird as guild member and recorded drums for the Lighthouse Eternal (Laterna Magika) EP, later as a full member for the albums The Ghost Collector 2008 and Monument Black Colossal 2010.
He recorded drums for British/Norwegian black metal group Code
Code (band)
Code are an English/Norwegian black metal band that formed in 2002.The band formed out of Aort's solo project Seasonal Code with which he had released three demos between 1998 and 2001....
for the Resplendent Grotesque album 2009. In late 2007, Erlandsson recorded the drums for a 3-track EP for London band Green river Project. 2008 saw Erlandsson fill in for Deathstars
Deathstars
Deathstars is a Swedish band from Stockholm that perform industrial and gothic metal. Formed in 2000, the group are noted for their dark horror-themed lyrics, pessimistic and misanthropic social commentary, distinctive trademark face paint, dark stage uniforms and physical appearances that...
on their tour in Europe supporting Korn
Korn
Korn is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, formed in 1993. The current band line up includes four members: Jonathan Davis, James "Munky" Shaffer, Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu, and Ray Luzier. The band was formed as an expansion of L.A.P.D.The band released their first demo album,...
. He recorded drums for Deathstars
Deathstars
Deathstars is a Swedish band from Stockholm that perform industrial and gothic metal. Formed in 2000, the group are noted for their dark horror-themed lyrics, pessimistic and misanthropic social commentary, distinctive trademark face paint, dark stage uniforms and physical appearances that...
on their third album Night Electric Night
Night Electric Night
- Personnel :* Cat Casino – guitars* Bone W. Machine – drums* Whiplasher Bernadotte – lead vocals* Skinny Disco – bass guitar, backing vocals* Nightmare Industries – guitars, keyboards- Chart positions :...
on the bonus track Night Electric Night. In 2008, Erlandsson joined At the Gates on the reunion for the Suicidal Final Tour.
Paradise Lost (2009-present)
On March 16, 2009, he joined the British gothic metal band Paradise LostParadise Lost (band)
Paradise Lost are a heavy metal band that formed in 1988 in Halifax, England.-History:Their first three full-length albums are examples of the death/doom style, although the latter two incorporated some melodic and gothic elements...
under Jeff Walker's recommendation.