Scandinavian death metal
Encyclopedia
Swedish death metal is a death metal
music scene developed in Sweden
. Many Swedish death metal bands are associated with the melodic death metal
movement, thus giving Swedish death metal a different sound from other variations of death metal. Unlike American death metal groups, the first Swedish bands were rooted in punk rock. While Norway is more notorious for its quantity of black metal
, Gothenburg
in Sweden has a large melodic death metal scene, while Stockholm
is notorious for its rawer death metal scene.
, especially the D-beat
hardcore punk
scene. Bathory
, who would subsequently become a primary influence for the black metal scene, were a pivotal group in Swedish extreme metal
.
and Stockholm
. The first wave of "Swedish death metal" consisted of the bands Carnage
and Nihilist
, who fragmented later into Entombed
, Dismember
and Unleashed
. Many of these bands used the trademark Tomas Skogsberg/Sunlight Studios "buzzsaw" guitar tone. It was created by using heavily detuned
electric guitar
s (usually C# standard or lower), a maxed out Boss
HM-2 Heavy Metal pedal, sometimes in combination with a single guitar through a Boss DS-1 Distortion pedal. The originator of this guitar sound was Nihilist guitarist Leffe Cuzner though it was evolved and altered over the years. Newer bands playing in the 'old school' Swedish style are Bloodbath
, Repugnant, and Paganizer
; among others.
-based riffs and began adding progressive rock
influences, and the scene moved from Stockholm
to Gothenburg
. The Gothenburg
sound, propelled by both the Boss HM-2 Heavy Metal with cleaner recordings and melded with New Wave of British Heavy Metal
guitar lines, was pioneered by bands such as At the Gates
, Dark Tranquillity
and In Flames
for their respective albums Slaughter of the Soul
, The Gallery
and The Jester Race
.
Other groups to have emerged from the Swedish death metal scene include Scar Symmetry
, Hypocrisy
, Tiamat
, Arch Enemy
, Soilwork
, Meshuggah
, Amon Amarth
, Edge of Sanity
, Opeth
, and The Haunted
.
to more hardcore punk
and metalcore
groups such as Himsa, Bleeding Through
, and Killswitch Engage
. The Stockholm Sound has been known to be very influenced by the first Entombed album as bands such as Autopsy
, Death
and Repulsion
. The Stockholm Sound has less reception but is strictly followed by bands like Trap Them
and Rotten Sound
. Melodic death metal, on the other hand has had a notable influence on the melodic metalcore sound of the 2000's.
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....
music scene developed in 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....
. Many Swedish death metal bands are associated with the melodic death metal
Melodic death metal
Melodic death metal is a heavy metal music style that combines elements from the New Wave of British Heavy Metal with elements of death metal. The style was developed during the early and mid-1990s, primarily in England and Scandinavia...
movement, thus giving Swedish death metal a different sound from other variations of death metal. Unlike American death metal groups, the first Swedish bands were rooted in punk rock. While Norway is more notorious for its quantity of 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....
, Gothenburg
Gothenburg
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...
in Sweden has a large melodic death metal scene, while Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
is notorious for its rawer death metal scene.
Precursors
Unlike American groups, the Swedish death metal scene's earliest originators were influenced by punk rockPunk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
, especially the D-beat
D-beat
D-beat is a style of hardcore punk developed in the early 1980s by imitators of Discharge, for whom the genre is named. Discharge may have themselves inherited the beat from Motörhead. The first such group was The Varukers.The vocal content of D-beat tends towards shouted slogans...
hardcore punk
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
scene. Bathory
Bathory (band)
Bathory was a Swedish heavy metal band, formed by Quorthon in 1983. They are regarded as pioneers of both black metal and viking metal. Quorthon remained the main songwriter and member of Bathory for more than two decades. Bathory was permanently ended after Quorthon's death in 2004...
, who would subsequently become a primary influence for the black metal scene, were a pivotal group in Swedish extreme metal
Extreme metal
Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. The term usually refers to a more abrasive, harsher, underground, non-commercialized style or sound nearly always associated with genres like black metal,...
.
History
In the early 1990s two death metal scenes emerged 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...
and Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
. The first wave of "Swedish death metal" consisted of the bands Carnage
Carnage (band)
Carnage was a Swedish death metal band whose members later went on to found Dismember, Arch Enemy and the Grindcore band Carcass. The band was formed by Michael Amott and Johan Liiva in 1988. They released only one album before dissolving in 1991.-History:...
and Nihilist
Nihilist (band)
Nihilist was a Swedish Scandinavian death metal band formed in 1987 by Nicke Andersson and Alex Hellid.The band split-up in 1989 when Johnny Hedlund left to form Unleashed...
, who fragmented later into Entombed
Entombed (band)
Entombed is a Swedish death metal band which formed in 1987 under the name of Nihilist. Though Entombed began their career as an early pioneer of Scandinavian death metal which initially differed itself from its American counterpart with its distinct guitar tone, by the early 1990s their sound had...
, Dismember
Dismember (band)
Dismember was a Swedish death metal band that formed in 1988. They are well known in the death metal underground. They split up in October 2011.-History:...
and Unleashed
Unleashed (band)
Unleashed is a Swedish death metal band that was formed in 1989 by Johnny Hedlund. Viking culture, recollection of a pre-Christian world, and Norse folklore are common themes found in the band's songs. A number of their recent songs also contain references to J. R. R. Tolkien.-Biography:Unleashed...
. Many of these bands used the trademark Tomas Skogsberg/Sunlight Studios "buzzsaw" guitar tone. It was created by using heavily detuned
Guitar tunings
Guitar tunings almost always refers to the pitch of the open string, though some tunings may only realistically be attained by the use of a capo on an unmodified instrument....
electric guitar
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
s (usually C# standard or lower), a maxed out Boss
Boss Corporation
Boss is a manufacturer of effects pedals for electric guitar and bass guitar. It is a division of the Roland Corporation, a Japanese manufacturer that specializes in musical equipment and accessories...
HM-2 Heavy Metal pedal, sometimes in combination with a single guitar through a Boss DS-1 Distortion pedal. The originator of this guitar sound was Nihilist guitarist Leffe Cuzner though it was evolved and altered over the years. Newer bands playing in the 'old school' Swedish style are Bloodbath
Bloodbath
Bloodbath is a Swedish death metal supergroup from Stockholm formed in 1998.-History:A year after being formed, the band, then consisting of Mikael Åkerfeldt on vocals, Dan Swanö on drums, Anders "Blakkheim" Nyström on guitar, and Jonas Renkse on bass, released their EP Breeding...
, Repugnant, and Paganizer
Paganizer
Paganizer is a Swedish death metal band playing the classic Swedish style metal, in the style of Grave and Dismember. The band was started by Johansson and Jocke in 1998...
; among others.
Gothenburg scene
Later, Swedish and Finnish bands used grindcoreGrindcore
Grindcore is an extreme genre of music that started in the early- to mid-1980s. It draws inspiration from some of the most abrasive music genres – including death metal, industrial music, noise and the more extreme varieties of hardcore punk....
-based riffs and began adding progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
influences, and the scene moved from Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
to Gothenburg
Gothenburg
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...
. The Gothenburg
Gothenburg
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...
sound, propelled by both the Boss HM-2 Heavy Metal with cleaner recordings and melded with New Wave of British Heavy Metal
New Wave of British Heavy Metal
The New Wave of British Heavy Metal was a heavy metal movement that started in the late 1970s, in Britain, and achieved international attention by the early 1980s. The movement developed as a reaction in part to the decline of early heavy metal bands such as Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and Black...
guitar lines, was pioneered by bands such as 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...
, Dark Tranquillity
Dark Tranquillity
Dark Tranquillity is a Swedish melodic death metal band from Gothenburg. They are one of the longest-standing bands from the original Gothenburg metal scene, and are one of the most integral pioneers of the melodic death metal genre of music....
and In Flames
In Flames
In Flames is a Swedish heavy metal band from Gothenburg, formed in 1990. Since the band's inception in 1993, they have released ten studio albums and one live DVD...
for their respective albums Slaughter of the Soul
Slaughter of the Soul
Slaughter of the Soul is the fourth and final studio album by Swedish melodic death metal band At the Gates before their reunion in 2011. It is considered a genre classic by many fans, and was largely responsible for establishing the Gothenburg scene...
, The Gallery
The Gallery (album)
The Gallery is the second full-length studio album by the Swedish melodic death metal band Dark Tranquillity, released on November 27, 1995. It was the first full-length release to feature Mikael Stanne on lead vocals, while passing down his position of guitarist to Fredrik Johansson...
and The Jester Race
The Jester Race
The Jester Race is the second album by melodic death metal band In Flames. It is the first album to feature Anders Fridén as the band's vocalist and Björn Gelotte as the drummer. A video for the song "Artifacts of the Black Rain" was also released...
.
Other groups to have emerged from the Swedish death metal scene include Scar Symmetry
Scar Symmetry
Scar Symmetry is a Swedish melodic death metal band from Avesta in Dalarna County, formed in 2004. The band has released five albums, with six released singles...
, Hypocrisy
Hypocrisy (band)
Hypocrisy is a melodic death metal band from Sweden. It was formed in 1990 in Ludvika, Sweden by Peter Tägtgren.Musically, the band started off with a traditional death metal sound on their first albums, and soon drifted to become a melodic death metal band. The lyrics in their early stages -...
, Tiamat
Tiamat (band)
-Biography:Initially, the band played straightforward black metal under the name Treblinka. After having recorded the album Sumerian Cry in 1989, vocalist/guitarist Johan Edlund and bassist Jörgen Thullberg parted ways with the other two founding members, and subsequently changed the name to Tiamat...
, Arch Enemy
Arch Enemy (band)
Arch Enemy is a Swedish melodic death metal band, originally a supergroup, from Halmstad, formed in 1996. Its members were in bands such as Carcass, Armageddon, Carnage, Mercyful Fate, Spiritual Beggars, and Eucharist to name a few. It was founded by Carcass guitarist Michael Amott along with Johan...
, Soilwork
Soilwork
Soilwork is a Swedish melodic death metal band from Helsingborg. They are currently signed to Nuclear Blast. Formed in late 1995 by Björn Strid and Peter Wichers, originally under the name Inferior Breed, the band changed their name in late 1996 to Soilwork .Their sound is a fusion of the classic...
, Meshuggah
Meshuggah
Meshuggah is an extreme metal band from Umeå, Sweden, formed in 1987. Meshuggah's line-up has primarily consisted of founding members vocalist Jens Kidman and lead guitarist Fredrik Thordendal, drummer Tomas Haake, who joined in 1990, and rhythm guitarist Mårten Hagström, who joined in 1992...
, Amon Amarth
Amon Amarth
Amon Amarth is a Swedish viking metal band from Tumba, Sweden founded in 1992, and takes its name from the Sindarin translation of Mount Doom, a location in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth. The band comprises vocalist Johan Hegg, guitarists Olavi Mikkonen and Johan Söderberg, bassist Ted Lundström...
, Edge of Sanity
Edge of Sanity
Edge of Sanity was a Swedish death metal band. Edge of Sanity are regarded alongside Opeth as being the first to fuse extreme metal styles like death and black metal with progressive rock.- History :...
, Opeth
Opeth
Opeth is a Swedish heavy metal band from Stockholm, formed in 1990. Though the group has been through several personnel changes, singer, guitarist, and songwriter Mikael Åkerfeldt has remained Opeth's driving force throughout the years...
, and 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...
.
Influence
The death metal scene in Sweden has influenced many bands and genres outside Sweden. The melodic influence of the Gothenburg sound has spread to the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to more hardcore punk
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
and metalcore
Metalcore
Metalcore is a subgenre of heavy metal combining various elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk. The name is a portmanteau of the names of the two genres. The term took on its current meaning in the mid-1990s, describing bands such as Earth Crisis, Deadguy and Integrity...
groups such as Himsa, Bleeding Through
Bleeding Through
Bleeding Through is an American metalcore band from Orange County, California. Formed in 1999, the band blends influences stemming from modern hardcore punk, symphonic black metal, and melodic death metal...
, and Killswitch Engage
Killswitch Engage
Killswitch Engage is an American metalcore band from Westfield, Massachusetts, formed in 1999 after the disbandment of Overcast and Aftershock. Killswitch Engage's current lineup consists of vocalist Howard Jones, bassist Mike D'Antonio, guitarists Joel Stroetzel and Adam Dutkiewicz, and drummer...
. The Stockholm Sound has been known to be very influenced by the first Entombed album as bands such as Autopsy
Autopsy
An autopsy—also known as a post-mortem examination, necropsy , autopsia cadaverum, or obduction—is a highly specialized surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse to determine the cause and manner of death and to evaluate any disease or injury that may be present...
, Death
Death
Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
and Repulsion
Repulsion (band)
Repulsion is an early grindcore / death metal band from Flint, Michigan. They have been called the "most influential grindcore band of all time".-History:...
. The Stockholm Sound has less reception but is strictly followed by bands like Trap Them
Trap Them
- Description :Trap Them's influences include hardcore punk bands, such as Black Flag, Born Against, and Tragedy; metal bands like Dismember and Entombed , and experimental bands like Swans...
and Rotten Sound
Rotten Sound
Rotten Sound is a grindcore band from Vaasa, Finland, formed in 1993. The band comprises vocalist Keijo Niinimaa, guitarist Mika Aalto, bassist Kristian Toivainen and drummer Sami Latva...
. Melodic death metal, on the other hand has had a notable influence on the melodic metalcore sound of the 2000's.