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ENTOMBED
1990 - Left Hand Path.
1991 - Clandestine.
1993 - Hollowman.
1993 - Wolverine Blues.
1997 - To Ride, Shoot Straight And Speak The Truth.
more ENTOMBED.
way more Helter Skelter.

June 4, 1990 - 2020: 30 years of: Left Hand Path.

The tone, that tone, that Stockholm-tone !

From the ashes of NIHILIST came about two Swedish deathmetal-merchants: the cold and unholy UNLEASHED and the harsh et heavy ENTOMBED. ENTOMBED created dark-deathmetal from the remote part of the world that historically gave us BATHORY, CANDLEMASS and legendary shredder Yngwie J. Malmsteen.

Nicke Anderson was the Dan Swanö before Dan Swanö was Dan Swanö and was the Peter Tägtgren before Peter Tägtgren was Peter Tägtgren ...does that make any sense to you ? And from the genius of said Nicke Anderson, the band's main-writer, concept-creator, lyricist, drummer, sometime bassist and one-time uncredited-singer, it catapulted ENTOMBED into becoming THE deathnroll-steamroller of the 90s.

Produced by Tomas Skogsberg, Sweden's answer to Tampa's Scott Burns, at Sunlight Studios, Sweden's answer to Tampa's Morrisound Studios ...ok enough with the references, but you do have to take these into consideration, as scenes were replying to each other in this happy metal-rivalry. Just like New-York / New-Jersey was the mecca of punkrock and California was the mecca of both hardrock and thrashmetal, Florida and England was the mecca of deathmetal ...until these lovely Swedish bums crashed the party.

The title-track punches fast and hard, with down-tuned guitars and angst teen-attitude. If the band only had released this single track, they would still be historically accurate as deathmetal trendsetters. The song's outro is a metallized version on the 1979 horror-flick Phantasm.

The fun continues on "Drowned" and "Supposed To Rot", as these full punk-thrash tunes would set any mosh-pit into a bloody-mess. The rock-element is apparent on "Revel In Flesh", a signature that would be fully exploited on their 1993's major-label debut CD, Wolverine Blues. The moody "The Truth Beyond" is the album's closer and an impressive voyage into morbid-metal. The 1:42sec background bell-chimes adds a foggy atmosphere to the breakdown-part. Sick and effective !

Landmark-album for the deathmetal-scene, Left Hand Path is the Master Of Reality, the Sad Wings Of Destiny, the Welcome To Hell, the Kill 'Em All, the Hell Awaits …ok enough with the references already !!! While the deathmetal genre was officialized with DEATH's 1987 Scream Bloody Gore LP, the movement did take a left hand turn during the glorious 1990-91-92-93 era. The golden and bloody years for deathmetal, the most extreme music on the face of the planet and ENTOMBED were fully part of it's development, starting with this very record.

The album's special guitar-tone has been a subject amongst metalheads since the CD's release. Now thanks to the internet, hints have been given into how to obtain this now-infamous "buzzsaw-sound". Don't try this at home: use the biggest string-gauge available, downtune guitar to B, dial both Boss HM2 Heavy-Metal and DS1 Distortion pedals for each channels, all setting to full and then crank selected mids on amp ...no noise-gate, strum and step aside. Of course a huge chunk of the recipe is the actual magic of studio-chef Tomas Skogsberg, do not rely on a simple stomp-box. Still, in the live environment that tone did get thru the P.A. system, I know, I was there.

That said, no band in metal-history has managed to recreate the vile vibe of Left Hand Path. Tone-wise, the band would supersede themselves in 1991 with the cadaveric Clandestine CD and furthermore on 1997's punk'd-death To Ride, Shoot Straight And Speak The Truth CD.

Now 30 years later, hordes of Swedish deathmetal bands have come and gone. From ARCH ENEMY to DARK TRANQUILITY to IN FLAMES to HYPOCRISY to EDGE OF SANITY to AMON AMARTH to OPETH to SOILWORK to ...ok enough with the name-dropping ! Some of these bands still kick-ass, while some are mere footnotes, yet all of them owe a keg of the finest beer to the original ENTOMBED.

ENTOMBED: unearthing the best of death-metal.

*
Left Hand Path = video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oX4KTg3W3Bc
Left Hand Path = full CD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGhz2S4vPiw&list=PL6_qhP3eWX5NlBxmz7wZVC9eJ7ln7EHXP
Live in Sweden in 1990
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMDKw6wEnWE
some guy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pw6qbKxkh0k

November 12, 1991 - 2021: 30 years of: Clandestine.

Stockholm in 1991: the other deathmetal capital of the world.

Friendly rivalries: Tampa, deathmetal-farm from Day One with the following visionaries: DEATH, MASSACRE and MORBID ANGEL. While England had NAPALM DEATH, BOLT THROWER and CARCASS, it was Stockholm that hit back and set the bar higher with: DISMEMBER and UNLEASHED. And from the ashes of local death-punks NIHILIST arises ENTOMBED ...Sweden's biggest deathmetal export.

Fuck you ABBA and fuck you IKEA !

ENTOMBED's first release is an exhibition of morbid and clever soundscapes that are yet to be matched. 1990's Left Hand Path LP is a milestone in extreme-music and it stands along other extreme trendsetters: Altars Of Madness and Scream Bloody Gore.

Sunlight Studios in 1991 was again put to the test as Clandestine was hatched, ready for world-domination. A perfect dark hybrid between old-school deathmetal, punk attitude and rocknroll hooks, all under one roof. The onslaught kicks-off with the fast paced "Living Dead", to the slam-friendly "Sinner's Bleed", to the garage-rockin' "Evilyn", to the face-melting "Chaos Breed" and to the MTV-ready "Stranger Aeons". The aggression reaches new heights on "Severe Burns" and then the record closes with the epic, progressive and eerie "Through The Colonnades".

ENTOMBED's still revered trademark is "that grainy guitar-tone" AKA the "buzzsaw-sound". Now imitated to death, it then stood apart from the heap of the deathmetal explosion of the time. No band since has done it better then the infernal guitar-duo of Hellid + Cederlund. The production-tone opens-up and lets the mid-ranges breathe, while the over-heads roars and lets the beast becomes alive and delivers beautiful brutality.

The mesmerizing artwork is another piece of mastery by then popular deathmetal cover-art guru: Dan Seagrave. Witness the evolution: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vf1ubwjvLbI

Remember that this lethal stuff was issued on Relativity / Columbia in the Americas in 1991-94, how times have changed. Back in 1992, you could tune-in the TV's music-channel and view rock / metal videos 24/7. Granted, you had to go thru hours of "Enter Sandman" to "Thunderkiss '65" to "Walk" and to obvious "Smells Like Teen Spirit" ...but eventually once in a blue-moon, "Stranger Aeons" would pop-up and your basement would turn into a mosh-pit ...I know mine did.

I LIVE WHILE YOU DECAY !!!

*
Stranger Aeons = video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNY3pKJ0A-A
Clandestine = full CD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XjHRoEDSHU&list=OLAK5uy_kGwvcRlUzSWwOZAUmpJbQr0iNBiu6tw-E
TV performance in 1991
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNkuRpTWC78
Interview in 1992
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfJDaM48oPU
Live in London in 1992
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuZ1UKKsMCs
Clandestine live in 2016
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hi5MACbgm8Y

March 21, 1993 - 2023: 30 years of: Hollowman.

Let's keep it old-school, let's release an EP.

Following the iconic duo of 1990's Left Hand Path and 91's Clandestine CD, the Scandinavian scene-leaders headed into another sub-genre of the underground. In this fast paced era, ENTOMBED were now the first Euro punk-deathmetal band.

The rock-format of "Hollowman", downtuned in C for extra-crunch, is a warm welcoming warning-shot for the upcoming 21mins of pure mayhem. The overdrive and feedback kicks into motion as the grisly "Serpent Speech" decimates all within a mile around ..."The modern man is a freak !" shouts L.G.

Included is a clever instrumental-version of "Wolverine Blues". This ain't no Delta-vibed, but a mid-paced BLACK SABBATH-hammer. Deathmetal National Geographic, we learn that this misanthropic breed is: "Pound for pound, the most vicious animal on Earth." High testosterone hardcore blast into Mach IV territory on both" Bonehouse" and "Put Off The Scent" ...yes the garage-deathmetal tone is now en-vogue, courtesy of once again: Sunlight Studios.

"The box ...you opened it: we came !"

The final cut is a voyage into hell, literally. The 5:40sec moody epic "Hellraiser" features many samples from the first movie of the gory Clive Barker franchise. Bloody chains, endless suffering, foggy darkness, deathmetal and ring-master Pinhead ...ENTOMBED is the band that keeps on giving.

Released as a teaser from the upcoming third full-length CD, the Hollowman EP is an integral part of the elaborate 'TOMB discography. Now signed to Columbia Records in the US / Canada, this signature was part of a major deal to expose deathmetal to a wider metal-mainstream audience. Other extreme Earache Records catalog selections included NAPALM DEATH, CARCASS and CATHEDRAL.

Not rocknroll, but deathnroll. The fun shall level up on Autumn 1993's Wolverine Blues CD.

*
Hollowman = video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skn3VFz5pUM
Hollowman = full MCD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFCxH_EdbKU&list=PL6_qhP3eWX5PzB-iDAJKnzzssemtQoisa

October 4, 1993 - 2023: 30 years of: Wolverine Blues.

A different kind of blues.

Inked to Columbia Records in America, during this post Black Album era, all bets were on ...Death-Metal ! Major-label executives planned a fine Marvel-license and a cool MTV-video, the clandestine ENTOMBED should be a fruitful asset, right ? ...right ?!

The bitch-slappin' flies-high on "Eyemaster", a fast deathpunk burst of energy. The funeral fun continues on the grimy "Rotten Soil" and the devilish "Demon". No signs of selling-out now.

Obnoxious heavy cuts like "Full Of Hell" and especially the facewash killer "Out Of Hand", might be the band's most raging material, ever. Ironically too intense for a major-label release, the song was removed from the domestic-edition of the CD ...they probably didn't like having "Jesus Christ" and "lord of flies" and "Fuck" in the same chorus.

Rocknroll is now deathnroll, as displayed on the title-track for "Wolverine Blues", a rough mid-paced metal cut. The MTV-video did get Headbanger's Ball and even Beavis & Butt-Head exposure, but the USA wasn't ready for this kind of misanthropic metal. Pound for pound, they are the most vicious of all.

America was hardmusic ready, as proven by METALLICA, PANTERA and the Seattle swamp, but to think actual Death-Metal would even make the meter move is somewhat of an ignorant miss-calculation on their behalf. The actual thrashmetal craze had already taken it's course by 1990-91. In 1992-93, major-label invested in bands like SEPULTURA, NAPALM DEATH, MORBID ANGEL and CARCASS ...for a very thin return. They tried, thanks for the CDs, but diametrically, this also precipitated the genre, into the abyss of rocknrollizm. Fans of hardcore now had to go to blackmetal for their fix, the next extremity in line.

Rapidly dropped by Columbia, the nihilistic boys would go indie and license their next opus to Music For Nations, the deathpunk late-night brawl of 1997's To Ride, Shoot Straight And Speak The Truth CD.

*
Wolverine Blues = video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNi0tsCU-6g
Wolverine Blues = full CD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fz8o_LBLcpI&list=OLAK5uy_kO5wOqcYSEW65vImAMkTJE6DBZOqEDEg0
Interview in 1994
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wK-mgn3mG7o
Live in London in 1994
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwEO2ufyQ2M
This sucks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dinptBBklP4

March 21, 1997 - 2022: 25 years of: To Ride, Shoot Straight And Speak The Truth.

Deathnroll now becomes deathpunk.

After 1993's major-label supported Wolverine Blues CD, the ENTOMBED camp goes indie. No more Columbia Records and done with Earache Records's interventions, this unit goes underground, were real metal is found ...time to speak the truth !

The dirt blows full 360º as "To Ride, Shoot Straight And Speak The Truth" revs up. The trademarked-tone is there and the hate-level clips to eleven. More grimy deathmetal is exposed in true DIY fashion, with "Wreckage" and the mosh-fest of "Lights Out".

Blood pours aplenty has the NYHC flair is evident on "Parasight" and "Just As Sad". Out of hand mega-metal explosions with mega-riffing on "Damn Deal Done" and "Like This With The Devil", secures the old-schoolness to a tee.

Stockholm scene-generator of the very late 80s, this vulgar display of power is the true rebirth of an icon. Revolted and revolutionary, ENTOMBED once again plays the dice and sets the pace for the competition.

The hype is real and alive, having witnessed this rage in the live environment, this writer can assess that this tone is deadly real and deadly addictive The last collaboration from drummer Nicke Andersson and sadly 1998's Same Difference CD would be infected with too much Seattle garage influences.

In MCMXCVII, ENTOMBED were DCLXVI !

RIP LG Petrov (1972-2021)

*
To Ride, Shoot Straight And Speak The Truth = full CD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVNtEAoiB3Q&list=OLAK5uy_kEnQ8sKAD0ACO-Infi0zCr9qum9H-xNNY
Interview in 1997
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ab4TRFejeY
Live in Florida in 1998
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-_V27A5mUc

more ENTOMBED:

Death-Metal 1988-92
&

Death-Metal EU 1991