Issue: 8 The Demos Vol. 1 (Helotry/Ligament/Obscurity) Our "Made in Sweden" column is still developing with new ideas and approaches. So far, we've concentrated on bands that had multiple releases, some with studio full-length records and others with multiple demos and tapes. But what about the countless bands that only released demos and disappeared forever? Written by: Eric Compton . 12/13/2019 Issue: 7 Nirvana 2002 After writing about bands and demos, Erik Qvick and Orvar Safstrom, decided to start their own band. Their demos were widely circulated and praised with many anticipating a huge splash with the debut album that never came to fruition. They never performed live during their creative years, yet are considered one of the best and most talented of the Swedish Death bands based on these slim recordings. Written by: Eric Compton . 2/8/2019 Issue: 6 Sorcery - Bloodchilling Tales Sorcery were a band from the town of Sandviken, a locality of Gavleborg County in the southern portion of Sweden. 'Bloodchilling Tales' is a solid first effort with ten tracks of death metal triumph. Written by: Eric Compton . 11/30/2018 Issue: 5 God Macabre - The Winterlong… 1991 was a defining year for Swedish death metal with debuts from the likes of Dismember, Unleashed, Grave and Therion. God Macabre should have been caught up in that movement with their debut album release in early 1992. The record was created in December of 1991 and easily could have rode the momentum of the scene. Written by: Eric Compton . 11/17/2017 Issue: 4 Carnage - Dark Recollections We touched on the first Dismember demos and their pivotal 1991 debut 'Like an Everflowing Stream'. It's only fitting that we analyze a band that had very close ties with Dismember, so much that they shared ideas, songs and band members--Carnage. Written by: Eric Compton . 8/25/2017 Issue: 3 Merciless - The Awakening The record is a monumental achievement for extreme metal in Sweden. While it doesn't contain the traditional down-tuned sound that would define the country's death metal scene, its aggression and dark nature is certainly a catalyst for more extreme bands. It pushed the envelope from vocals to speed. Written by: Eric Compton . 8/24/2017 Issue: 2 Dismember - Like an Everflowing Stream Dismember are one of the early pioneers of Swedish death metal. The band formed in Stockholm in 1988 and at the time the country's extreme metal was such a small, close-knit community with band members typically just hanging out, drinking beer, and tape trading.'Like an Everflowing Stream' was released in 1991 by then newcomer label Nuclear Blast. Written by: Eric Compton . 5/13/2017 Issue: 1 "Swedish Death Metal" by Daniel Ekeroth It's only fitting that our first issue of the new Maximum Metal column "Made in Sweden" focuses on the tome that provoked it - "Swedish Death Metal" by Daniel Ekeroth. Never has a book existed that documents and illustrates such a brutal music scene so well. Ekeroth offers an abundance of rich, scholarly texts deciphering one of metal's most energetic and awe-inspiring moments in time. Written by: Eric Compton . 5/12/2017

It's only fitting that our first issue of the new Maximum Metal column "Made in Sweden" focuses on the tome that provoked it -"Swedish Death Metal" by Daniel Ekeroth. If Douglas Adams offered "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" then Ekeroth surely offers "The Passenger's Guide to Hell".

What is Swedish Death Metal? What is the fascination? What in the bloody Hell happened to the kids in Stockholm? Ekeroth offers an abundance of rich, scholarly texts deciphering one of metal's most energetic and awe-inspiring moments in time. It's aptly titled "Swedish Death Metal" for a reason. Ekeroth gives it all to us--glorious, gut-wrenching, defining as it is--in one extremely heavy volume of tunes and tombs. --Eric Compton, Maximum Metal

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