Entombed
This Swedish death metal band were formed in Stockholm in 1987 as Nihilist, releasing four acclaimed demos; DROWNED, PREMATURE AUTOPSY, BUT LIFE GOES ON and ONLY SHREDS REMAIN. After breaking up Nihilist the band reunited a few days later as Entombed, with a line-up of Lars Goren-Petrov (vocals), Ulf Cederlund (guitar), Alex Hellid (guitar), Lars Rosenburg (bass) and Nicke Andersson (drums). LEFT HAND PATH adequately demonstrated the band's potential with an atmospheric and individual sound, and live shows were equally impressive. Petrov departed shortly after the debut, but Orvar Safstrom only lasted for one single (Crawl) before ex-Carnage bassist Johnny Dordevic took over on the well-reviewed CLANDESTINE. After an extensive US tour with Morbid Angel, he too was ousted in favour of the returning Petrovfor the Gods Of Grind UK jaunt with Carcass, Cathedral and Confessor. HOLLOWMAN was swiftly followed by the hugely impressive WOLVERINE BLUES as Entombed continued to ignore death metal convention, establishing themselves as one of the genre's leading acts, and creating more accessible material by incorporating traditional rock song structures and the rhythmic groove which they first explored on CLANDESTINE into their fierce death metal framework. Entombed's popularity continued to rise as they toured Europe on a frighteningly intense bill with label mates Napalm Death, while an EP, OUT OF HAND, saw high class covers of material by Kiss (God Of Thunder) and Repulsion (Blackbreath).