Best Swedish Metal

(1998 – present)

Started up in 1998 after years of talking between long-time friends and band leaders Lord K. Philipson (formerly God Among Insects, Leukemia, House of Usher, Lame and the editor of legendary early 90’s fanzine Hypnosia Magazine, ex-touring bassist/guitarist for bands such as Dark Funeral, Vomitory and Grave) and Jörgen Sandström (well known for his vocals in death metal legends Grave (on their first 3 classic albums), as well as handling the bass and backing vocal duties in Entombed for over a decade. Now playing in Vicious Art and Krux).

Three best albums in my opinion:



(this was tough, all of their releases rocks!)

Stockholm, Sweden (1991 – present)

Progressive metal band. Formed by Jonas Renkse and Anders Nyström. Their earlier releases, such as Jhva Elohim Meth… the Revival and their debut album Dance Of December Souls, the bands music has Doom metal elements and influences with their progressive metal style, noting the overall bleak melancholy and despair sound.

Three best albums in my opinion:

Stockholm, Södermanland, Sweden (1990 – present)

Progressive metal band that is influenced by many diverse musical styles ranging from jazz, 1970s progressive rock, death metal, and blues. Their recent releases have deviated from their traditional death metal influenced style, with more emphasis on progressive elements. Vocalist Mikael Åkerfeldt is also noted for utilizing both clean singing and death growls, often in the same track.

Three best albums in my opinion:

Gothenburg, Sweden (1989 – present)

Melodic death metal. Starting in 1989 named Septic Broiler, they have had a fairly stable line-up from the beginning, unlike many bands in the genre.

Three best albums in my opinion:

Stockholm, Sweden (1998 – present)

Death metal band . Critically acclaimed as a “superstar line-up” of death metal, the band is the brainchild of Anders Nyström (Katatonia, Diabolical Masquerade), Jonas Renkse (Katatonia, October Tide), Dan Swanö (Edge of Sanity, Nightingale, and many more), and Mikael Åkerfeldt (Opeth). The whole project was the upshot of one rip-roaring night, intended to reinvent old school death metal.

Three best albums in my opinion:

Strömstad, Sweden (1989 - 2006)

Melodic black metal. Band was formed by Jon Nödtveidt (vocals / lead, rhythm & acoustic guitars). The other members were Ole Öhman (drums), Peter Palmdahl (bass), and John Zwetsloot (rhythm & classic acoustic guitars).

In 1990, Dissection played their first live show with death metal act Entombed. In the same year, they recorded and released their first demo entitled The Grief Prophecy. A year later the first EP Into Infinite Obscurity was released. In 1992, Dissection began work on a full-length album, The Somberlain. In which it was released by a now-defunct Swedish label No Fashion Records.

Vocalist/guitarist Jon Nödtveidt shot himself at age 31. Swedish police found him in his apartment the 16th of August 2006, inside a circle of lit candles. He killed himself because he felt he had achieved all that he could and was meant to in this life. Before that he was in jail. He was very interesting guy, you can find more at Wikipedia.

Three best albums in my opinion:

Gothenburg, Sweden (1990 – 1996, 2007 – 2008, 2011 – present)

Melodic death metal band from Gothenburg, Sweden, and a major progenitor of the Gothenburg death metal sound. Initially active from 1990 to 1996, the band reformed in 2007 for a reunion tour.

Three best albums in my opinion:

(1996 – present)

Industrial metal band. Started out as a hobby project for Hypocrisy front man Peter Tägtgren, whose idea was to fuse metal with electronic influences. Tägtgren is the only official member. Pain’s self titled debut was released in 1996, and since, Pain has released five more albums (one album featuring Anette Olzon from Nightwish), nine singles and a DVD.

Three best albums in my opinion:

Visby, Sweden (1986 – present)

Death metal band. One of the longest-running Swedish death metal bands, Grave has created a sound and style which has been an inspiration on a number of the genre’s more promising younger outfits. Having started out as a band called Corpse in 1986, they released loads of demos before their legendary 1991 debut Into The Grave.

Three best albums in my opinion:

(1996 - present)

The band was formed after the demise of At the Gates. The Haunted are the winners of two Swedish Grammys in 2003 in the category of "Best Hard Rock Band".

Three best albums in my opinion:

Ludvika, Sweden (1990 – present)

Death metal band. Formed by Peter Tägtgren in 1990 upon his return to Sweden from Florida, where he had been inspired by that state’s flourishing death metal scene (bands like Morbid Angel, Deicide, Death and Obituary).

Three best albums in my opinion:

Umeå, Sweden (1987 – present)

Meshuggah, whose name is taken from the Hebrew and Yiddish word for “crazy”, is a five-piece band from Umeå, Sweden, founded in 1987. The band’s style is most easily described as extreme/technical metal with some jazz influence. They use extended polymetric passages, complex drum patterns, angular, dissonant guitar riffs, and harsh vocals. Their lineup has always been consistent, apart from bass which has been handled by many people since the band’s inception.

Three best albums in my opinion:

Stockholm, Sweden (1993 – 2004)

Avant-garde black metal solo project of Anders Nyström (aka Blakkheim), guitarist for Katatonia and Bloodbath, origins from Stockholm, Sweden. Nyström wanted to have a band where he could compose more extreme music while Katatonia were exploring more mellow themes and moods.

Three best albums in my opinion:

Trollhättan, Sweden (1990 – 2004, 2009 – present)

Death/thrash metal. Their original moniker (until 1998) was Crown of Thorns for the band’s first two albums, which had to be changed due to another band already using that name. Music and lyrics are inspired by death, anti-religion themes (mostly targeting Christianity) and rebellion. They are known to fuse death metal with thrash influences.

Three best albums in my opinion:

(1995 – present)

Thyrfing’s musical evolution and progression, keeping their roots in mind, have given the band a wide amount of fans all over the world. Thyrfing play their Metal with a northern touch alongside their folk and symphonic influences, and they are counted among the finest of their genre.

Three best albums in my opinion:

(1998 – present)

Heavy metal band. Founded by Ralf Gyllenhammar, Hannes Hansson, Mats Hansson and Mats Johansson on the Mustasch farm on the island Orust in Sweden. All members were active before as punk band Grindstone.

Three best albums in my opinion:

Stockholm, Sweden (1987 – present)

Death metal band. Formed in 1987 under the name of Nihilist. In 1989 they changed their name to Entombed. Though Entombed began their career as an early pioneer of Scandinavian death metal, by the early 1990s their sound had broadened to include hardcore punk and other influences. This new style would eventually be described as Death ‘n’ Roll, of which Entombed remains arguably the best-known example.

Three best albums in my opinion:

Halmstad, Sweden (1996 – present)

Melodic death metal band. Formed by Carcass guitarist Michael Amott along with Johan Liiva, both originally from the influential death metal band Carnage. The band has released seven studio albums, a live album (Burning Japan Live 1999), two DVDs and three EPs. The band was originally fronted by Johan Liiva, who was replaced by Angela Gossow as lead vocalist in 2000.

Three best albums in my opinion:

Umeå, Sweden (1998 – present)

Sludge/Post-rock band formed in 1998 in Umeå, Sweden by guitarist Johannes Persson and vocalist Klas Rydberg. They had new ideas on how to explore and develop their music. After some member hunting and rehearsals CoL had its first line-up consisting of: Klas Rydberg, Johannes Persson, Magnus Lindberg, Erik Olofsson and Fredrik Renstrom. After a short period of time, Fredrik had to leave due to some personal difficulties.

Three best albums in my opinion:

Helsingborg, Sweden (1995 – present)

Alternative/Melodic death metal. Formed originally under the name Inferior Breed in Helsingborg, Sweden. In 1996, they changed their name to Soilwork to better fit their new sound. Their unique sound is a fusion of the classic gothenburg metal sound with power-groove riffs of late 1970s, early 1980s British, and European metal, but in their most recent albums they have also introduced elements from American alternative metal and adopted a more melodic attitude.

Three best albums in my opinion:

Avesta, Sweden (2004 – present)

Melodic death metal. In addition to the typical melodic death metal aesthetics (numerous melodies and harmonies in the guitars, growling vocals, etc.), they incorporate synthesised sounds into their music. Their lyrics are themed towards astronomy, philosophy, mysticism and inner struggles.

Three best albums in my opinion: