Skellefteå 1996 - a city in a time of depopulation. Anyone who lives there are vultures, all looking for jobs as fucked up as Possible and all trying really hard to keep the silence silent. The city's most remarkable offspring at this time were Wallström and Erika Norberg (Yngvie Ore Steen's ex girlfriend). The Youth occupied with drinking, ice hockey and being Christian. Anyone daring to be different had a price to pay.
The hardcore band Bitter End, from this town, had just broken up and some of the members (Anders, Fredrik and Tompa) DECIDED to keep on playing together. Not that They were all that good musicians or even interested in music, it was rather the social conditions Mentioned above That kept Them playing together. The idea with the new band was to scream louder and play even more raw than They did the Bitter End. The line-up was Anders (vocals), Tompa (guitar), Fredrik (drums) and later Thumbs (The Thumb) (guitar) and makke (bass) joined the band. They Began to practice and a couple of songs started to take shape. Now it is more classic raw punk combined with sloppy black metal grinding, than the metal-hardcore That Previously They have been playing.
The lyrics were screamed In Their mother tongue rather than sung and the band took the name Total Fucking Darkness. Outside of the premises Rehearsing an angry and lonely guy called Inge spent his days. He joined the band And they started practicing more seriously And they played Their first gigs in the surroundings of Skellefteå. In spring 1998, Thumbs leaves the band after a dispute with other guitarist Tompa. A rumor says That he became a salesman in London.
Recordings done in the summer of 1998 results up as an own Produced seven inch record "When the hour strikes vengeance." It was pressed into 200 copies, Which was almost sold out in one day. After the Following the summer and autumn the band was put on hold for almost a year. Many thought That TJM had given up and split up, but after some really Considerable pressure from the local punks and misfits TJM DECIDED to kick-start again. Some changes in the band settings occur, makke leaves the band after a car crash and is Replaced by the young and hungry Chris. Inge's physical absence leads to That Fredrik picks up the microphone to do the vocals and the professional butcher Bent takes his place behind the drums.
A seven inch ice recorded with this set up and is released in 2000 by Communichaos Records. The seven-inch "Industry, concrete and selling souls" sells good and the rumor starts spreading, TJM hits the roads in Sweden and Norway. At this time Inge Becomes more and more Involved in his side project The International Noise Conspiracy., Nevertheless, he is still a member of the TJM collective and Contribute with some sick lyrics trough mail and sometimes he shows up on stage or for Rehearsals.
Another recording is released as a split seven-inch with the American band They Fear the Reclaim on Arson and Semi records. The summer of 2001 the band Spiff Enters The Studio in Skellefteå and records a number of songs, Which at this point, are the most raw the band has ever created. The recording gets some attention on the radio and the band gets more gigs all around Sweden. The hype peaks at Hultsfred Festival 2002 When the band plays at a full trial stage with everything from swamp punks, ZTV-people to ex-Al Green members in the crowd.At this point people are starting to realized That Total Fucking Darkness is for real ...
The record "The involuntary suffering machinery" is the result of the recordings done During the summer 2,001th It is Described as an "Industrial d-beat record with a slight touch of black metal." Distortion Recordings released it in October 2002nd The Record Becomes a success and is nominated best rock at P3 Guld awards and wins an award for best Hard Rock / Punk at the Manifest awards.
During 2004 TJM tours Sweden and Norway withtheir new materials, They play festivals and the record "Man Calling Value" is another success! The record sells better than the previous and overpriced gets better reviews. It is nominated as best "hard rock / punk album" at the Manifest Awards.
In the beginning of 2005 TJM is all part of the "Close-up made us do it - tour" together with The Haunted and Insision. The tour takes Them thru Sweden, Norway and Finland. The tour Becomes a real "injection" to the guys, and new songs are starting to take shape. In April TJM Decides to go on a German tour That has been delayed for a couple of months. But unfortunately Anders could not go on this tour. He was suffering from a sore throat and work related problems. So the band called In Their good friend Joakim "Sylen" Staaf-Sylsjö (Human Waste, Our Bleeding Empire, 365 Days, Uncle Charles and so on ...) who Followed Them thru Germany and Austria. The tour was a real morale booster for the band, eventhough one gig was canceled due to a threat to the band.
After the buzzer gigs reality catches up with the band, one of the screamers, Inge, doing now? Been doing any shows with the band for over a year, this due to lack of time. TJM's in touch with Inge, who is on one of his tours overseas, and together They Decides to That for the good of the bands he has to leave. TJM does not want to make a big thing out of this and post a small statement on the homepage. They wish each other good luck in the future and get on withtheir separate careers ...
In September 2005 the new songs come alive in the studio, a "pre-production" of 23 songs is recorded in four days. Together They pick out 15 songs for an upcoming album. 4 of the songs That are leftover are Properly mixed and will be released on the long planned TJM / Human waste 2x7 "split. After this recording session TJM Decides to That They had enough of Their previous label, and signs to Regain Records for Their upcoming self titled release. Stronger than ever!
TJM turns down the activity in spring 2007, the members move Further apart: Chris moves to Skåne and Victor joins Satyricon and moves to Oslo. The start of the album, "Divide & Rule" was made in Ostersund December 2007, When Thomas, Frederick and Joakim Began sketching a new way to make songs, even thou tape was thou sands of miles from one another. Thomas made a web application where every member of the band could upload songs and ideas. This way new songs slowly came alive. However, there is a big step from making a song to actually recording it.
In the summer of 2008 TJ M played at Arvika Festival, Oslo Live, Emmaboda and Gävle. Those occasions were the only time TJM rehearsed together as a band. The vision was to create darker and fatally saturated songs, and really let the creativity lead the way. This is not unusual for TJM, but this time it got them the whole way.
In anxiety, desperation and frustration TJM records Their 4 th album, "Divide & Rule" in four different studios from November 2008 to March 2009. Finally, the music come back to Tonteknik to be mixed and mastered by Their faithful friend Magnus Lindberg.The album, "Divide & Rule" deals with everything from the man's dark inside to world politics, a Broader subjectarea then TJM ever dealt with before. As fucked up as the world is today, this is the dawning of a new era!
http://www.myspace.com/totaltjavlamorker
