Metal Archives

- Split picture 10" by Painkiller Records [PKR-020] April/2003 limited to 1000 copies.

- Split 7" by Hells Headbangers [HELLS EP 001] 2003
The 7" green-swirled vinyl is limited to 200 copies ; the 7" bestial black vinyl is limited to 800 copies. Both 7"s present different artwork (right picture)

Centinex "Enchanted Land":
Music and lyrics by Tom Angelripper & Sodom.
Recorded & mixed at Black Lounge Studios, November 2000, by Centinex.
Layout by The Eyeless.
Nunslaughter "Preacher": recorded at Bedroom Studios, Cleveland, Ohio U.S.A.

7" layout by Don of the Dead.

The CD version of two separate Necrosis LPs. It omitted the Cadaver track "Hypertrophyan".

The Carnage album was also released separately on Relativity/Earache (cat.-no. 88561-1105-2).

The Cadaver tracklist is inaccurate - it fails to list the track "Erosive Fester" (track 13), and mistakenly lists "Tuba" and "Ignominious Eczema" as separate tracks (11 and 12), when they are in fact joined together as track 11. This in turn means that what is listed as track 12 and 13 ("Ignominious Eczema" and "Corrosive Delirium", respectively) is also incorrect, tracks 12 and 13 are really "Corrosive Delirium" and "Erosive Fester".

The spelling mistakes ("Petrifyed Faces", "Mental Abherrance") are as listed on the album.

The tracklist shown here is correct.

Carnage - Dark Recollections:
Recorded at Studio Sunlight, February 1990.

Cadaver - Hallucinating Anxiety:
Recorded at Kaellen Studio during the winter 1989/1990.
Mixed at Studio 2, Sarpsborg, February 1990.

[Note: I have heard these songs through the bonus tracks on the Dark Recollections re-release.]

The very first Carnage demo is a true brutal assault of early Swedish death metal, the one inspired to Nihilist with a full dose of early grindcore. The production is a low budget one and the sounds are quite chaotic. The band plays compact even if the members were very young at the time. The main inspirations were Repulsion (in the guitar sound and blast beats) and the early death metal movement.

“Crime Against Humanity” is the original version of the great “Gentle Exhuming” in Dark Recollection album. The start is on mid paced, obscure riffs while going on the grind influences come into the sound with several blast beats. The vocals are the worst part in this demo: they are too growly and “suffocated” by the music, with a strange, animal distortion.

“Aftermath” shows a pounding bass part followed by weird guitar lines. Truly obscure. Anyway here they don’t forget the up tempo and blast beats. “The Day Man Lost” maybe is the song that shows the most preponderant Swedish sound. This one is full of moshing up tempo and fucking great riffs.

Well, a good start, “ruined” partially by the poor production (normal) and some vocals. Anyway, this is a very important occasion to discover the roots of a genre that would have made lots of great albums. For die hard fans.

release that everyone seems to have forgotten about. Before Entombed, before Dismember, before Grave, there was Carnage. Their lineup at one time featured now legendary guitarist Michael amott, though I don't think he is on the album release (though I could be wrong, mine was shipped without an insert), and current Arch Enemy vocalist Johan Liiva. The band apparently was the former incarnation of Dismember, and I can see relations to that band in their sound, though Carnage is simpler and more stripped down by a long shot.
This is the early incarnation of the Swedish death metal sound, and probably has crossover appeal to many grind fans. It's simple, straight ahead and complete aggression, though by today's standards it isn't very fast at all. There are only a couple of short blastbeat sections on the album, the rest is either midpaced and chuggy or a fast, frenetic thrashing tempo.
This may have been the first release with the trademark Sunlight Studios sound, though I'm probably wrong about this...the guitars are very downtuned and rumbling, and if you turn this up loud enough the onslaught will cause your bones to rattle. It's not as clean as some other Sunlight productions either, there is just the right amount of raw abrasiveness to the sound that adds to the power of this underrated release. Lead guitar either plays noisy squealing solos (not quite of Entombed's calibre, but still pretty cool n Swedish Death (TM)), or picks out simple Twilight Zoneish melodies over the triumphant roaring power chords of the rythm. Drumming is straightforward and might have done with a little spicing up, but it's not a major gripe, not everyone can play oldschool Swedish death like Nicke Andersen or Hank Amarillo (hah hah). I really don't think any fan of Dismember, Entombed, etc, can bare to be without this in their collection. it's simple, evil, and fucking aggressive death metal the way it was meant to be! How can you go wrong?

Recorded at Studio Sunlight in February 1990.
Music by Carnage.
Lyrics by Carnage.
Music by Fred Estby.
Music by Michael Amott.

Tracks 3, 6, 8 and 9 were originally Dismember songs, see Dismember's demos. Dismember later covered Torn Apart on the Pieces EP.

Johnny Dordevic was credited for bass but did not actually record on the album, just like he didn't actually sing on Entombed's Clandestine despite being credited.

The original 1990 CD pressing NECRO 003/004 CD was a split CD with Hallucinating Anxiety from Cadaver. There is also a 1990 pressing with just Carnage's tracks on Relativity/Earache Records 88561-1105-2. This is considered to also be an original edition.

Reissued by Earache Records in 2000 with extensive liner notes and the bonus tracks:
11. Crime Against Humanity (01:51) *
12. Aftermath (01:23) *
13. The Day Man Lost (01:22) *
14. Crime Against Humanity (01:50) **
15. Aftermath (01:25) **
16. The Day Man Lost (01:24) **
17. Torn Apart (04:46) ***
18. Infestation of Evil (04:55) ***

* Taken from the "The Day Man Lost" demo.
** Rough mix from the "The Day Man Lost" demo.
*** Taken from the "Infestation of Evil" demo.

Many people proclaimed "World Funeral" to be the 2003's best black metal album. It is a fantastic creation "inspired by the Devil", which if someone determines to be the best Marduk's release wouldn't be wrong. 11 great compositions filled with aggression, melody and funeral atmosphere, in which music and emotion interweave overwhelmingly. Dynamic with slow songs alternate, as the album is more technic from the previous creations of the Norrköping's four. It distinguishes with more dynamic guitar riffs and solos. The guitar player Morgan Hekansson says for himself: "I am not a big fan of solos, but after so many years of playing I learnt to do them!" What catches the listener's attention is the work of the new-coming Serbian drummer Eric Dragutinovic, who is doing very well as a replacement of Fredrik Andersson. The vocalist Legion and the bassist B. War also make impressing representation in their last album with the band. In spite of all changes the style is with preserved mark "Marduk"! With this album the band absolutely deserved can claim the throne of the Swedish black metal!