Friday, February 28, 2025

CANDLEMASS (METAL FORCES #26, 1987)

CREMATORY (SWE) ”WRATH FROM THE UNKNOWN” DEMO TAPE FLYER (1991)

HELLOWEEN (RAW MAGAZINE, #00/1988)

WHIPLASH (METAL FORCES #26, 1987)

MAYHEM & HAZY HILL (1990)

Hellhammer, Dead and guys from Turkish band Hazy Hill at the Mayhem show in Izmir ,Turkey 09.12.1990.

Courtesy of Black Metal Pics From the Past

INDESTROY (METAL FORCES #26, 1987)

WORLD MISANTHROPY: SOUTH AMERICA (SECRET HISTORIES OF BLACK METAL, 2009)

From the Terrorizer special issue: Terrorizer's Secret Histories of Black Metal (2009 September)

MAPPE’S FIRST CANDLEMASS SHOW IN JÖNKÖPING, SWEDEN (MAY 9, 1987)

YNGWIE MALMSTEEN (BURRN! #7, 1985)

YNGWIE MALMSTEEN ”MARCHING OUT” JAPANESE AD (BURRN! #7, 1985)

SLAYER, ANTHRAX, METALLICA, GUNS N’ ROSES …. BACKSTAGE AT A KISS CONCERT! (1988)

Slayer, Anthrax,Metallica & Guns N' Roses members backstage at Kiss Crazy Nights Tour in Pacific Amphitheater, Costa Mesa, CA on March 26, 1988.

Thursday, February 27, 2025

THE 3 MAGICAL DEMO TAPES BY NIHILIST

A pioneering death metal band from Stockholm, Sweden, founded in 1987 by Nicke Andersson (drums), Leif Cuzner (bass), Alex Hellid (guitar) and Ulf Cederlund (guitar), who were soon joined by L-G Petrov (vocals).

Nihilist's debut demo "Premature Autopsy" (1988) is often considered to be the first real Swedish death metal demo release. The demo also has Mattias Böström listed as a vocalist, but it's uncertain if he ever was in the band for real. After the recording Cederlund left the band to concentrate on his other bands Morbid and Infuriation. Hence for the second demo "Only Shreds Remain" (1989) Cuzner had switched to guitar and Johnny Hedlund had joined the band as a bass player. After this Cuzner moved to Canada and Cederlund came back. Their third demo "Drowned" was recorded in August 1989, but at this point disagreements within the band (namely between Johnny Hedlund and the rest of the group) lead to Andersson splitting the band apart. Almost immediately after the split Andersson and Cederlund however reformed the group as Entombed, but without Hedlund, who then went to form his own band Unleashed.

Guitarist Leif Cuzner is often credited as the founder of the famous Stockholm death metal guitar tone, which uses the Boss HM-2 distortion pedal on "all knobs at max" setting. This particular guitar tone, or "Stockholm sound", also became a trademark of producer Tomas Skogsberg and his famous Sunlight Studios.

Both this picture and the one above is from Relapse Records vinyl
version from 2011 of the demo collection ”Carnal Leftovers"

Taken from the booklet for Nihilist (1987-1989), written by Ula Gehret, former Metal Maniacs contributor and current label manager for Century Media:

"For a band whose technical lifespan was just over two years, few bands have left more of an indelible impression upon the extreme music scene than Nihilist. Formed in 1987, the group bore the name Brainwarp before morphing into Nihilist. It was the brainchild of drummer Nicke Andersson, who was joined by two of his friends from summer camp, Alex Hellid on guitars and Leif Cuzner on bass and vocals (Daniel Strachal, who was a part of Brainwarp would later go on to play drums for Lobotomy).

Having first been influenced by the '80s hardcore and crossover bands, Nihilist were soon introduced to the likes of Death and Kreator and the bastard cross-pollination of influences would soon breed its own virulent new hybrid strain. For their earliest rehearsals and shows, they mixed a repertoire of cover songs and originals. Nihilist found two fortuitous additions when they went into the studio in March of 1988 to record their first demo tape. Mutual friend Mattias "Buffla" had rehearsed a few times as a singer with the other three. As they were eager to find a standalone vocalist, but for the recording session the band drafted in session vocalist L-G Petrov, who was then the drummer for cult death metal band Morbid. Also joining as a session musician was L.G.'s bandmate in Morbid Ulf "Uffe" Cederlund on second guitar. It was with these five members that the three-song Premature Autopsy was recorded.

Premature Autopsy (1988)

According to an interview in the book Swedish Death Metal, both LG and Uffe were actual members of the group, but mis-credited as session members (although this has been denied by Nicke Andersson). Mattias, on the other hand, was never a part of the group at all.

Recording information:
Recorded at 'Studio Z' Stockholm in March 1988.

Produced by Nihilist.

1. Sentenced to Death
2. Supposed to Rot
3. Carnal Leftovers

Lineup:
L.G. (R.I.P. 2021) - Vocals
Ulf Cederlund - Guitars
Alex Hellid - Guitars
Leffe Cuzner (R.I.P. 2006) - Bass
Nicke Andersson - Drums

Only Shreds Remain (1989)

It was assumed that the vocals on this demo were recorded by Johnny Hedlund (much deeper vocals, and practically identical to his early recordings with Unleashed), though they are credited to LG Petrov, also Hedlund stated on the "Where No Life Dwells" reissue that his very first time doing vocals were on the "And Laughter Has Died" EP sessions.

3000 copies sold.

Recording information:

Recorded on December 8th and 16th, 1988 at Sunlight Studio, Stockholm, Sweden.

Produced by Nihilist.

1. Abnormally Deceased 02:56

2. Revel in Flesh 03:32

3. Face of Evil 03:39

LineUp:

L-G Petrov (R.I.P. 2021) - Vocals

Alex Hellid - Guitars

Johnny Hedlund - Bass

Nicke Andersson - Drums

Leffe Cuzner (R.I.P. 2006) - Guitars

Drowned (1989)

Originally released on cassette, 3000 copies sold. 10 advance tapes had a different cover, the one later used for the Threeman anthology CD.

Also released as a 7" on Bloody Rude Defect Records (BRD 001).

According to the official demo compilation CD on Threeman Rec.:

"Nihilist only managed one semi-official vinyl release, which was their own bootlegged version of the Drowned 7" single on Bloody Rude Defect Records, released by the band's good friend Fredrik Holmgren".

Recording information:

Recorded in August 1989.

1. Severe Burns 05:41

2. When Life Has Ceased 04:10

Lineup:

Ulf Cederlund - Guitars

L-G Petrov (R.I.P. 2021) - Vocals

Alex Hellid - Guitars

Johnny Hedlund - Bass

Nicke Andersson - Drums

MOTORHEAD AT FOREST NATIONALE, BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (MARCH 22, 1981)

Courtesy of Frederick Photography

SEPULTURA (BURN #7, 1991) GERMAN INTERVIEW TRANSLATED TO ENGLISH

Burn was a German Metal magazine. Here is a translated to English interview with Sepultura about their new album ”Arise”.

SEPULTURA
Sepultura's rise is unstoppable! After the Brazilian bushmen were laughed at for their 'early works', they gained respect from the writing community and almost all thrash fans with their last album, "Beneath The Remains". The growing popularity even led to Sepultura being booked for this year's 'Rock in Rio' festival - certainly one of the highlights in the band's history, only surpassed by the current cover story in this magazine. Singer and rhythm guitarist Max Cavalera (a nice guy, by the way) talked about the new album, "Arise" and a lot of other things.
The speed of your development is almost impossible to understand. What are the reasons for this and how do you assess your own progress?
I think that we have developed quite normally - our ambition and our talent are no greater than those of other bands. There is certainly a huge difference between our debut and "Arise", but then again, there are several years between them. From the beginning, our music had the same aggression and violence that still characterizes us today. We have simply become technically better and more experienced musicians who are also exposed to new influences and - albeit unconsciously - integrate them into our songwriting.
Speaking of influences: Who are they?
Bläck Sabbath, Motörhead, Sex Pistols, UK Subs, Lard...
Are your technical improvements based on many hours of practice?
We rehearse for five hours from Monday to Friday. We take the weekend off and get drunk - just like at a normal job (haha).
Do you rely on teachers?
No, we taught ourselves to play and still practice alone today.
Let's talk specifically about "Arise": How do you rate the album in comparison to its predecessors?
"Arise" is more complex and aggressive; the vocals are more angry and mean; and although the songs are not necessarily slower, I find them harder and heavier than our old stuff. Fortunately, since we were not put under any pressure by our record company and our album is not played on the radio anyway, we did not have to make any concessions. And we just wanted an even harder album... From what you said about tempos, you also think that hardness does not necessarily have to be related to speed. Exactly. There are several ways to sound hard and aggressive. Listen to Prong, for example: ultra-hard and by no means fast!
This was the first time you didn't record in Brazil. Instead, you went to Scott Burns in Florida. What impressions did you take home with you?
The studio was simply amazing. In Brazil there is nowhere near as much technology - and Scott knows it very well, because he has been working there for around six years. We also finally had a lot of time. Everything was much more professional than before and so the recordings were a lot of fun. It's actually logical that the result is our best album to date.
What influence did Scott Burns have on you?
In the studio, he was practically our fifth band member. He gave us lots of good advice and tips, but was never offended if we didn't like one of his ideas. That's how a producer should be!
Did he also write the lyrics? They aren't formulated nearly as crudely anymore…
No. In the last two years, I've given a lot of interviews and my English has inevitably improved. This was obviously noticeable when I wrote the lyrics. I used to write everything in Portuguese first and then translate it; today I think and write directly in English.
This is of course an advantage, especially when it comes to idioms. It also makes singing easier for me, as I can remember the lyrics better.
How was the performance at the 'Rock in Rio' festival?
Overwhelming! We only played for half an hour, but everyone was fully behind us, so there was a great atmosphere. That was not really to be expected with this billing with Guns 'n' Roses and David Lee Roth.
The German band Pink Cream 69 was so shocked by the crime in Rio that they wrote a text about their impressions ("Stray Kid"). Is it really that bad there?
Yes, Rio is terrible. Because of the widespread corruption, you can't even trust the police, so crime is becoming more and more widespread. If you want to survive there, you have to be able to protect yourself. Fortunately, where we come from, it's not quite as bad, even if the conditions are by no means peaceful. We need this breeding ground, because if everything is positive, you don't build up aggression that you can then let out with music.
Have you ever thought about emigrating?
Yes, but I haven't been able to decide to do so yet because I have a kind of love-hate relationship with Brazil. The country and especially the government are crap, but I have so many good friends there that I don't want to leave.
/ Marcus Schleutermann