Shared From Transcending Obscurity: Swedish Death Metal Highlights

Maybe it's the increasingly cold and snowy weather, or maybe I'm just feeling in need of delving deeper into some Swedish death metal lately due to being stuck at home. Either way, I ran across this article on the website of the Transcending Obscurity record label/online magazine a while ago and felt it was well-worth sharing:

https://tometal.com/special-highlights-swedish-death-metal-highlights/

I know absolutely nothing about Transcending Obscurity itself, but after seeing some of the bands they've signed and doing a bit of browsing on their site, it definitely seems like a good place to check out once in a while. This article gives a good round-up of what has been going on in the Swedish death metal scene recently, focusing on bands that are probably a little more obscure than some of the 'big' names of the sub-genre.

I haven't had a chance to listen to probably half of the bands mentioned in the article, but would agree in recommending Interment, Entrails, and Cut Up. A few of the others, such as Under The Church, Paganizer, and Vangheld are on my radar but I don't feel like I know any of their material well enough to comment about it other than liking what I've heard. As for the rest, it leaves a hell of a lot of bands I've either never heard of, or heard of in passing to check out!

If you're interested in Swedish death metal, I'd recommend giving this article a quick scan (at the very least). You'll probably find something to pique your interest.

Interment - Scent Of The Buried Review

Track Listing:

Death and Decay

Sinister Incantation

Chalice Of Death

Repugnant Funeral

Scent of the Buried

Rise of the Dead

Unholy Upheaval

Dawn of Blasphemy

Skull Crushing Carnage

Nailed to the Grave

Interment have been around for a long time, forged out of the depths of the late 80’s Swedish death metal scene. Although having years of material under their belts, this is a band that has only released two full length albums, having put out a number of demos and appeared on a number of splits throughout the years. Interment are described as ‘Swedish old school death metal’, and this is an apt description. 

‘Scent Of The Buried’ demonstrates that Interment deserve their rightful place amidst others of the same sub-genre. This album hits all of the right notes that one would expect from Swedish death metal, making it a good choice if that’s what you’re into. It’s not groundbreaking, but it certainly is packed full of the brutality you’d expect from veterans of the Swedish death metal scene. It chugs along in the right places, interspersed by faster pieces and tempos that change enough to pique interest. The vocal style of Johan Jansson is reminiscent of that of Unleashed’s vocalist, which allows for a nice melding of vocals with the various tracks on the album. This is a straightforward, honest, brutal album. All in all, exactly what this listener enjoys about Swedish death metal. 

Best tracks:

Sinister Incantation, Scent Of The Buried, Nailed To The Grave