Nihilist - The Nihilist Demos (2005)

One of the most trailblazing of the early-90s death metal bands, Sweden's Entombed earned a worldwide audience on the basis of its immense instrumental skills and willingness to experiment sonically. The band's chameleonlike nature is the stuff of legend – just when you thought you had Entombed all figured out, the band would go and change directions on you. As maddening as this might be for hardcore fans, it has served to earn Entombed a status as one of the most influential bands in the heavy metal genre.

Before there was Entombed, however, there was Nihilist, a band formed by future Entombed members Alex Hellid and Nicke Andersson. Harbingers of the sound that Entombed would eventually unleash upon the world with its groundbreaking Left Hand Path album, Nihilist, in many ways, sketched out the blueprint and threw together the foundation upon which death metal was built.

To say that Nihilist's early sound is a revelation might in itself be an understatement. This self-titled release features four distinctive demo sessions from across two years, several songs that, although circulated for a decade and a half in underground metal circles, have never been released on CD to my knowledge. The eleven songs remembered here display the band's evolution and maturation, from the low-fi, bass-heavy screamers of "Sentenced To Death" and "Carnal Leftovers" (from 1988's Premature Autopsy demo) to the no-quarter-asked-and-none-given sonic barrage of "Morbid Devourment" (from 1989's The Drowned Sessions).

Fueled by Andersson's massive percussion work, Nihilist blends the heaviest of metal with extreme hardcore and no little amount of doom-and-gloom, delivering a soundtrack to oblivion. Andersson's drums hit you like the galloping heels of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse while Hellid's surgically-precise guitar leads are paired with muscular riffs and LG Petrov's demonic vocals.

Rounding out the disc is a trio of early Entombed demos from 1989's But Life Goes On sessions. These three recordings – "But Life Goes On," "Shreds Of Flesh" and "The Truth Beyond" – would earn the band its first recording contract, Entombed later reprising a couple of the tunes for its official debut, 1990's Left Hand Path. The demos offered here are raw and undiluted, even by death metal standards, offering metal fans one of the most brutal sounds this side of the River Styx.

After disbanding Nihilist, Andersson and Hellid would recruit the band's vocalist Petrov and frequent guitar collaborator Ulf Cederlund to form Entombed and, as they say, the rest is history. The history of this important band can be found in the grooves of these demos, however, Nihilist providing an integral missing link in the storied history of death metal. Heartily recommended for fans of bands like Napalm Death, Obituary, even Pantera...and, of course, Entombed. (Candlelight Records)

(Click on the CD cover to buy The Nihilist Demos from Amazon.com)

Entombed - Unreal Estate (2005)

They have been the forefathers of stoner-tinged grindcore, offering their dark, Sabbathesque vibe to the overtones of Napalm Death relevant glory, but nobody ever thought that Entombed (or any hard-edged group for that matter) could have influenced and helped create what is hard to believe – a ballet. Yes, I said it, literally a performance of about 30 dancers doing a routine to "Entombed" music.

What we get with Unreal Estate is a live recording of a performance at Sweden's Royal Opera Hall, with the music speaking for itself. There is a dark vibe found within the record with complete grinding thrusts of tracks such as "Say It In Slugs," "Mental Twin" and "In the Flesh" offering the classic sound of Entombed. This is a typically tight musical performance from these guys, but that is only the audio portion...it's hard to imagine what the dancing was like, being that there is no DVD included. Normally you would think of slam-dancing or moshing among the thick cloud of pot smoke at an Entombed show, but not in this case. Even for a live record, the crowd is fairly subdued; the only applause you hear is at the end.

A very strange feat for Entombed, which began as an idea by choreographers who were fans of the band that decided to try something unique, and unique this is. When looking at this recording, it's not like you have to think that the band has the balls to do something like this. It's more like the band has to have discrete and precise musicianship, similar to an orchestra (by the way there is no orchestra, just the band themselves). So it remains an honor that Entombed was chosen to create the musical mastery behind such a different approach to the world of the dancing arts. (Candlight Records)

Review by Tommy "Hashman" Hash, copyright 2005

(Click on the CD cover to buy Unreal Estate from Amazon.com)