Sweden is a small country in freezing northern Europe, with less than nine million inhabitants and a reputation for Volvos, hockey players, cheap furniture, vodka, and blonde women. Since the late 1980s, however, Sweden has produced over a thousand extreme heavy metal bands, creating one of the most respected regional music scenes in the world. This is the improbable history of how a marginalized teen movement crawled from Sweden s small towns and suburbs, and found a lasting place on the world stage. Daniel Ekeroth captures the epic tale with enlightening detail, beginning with Sweden s violent loss of innocence in the 1980s, through the metal s virtual chokehold on the country during the 1990s, into the lasting legacy and global influence in the turbulent 2000s of the Sunlight guitar tone, the Gothenburg Sound, and the countless offshoots of Sweden s most lethal cultural export. Bazillion Points has extensively revised and updated a classic for this expanded edition. The ultimate insider's account of the rise of Sweden's legendary extreme metal scene, the book boasts over 450 pages, over 500 images, and scores of exclusive interviews with members of Nihilist/ Entombed, In Flames, At the Gates, Dismember, Grave, Hypocrisy, Opeth, Unleashed, Marduk, Morbid, Mob 47, Deranged, Edge of Sanity, Merciless, Therion, Liers in Wait, Carnage, Carcass, Tiamat/Treblinka, Afflicted, Repugnant, the Haunted, and other central characters. Original cover artwork by Nicke Andersson. Introduction by U.S. death metal pioneer Chris Reifert of Autopsy/Abscess/Death. Includes 120-page A-Z of Swedish Death Metal with hundreds of band histories and discographies. Rare photos and galleries of logos, band art, demo tapes, and classic Swedish death metal fanzines. Specs: 7 x9.5 x1.5 , 3lbs., 101% addictive.
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Death Metal musician and author Ekeroth (Violent Italy) shows a true fan's dedication in this oral history/band index of the thunderous music scene that emerged from frozen, sparsely-populated Sweden in the '80s and early '90s. In his introduction, Ekeroth explains the youth phenomenon that was Swedish Death Metal (it sounds pretty much like you would think) as natural in a country "generally made up of extremely small and boring towns." He writes: "In the small and worthless town of Avesta where I grew up, there were metal bands in every garage, school, and youth center," he writes. Without sensationalizing SDM's dark, flamboyant lyrics, Ekeroth traces the movement that produced more than a thousand bands, from proto-genre "thrash metal" (more punk) to bastard offshoots like "black metal" (more makeup, less fun), through interviews with the musicians, tape-traders and fanzine writers who were there. The furious scene, made up almost entirely of frustrated and disaffected teenagers, would echo the '70s punk revolution in New York and explode with the same powder-keg intensity, before eventually spawning "ridiculously well established" years that meant the death of Death. Maybe worth the price alone is the appendix, an "A to Z of Swedish Death Metal Bands," which features brief profiles and discographies (with Ekeroth's opinions) of every known SDM band, from world-famous At the Gates ("all their albums are classic masterpieces") to Slakt (just one 2005 demo, "probably nerds"). More than 500 black and white photos and illus.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
Finally, the true story of Swedish death metal! This book brought me back to the good old days.
-- Tomas Lindberg, At the Gates/Grotesque/Disfear
-- Tomas Lindberg, At the Gates/Grotesque/Disfear
Death metal ruled my adolescent years. The problem is I don t remember half of it! This tome of dark recollections is the chance to set things straight.
-- Nicke Andersson, Nihilist/Entombed/The Hellacopters
Vastly entertaining -- Time Out New York
Painstakingly researched...a true labor of love, and an addictive read. --Albert Mudrian, Decibel Magazine
Daniel Ekeroth has impressively balanced a high level of raw data with a loving, subjective tone. Aspiring authors of such future volumes are advised to approach their subjects with the same care and passion. - --Metal Maniacs
STARRED WEB EXCLUSIVE PICK OF THE WEEK: Death Metal musician and author Ekeroth (Violent Italy) shows a true fan s dedication in this oral history/band index of the thunderous music scene that emerged from frozen, sparsely-populated Sweden in the 80s and early 90s. In his introduction, Ekeroth explains the youth phenomenon that was Swedish Death Metal (it sounds pretty much like you would think) as natural in a country generally made up of extremely small and boring towns. He writes: In the small and worthless town of Avesta where I grew up, there were metal bands in every garage, school, and youth center, he writes. Without sensationalizing SDM s dark, flamboyant lyrics, Ekeroth traces the movement that produced more than a thousand bands, from proto-genre thrash metal (more punk) to bastard offshoots like black metal (more makeup, less fun), through interviews with the musicians, tape-traders and fanzine writers who were there. The furious scene, made up almost entirely of frustrated and disaffected teenagers, would echo the 70s punk revolution in New York and explode with the same powder-keg intensity, before eventually spawning ridiculously well established years that meant the death of Death. Maybe worth the price alone is the appendix, an A to Z of Swedish Death Metal Bands, which features brief profiles and discographies (with Ekeroth s opinions) of every known SDM band, from world-famous At the Gates ( all their albums are classic masterpieces ) to Slakt (just one 2005 demo, probably nerds ). More than 500 black and white photos and illustrations. --Publishers Weekly
Painstakingly researched...a true labor of love, and an addictive read. --Albert Mudrian, DECIBEL Magazine
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
23 of 23 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Ekeroth provides a great snashot of how one of heavy music's most important movements came to be.
January 20, 2009
By Ken Wohlrob
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
When explaining my love of Swedish death metal to non-fans, I always fall back on one main point that suddenly piques their curiosity. Death Metal is to Sweden what hardcore punk was to American music in the 1980s. Entombed and At the Gates were as important in Sweden as Black Flag and Minor Threat were on American soil. And while purists can debate the relative importance of all the aforementioned bands, the simple fact is the DIY ethic that defined 1980s American punk -- with its small enclaves of die-hard fans creating microcosm scenes in each city that included their own zines, labels, and venues -- was just as important to the development of Swedish Death Metal.
Far better than any book on the subject I've read so far, Daniel Ekeroth's Swedish Death Metal gets to the heart of the DIY movement that created one of the most important developments in heavy music over the past couple of decades. It dragged me right back to the first time I heard Entombed's chainsaw guitar sound in the early 1990s. I was so taken aback, so in awe of that crunch. It was raw and alive, vicious and evil. It was everything a heavy music head wanted, especially at a time when heavy metal had started to become a dirty word in the United States and the standard bearers for high grade metal, Metallica, had turned into pop stars.
Obviously, Ekeroth has a bit of an advantage over other writers. He literally came of age in the Swedish death metal scene. What he lacks in actual writing skill -- there are parts where he is a little colloquial at times and too much of a fan at others -- he makes up for by having an in-depth, ground-floor knowledge of how the music (and the movement) developed. The writer's own treasure trove of saved demo tapes, flyers, and zines, combined with those from other musicians and avid followers, immerses you in not only the music that was created, but the full scope of creative output. Then there are the obscure little facts. It was stunning to learn that often the most inventive music was coming from teenagers, not even old enough to drink, bashing it out in youth centers that served as the only rehearsal space in snowbound small towns. Also, Ekeroth uses his in-depth knowledge of the history of Swedish heavy music to great effect, giving a step-by-step progression from Bathory and Candlemass to the apex of death metal in the early nineties. While all books of this nature can often be a slog to get through, especially when bands you have no interest in are discussed at length, Ekeroth's narrative rarely falls flat.
Most notably, Eckeroth made the wise choice to letting the musicians speak for themselves. What makes the book so fascinating is to hear such a wide cast of characters -- Nicke Andersson and Uffe Cederlund from Nihilist/Entombed, Michael Amott from Carnage/Carcass/Arch Enemy, Anders Borer from At the Gates/The Haunted, Tomas Lindberg from Grotesque/At the Gates, Fred Estby and Matti Kärki from Dismember, Dan Swanö from Edge of Sanity, and Johnny Hedlund from Unleashed to name a few -- talk very frankly about those early days and everything they put into (or didn't in some cases) the music.
About the only part that falls flat is when Eckeroth discusses the sudden rise of Norwegian black metal and its impact on the Swedish death metal scene. Eckeroth is honest enough to admit that most of the Swedish death metal bands were caught off guard by the shift. Entombed's Nicke Andersson quite possibly sums it up the best:
"I never understood what black metal was all about -- why suddenly everyone wanted to be so angry and `serious.'"
Sadly, Eckeroth drifts into a little bit of sour bashing on Norwegian Black Metal, without much ground to stand on. In many ways, the Norwegians were mirroring the Swedes' DIY ethic by creating their own sound, labels, and zines. While the musical styles of Swedish Death Metal and Norwegian Black Metal are different, including the level of seriousness, the simple fact is both have their worthwhile bands and obvious idiots.
Overall, Eckeroth deserves many points for pulling the history together and documenting it so well. This is a fantabulous testament to Sweden's most impactful musical contribution of the 20th century, as well as one of the key movements in heavy music.
Far better than any book on the subject I've read so far, Daniel Ekeroth's Swedish Death Metal gets to the heart of the DIY movement that created one of the most important developments in heavy music over the past couple of decades. It dragged me right back to the first time I heard Entombed's chainsaw guitar sound in the early 1990s. I was so taken aback, so in awe of that crunch. It was raw and alive, vicious and evil. It was everything a heavy music head wanted, especially at a time when heavy metal had started to become a dirty word in the United States and the standard bearers for high grade metal, Metallica, had turned into pop stars.
Obviously, Ekeroth has a bit of an advantage over other writers. He literally came of age in the Swedish death metal scene. What he lacks in actual writing skill -- there are parts where he is a little colloquial at times and too much of a fan at others -- he makes up for by having an in-depth, ground-floor knowledge of how the music (and the movement) developed. The writer's own treasure trove of saved demo tapes, flyers, and zines, combined with those from other musicians and avid followers, immerses you in not only the music that was created, but the full scope of creative output. Then there are the obscure little facts. It was stunning to learn that often the most inventive music was coming from teenagers, not even old enough to drink, bashing it out in youth centers that served as the only rehearsal space in snowbound small towns. Also, Ekeroth uses his in-depth knowledge of the history of Swedish heavy music to great effect, giving a step-by-step progression from Bathory and Candlemass to the apex of death metal in the early nineties. While all books of this nature can often be a slog to get through, especially when bands you have no interest in are discussed at length, Ekeroth's narrative rarely falls flat.
Most notably, Eckeroth made the wise choice to letting the musicians speak for themselves. What makes the book so fascinating is to hear such a wide cast of characters -- Nicke Andersson and Uffe Cederlund from Nihilist/Entombed, Michael Amott from Carnage/Carcass/Arch Enemy, Anders Borer from At the Gates/The Haunted, Tomas Lindberg from Grotesque/At the Gates, Fred Estby and Matti Kärki from Dismember, Dan Swanö from Edge of Sanity, and Johnny Hedlund from Unleashed to name a few -- talk very frankly about those early days and everything they put into (or didn't in some cases) the music.
About the only part that falls flat is when Eckeroth discusses the sudden rise of Norwegian black metal and its impact on the Swedish death metal scene. Eckeroth is honest enough to admit that most of the Swedish death metal bands were caught off guard by the shift. Entombed's Nicke Andersson quite possibly sums it up the best:
"I never understood what black metal was all about -- why suddenly everyone wanted to be so angry and `serious.'"
Sadly, Eckeroth drifts into a little bit of sour bashing on Norwegian Black Metal, without much ground to stand on. In many ways, the Norwegians were mirroring the Swedes' DIY ethic by creating their own sound, labels, and zines. While the musical styles of Swedish Death Metal and Norwegian Black Metal are different, including the level of seriousness, the simple fact is both have their worthwhile bands and obvious idiots.
Overall, Eckeroth deserves many points for pulling the history together and documenting it so well. This is a fantabulous testament to Sweden's most impactful musical contribution of the 20th century, as well as one of the key movements in heavy music.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a must-have for any swedish metal fan, but I think it's pretty obvious with the title...
Anyway, what makes the book really good is the approach of the research : contrary to most of books about metal, Swedish Death Metal doesn't focus on sales and biggest bands for the history, but on the underground and the whole demo/fanzine scene... which is in fact what metal is all about. The encyclopedia at the end of the book is pretty useful too, covering most of the swedish death metal bands that rose in the early 90's/late 80's and some more recent acts.
The only minus thing : sometimes, the views on bands and some history are a bit too subjective, but I think death metal addicts can easily correct.
A great book !
Anyway, what makes the book really good is the approach of the research : contrary to most of books about metal, Swedish Death Metal doesn't focus on sales and biggest bands for the history, but on the underground and the whole demo/fanzine scene... which is in fact what metal is all about. The encyclopedia at the end of the book is pretty useful too, covering most of the swedish death metal bands that rose in the early 90's/late 80's and some more recent acts.
The only minus thing : sometimes, the views on bands and some history are a bit too subjective, but I think death metal addicts can easily correct.
A great book !
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I purchased this book a few weeks ago, as the cover is simply amazing, and I love death metal. I am currently about half way through and it has been a goretastic ride. Daniel Ekeroth writes the book from his point of view as a kid growing up in Sweden as a death metalhead. It recounts the origins of extreme music in Sweden, starting with the hardcore/punk bands in the early 80's. The book segues into the early thrash scene in Southern California, and how it impacted the youngsters in Sweden. Daniel tells of a bunch of Swedish bands that I have never heard of, but he writes about them so well that I want to listen to all of them. There are hundreds of band/album/demo photos as well to illustrate the scene.
If you are a seasoned metalhead, then you will enjoy this book and remember the good old days. If you are relatively young, like me, then you will get a fascinating look into how the old school Swedish death metal scene was like back then. Every respectable metalhead needs this book on their bookshelves. Really, get it, even if you haven't read anything since Left Hand Path came out, it's an awesome book.
If you are a seasoned metalhead, then you will enjoy this book and remember the good old days. If you are relatively young, like me, then you will get a fascinating look into how the old school Swedish death metal scene was like back then. Every respectable metalhead needs this book on their bookshelves. Really, get it, even if you haven't read anything since Left Hand Path came out, it's an awesome book.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
swedish death metal
omg!!! wow!!! this has got to be one of the greatest purchases of my life! if you love metal (like the entire world should ;p) you will not be disappointed! Read more
Published 19 months ago by evilinfatuation333
5.0 out of 5 stars
Impossibly recommended
Nothing else to say, really. Ekeroth's created something very special for a lot of people and interesting to just about anyone with even a casual interest in underground music of... Read more
Published 22 months ago by J. Muxlow
3.0 out of 5 stars
A little disappointing
All of the big metal magazines advertised this book, but this isn't really a book on "Swedish death metal. Read more
Published on May 30, 2010 by J. Goltz
4.0 out of 5 stars
If I could i would give this a 3.5.
Swedish Death Metal by Daniel Ekeroth is an easy and enjoyable read
that recounts the glory years of Swedish Death Metal told in large part
through the mouths of those... Read more
that recounts the glory years of Swedish Death Metal told in large part
through the mouths of those... Read more
Published on March 8, 2010 by HessianAgression
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent
Like any book on music there are a lot of parts in the book that are subjective. That being said this is the most in-depth, interesting, and well researched book not just on metal... Read more
Published on February 1, 2010 by J. Terrana
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best book on metal ever?
With it's diligent research, copious rare graphics, enthusiastic delivery and quality printing, this just may be the best book ever written on any aspect of heavy metal. Read more
Published on October 8, 2009 by Michael P. Grefski
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is the f++++g underground, the true born of the mighty swedish death metal!!!!!!!!
Tons of demo covers that a lot of people in the undergraond like me, never saw.
Tons of demo covers that a lot of people in the undergraond like me, never saw.
Published on May 28, 2009 by Oscar Corona Arcos
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very well written...
This is remarkably well written and goes into detail about the music itself instead of just the people and places involved in its creation. There are lots of great photos, too. Read more
Published on December 18, 2008 by S.S.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Definitive, Awesome, Death!
They ought to scan reviews so people with downs syndrome don't bog down worthy items. The dude who mentions All that remains and As I Lay Dying as being awesome is just an... Read more
Published on November 14, 2008 by Don Amerijuanican
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very well researched
My only gripe...I want to see more album cover artwork and flyers. I bet a whole book could be done about that.
A great read!
A great read!
Published on October 11, 2008 by A
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