Entombed

Biography

Entombed is a Swedish death metal band formed in 1987 as Nihilist. Entombed began their career as an early pioneer of Scandinavian death metal, which differed from its American counterpart by its distinct "buzzsaw" guitar tone. Their sound evolved by the early-to-mid-1990s and the band began to explore progressive, punk, hard rock, garage rock, and groove metal. Those influences shaped the sound of death 'n' roll. Along with Dismember, Grave and Unleashed, Entombed has been referred to as one of the "big four" of Swedish death metal.

Early career (1987–1991)

Entombed are rooted in the band Nihilist, formed by drummer Nicke Andersson, guitarist Alex Hellid and bassist Leif Cuzner in 1987. After using a number of temporary vocalists for their initial shows, the band recruited L.G. Petrov, who was the drummer for the band Morbid, which featured Mayhem vocalist Dead. The band recruited Morbid's session guitarist Uffe Cederlund as a second guitarist, and recorded a number of demos with tracks that would appear on Entombed's debut album. Following tensions between band members, the majority of the band renamed themselves as Entombed rather than force these members out.
Entombed's debut album, Left Hand Path×Left Hand PathJune 1990 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Left Hand Path6:392Drowned4:003Revel in Flesh3:424When Life Has Ceased4:115Supposed to Rot2:046But Life Goes On3:007Bitter Loss4:238Morbid Devourment5:259Abnormally Deceased2:5910The Truth Beyond3:2611Carnal Leftovers2:5812Premature Autopsy4:26, was released in 1990, a cult favorite that established them as a popular Swedish death metal band. Left Hand Path and its follow-up, Clandestine, featured what was sometimes referred to as a "buzz saw" guitar sound. Prior to recording Clandestine, Petrov was fired due to personal disputes. The vocals on the album were recorded by Andersson instead, and for the tour following the album's release in 1991, the band hired vocalist Johnny Dordevic, previously of the band Carnage.

1992–2000

Petrov reconciled with the band after releasing an album with the band Comecon, and the band released Wolverine Blues×Wolverine Blues1 October 1993 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracks1Eyemaster3:202Rotten Soil3:253Wolverine Blues2:134Demon3:185Contempt4:316Full of Hell3:217Blood Song3:238Hollowman4:209Heavens Die4:12 in 1993. The album featured a departure from the band's previous work, with a greater influence of hard rock and heavy metal alongside their initial death metal style, a combination often referred to as death 'n' roll. Although the release was divisive amongst the band's fanbase, it established their mainstream and critical reputation. Wolverine Blues is considered a classic of early 1990s death metal.
1998's Same Difference was the band's first album without drummer and founding member Nicke Andersson, who left the band to concentrate on his new project, The Hellacopters. He was replaced with Peter Stjärnvind. In 2000, Entombed released Uprising, followed a year later by Morning Star.

2001–2009

In 2001, the band worked with performance artists Carina Reich and Bogdan Szyberb and the Royal Swedish Ballet. The production was entitled Unreal Estate.

Inferno, the last album with guitarist Uffe Cederlund (who joined Disfear), bassist Jörgen Sandström and drummer Peter Stjärnvind, was released in 2003.
Bassist Nico Elgstrand (who produced the album Uprising×Uprising6 March 2000 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Seeing Red3:302Say It in Slugs4:473Won’t Back Down3:134Insanity’s Contagious2:525Something out of Nothing3:136Scottish Hell3:087Time Out4:008The Itch4:239Year in Year Out2:3910Returning to Madness3:1511Come Clean2:5212In the Flesh5:55) joined in 2004. Olle Dahlstedt (of Alpha Safari and ex–Misery Loves Co.) replaced Stjärnvind in 2006. When Uffe Cederlund left in 2005, Alex Hellid remained the only guitarist.
Serpent Saints – The Ten Amendments was released on 9 July 2007. The album featured a greater influence from traditional death metal and was the band's first release with drummer Olle Dahlstedt and bassist Nico Elgstrand.

2010–2020

In 2010, bassist Victor Brandt joined and Nico Elgstrand switched to guitars. The band again had two guitarists.
In April 2013, Entombed performed a set with the Sundsvall Chamber Orchestra at the Nordfest festival.
In 2013, Petrov and Hellid began a legal battle regarding the name Entombed.
In 2014, L.G. Petrov, Olle Dahlstedt, Nico Elgstrand and Victor Brandt formed Entombed A.D. as a result of Hellid holding the band's trademark.
Hellid, Cederlund, and Säfström reunited to perform "Clandestine×Clandestine12 November 1991 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracks1Living Dead4:282Sinners Bleed5:133Evilyn5:084Blessed Be4:485Stranger Aeons3:286Chaos Breed4:557Crawl6:158Severe Burns4:039Through the Collonades5:39" in its entirety with the 65-piece Gävle Symphonic Orchestra and a 40-piece choir in February 2014. Thomas von Wachenfeldt played bass. Nicke Andersson intended to participate, but was prevented by scheduling conflicts.
Hellid, Andersson, and Cederlund reunited to perform as Entombed in October 2016. They were joined by Robert Andersson (vocals) and Nicke Andersson's half brother Edvin Aftonfalk (bass), both formerly of the Swedish death metal band Morbus Chron. Their first performance was at the Close-Up Båten festival cruise. In November, they performed a double set in Malmö to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Clandestine, where the album was performed in its entirety twice. The first set was a performance by Hellid, Cederlund, Andersson with Säfström and von Wachenfeldt and the Malmö Symphony Orchestra and the second set was a regular performance with Andersson and Aftonfalk.

2021–present

On 7 March 2021, former vocalist Lars-Göran Petrov died from cholangiocarcinoma, aged 49.
On 14 July 2022, Entombed performed at Gefle Metal Festival. The band consisted of Alex Hellid, Nicke Andersson, Uffe Cederlund and Jörgen Sandström. Vocals were performed by Sandström and guest vocalists Tomas Lindberg, Scott Carlson, Johnny Hedlund, Urskogr, and Cronos. Former Entombed drummer Peter Stjärnvind was guest on drums.
On 1 March 2025, the members of Entombed announced that the band were "back in the studio – after all these years" working on new material for their first album in nearly two decades.

Style and legacy

Music journalists have referred to Entombed as one of the "big four" of European death metal, along with Dismember, Grave, and Unleashed. The band became known for their "buzzsaw" guitar tone, which was achieved through the use of a Peavey amplifier and a Boss HM-2 distortion pedal. Entombed's influence has been observed in Black Breath, Nails, Early Graves, and Trap Them.
According to drummer Nicke Andersson: "We were at least amongst the first to pick up on that underground American scene with Death, Possessed, Repulsion and Autopsy. Prior to that we listened to any fast music, really, from Slayer to D.R.I., and bought albums by Kreator, Sodom, Testament. But when we got into this death metal underground we felt nothing could top that. If you were into heavy music, once you heard it, there was no turning back. We're talking weeks or months of evolution, everything happened quickly, but thrash metal was out the window for us. It seemed silly music, for wimps."

Influences

Entombed's main influences include bands such as Obituary, Napalm Death, GBH, Suicidal Tendencies, Discharge, Anti-Cimex, Atheist, Executioner, Dirty Rotten Imbeciles, Slayer, Celtic Frost, Repulsion, and Autopsy.