Alf Svensson | |
---|---|
Birth name | Alf Svensson |
Born | 23 February 1967 57) | (age
Origin | Sweden |
Genres | Death metal, crust punk |
Occupation(s) | Musician |
Instrument(s) | Guitar |
Alf Svensson is a Swedish heavy metal guitarist. He initially played in Oral from 1984 to 1989. He temporarily entered Grotesque and Liers in Wait before joining At the Gates in 1990. He was their guitarist until 1993, in 1994, he reformed Oral to record an EP. He then formed Oxiplegatz, and went on to release three albums under this name. He currently works as art director in First Planet Company (MMO Entropia Universe).
Bandmember Anders Björler accredits Svensson as a "major songwriter" for At the Gates' first three albums, saying he believes that "he is a great musician", and expressed admiration for Svensson's music. One of the unique composition techniques he used was recording himself playing a part and then playing it back to himself backwards and using the parts which appealed to him. This technique, according to Tomas "Tompa" Lindberg, vocalist for At the Gates, Grotesque, Disfear, and other bands, was probably used for parts of their songs Through Gardens of Grief, Night Comes, Blood Black (both in The Red in the Sky is Ours), and Break of Autumn (With Fear I Kiss the Burning Darkness). In terms of Svensson's contribution to At the Gates, Björler feels that the guitarist "definitely brought the dark and epic segments" to At the Gates' "overall sound". [1]
Björler commented that some of Svensson's ideas for At The Gates' debut album The Red in the Sky Is Ours "were over the top", and went on to say "that it was very strange music". [2] Svensson parted ways with the group during 1993. According to Anders Björler, Svensson left as he was "tired of the whole thing" and wished to focus efforts on his tattoo studio. [2] In later years, Svensson quit his tattoo studio so that he could pursue a career in 3D modelling on behalf of a computer game company. [2] Svensson believed he could better express himself through visual art than through music, as he stated in an interview of him for Oxiplegatz.
Tomas Lindberg, also known as "Tompa" and "Goatspell", is a Swedish vocalist who has fronted many death metal bands, most notably At the Gates. He has been active as a musician and composer since the late 1980s. He also teaches social studies.
Swedish death metal is a death metal music scene developed in Sweden. Many Swedish death metal bands are associated with the melodic death metal movement, thus giving Swedish death metal a different sound from other variations of death metal. Unlike American death metal groups, the first Swedish bands were rooted in hardcore punk. Gothenburg has a large melodic death metal scene while Stockholm is known for its more raw death metal scene.
The Haunted is a Swedish heavy metal band from Gothenburg, formed in 1996. The original members were Anders and Jonas Björler, Peter Dolving, Adrian Erlandsson and Patrik Jensen. Both of the Björler brothers and Erlandsson were members of the seminal melodic death metal band At the Gates, a pioneering force in the Swedish death metal scene.
At the Gates is a Swedish death metal band from Gothenburg, formed in 1990. The band was a major progenitor of Gothenburg-style melodic death metal alongside In Flames and Dark Tranquillity. Prior to their first disbandment in 1996, At the Gates released four albums, ending with and including Slaughter of the Soul (1995), which has been seen as a landmark in the mid-1990s Swedish death metal scene as well as being a major inspiration for many metalcore bands. After reuniting for a one-off tour in 2008, the band reformed once again in 2011, and they have since released three more albums: At War with Reality (2014), To Drink from the Night Itself (2018) and The Nightmare of Being (2021).
Michael Amott is a Swedish guitarist, founding member of the metal bands Arch Enemy, Spiritual Beggars and Carnage, as well as a former member of Carcass. He is the older brother of Christopher Amott.
Slaughter of the Soul is the fourth studio album by Swedish melodic death metal band At the Gates, released on 14 November 1995 by Earache Records. It was their last album before their eleven-year breakup from 1996 to 2007. Slaughter of the Soul is considered a landmark in melodic death metal and played a major role in popularizing the Gothenburg scene, alongside The Jester Race by In Flames and The Gallery by Dark Tranquillity. The album was recorded and mixed in Studio Fredman, early 1995.
Terminal Spirit Disease is the third album by Swedish melodic death metal band At the Gates. It was released in 1994 and re-released in 2003 with bonus tracks. It is the first album to feature rhythm guitarist Martin Larsson who replaced Alf Svensson in 1993. The band originally had wanted to record an EP of new material, but their label had insisted on a full-length album. To compromise, the band added several live tracks to pad the overall length.
In Flames is a Swedish heavy metal band, formed by guitarist Jesper Strömblad in Gothenburg in 1990. Their lineup has changed several times, with vocalist Anders Fridén and guitarist Björn Gelotte being the only consistent members since 1995. Alongside At the Gates and Dark Tranquillity, In Flames has pioneered the genres known as Swedish death metal and melodic death metal, and as of 2008, has sold over two million records worldwide.
Andy LaRocque is a Swedish guitarist, songwriter and record producer, best known as a member of the heavy metal band King Diamond since 1985.
Adrian Paul Erlandsson is a Swedish heavy metal drummer who is a member of At the Gates, the Haunted, and Nemhain (2006–present).
Anders Björler is a Swedish musician. He is best known as the lead guitarist in the metal bands The Haunted and At the Gates, alongside his bass-playing twin brother Jonas Björler.
Jonas Fredrik Björler is a Swedish musician and the bass player of the melodic death metal bands At the Gates and The Haunted. He was formerly in the bands Demolition, Infestation and Terror.
Grotesque was a Swedish death metal/black metal band.
With Fear I Kiss the Burning Darkness is the second studio album by the Swedish death metal band At the Gates. It was re-released in 1993 with The Red in the Sky Is Ours and again in 2003 with bonus tracks. This would be the last album with guitarist Alf Svensson who left the band after its release.
The Red in the Sky Is Ours is the debut album by the Swedish death metal band At the Gates released on 27 July 1992. It was re-released in 1993 along with With Fear I Kiss the Burning Darkness and then in 2003 with bonus tracks.
Necrophobic is a Swedish blackened death metal band.
Liers in Wait were a Gothenburg, Sweden-based death metal band active between 1990 and 1995.
Martin Larsson is a Swedish heavy metal guitarist. He initially played in The House of Usher from 1990 to 1993. After the band split up, he joined At the Gates, and was their guitarist until they broke up in 1996, and again when they reunited in 2007.
Daniel Antonsson is a musician and songwriter from Gothenburg, Sweden, formerly playing guitar in Dimension Zero. He is also the former bassist for Dark Tranquillity, playing on the album We Are the Void, and former guitarist for Soilwork, recording with them on their album Sworn to a Great Divide. He uses Esp Nv-std guitar and Mayones Guitars & Basses.
The Flames of the End is a three-disc DVD set from Swedish metal band At the Gates. Its main feature is a 2-hour+ documentary detailing the history of the band and their successful reunion tour, directed by guitarist and founding member Anders Bjorler. The set also includes their set from Wacken Open Air 2008 on the second disc, and a collection of songs from various venues, music videos and deleted scenes from the documentary on the third. The set is packaged in a digipak with a 40-page booklet. Earache Records has also made available a limited-edition set including an LP, CD, shirt, belt buckle, keyring, patch and 4 plectrums. Bjorler has described the DVD as "a fine last document for the band".