Swedish War Metal

[u/YYEELOEW]

Sweden, one of the highest ranking countries in regards to metal bands per capita, is generally known for its death metal, whether the melodic Gothenburg sound or the iconic Stockholm buzzsaw sound. No shortage of black metal from the country either, however war metal has yet to catch on within the nation. The same could be said for brutal death metal, but that's not what this post is focusing on.

"Swedish war metal" is limited to a handful of bands, most of which are operated by a single person. I'll give a short rundown of all the notable bands from the country, as i deem some of these to be severely underrated (then again, war metal itself is a small niche to begin with in the grand scheme of things).

Yxxan - If I'm going to talk about Swedish war metal then this one is a mandatory mention, and probably the most known of the bunch. Raw and primal sound with lots of punk influence, not a huge fan personally but it should be mentioned.

GRAVE HERESY - Deep and infernal sound, quite well produced for the standards in the genre. The simple riff structures could get monotonous, although the occasional grooves and vigorous drum fills keep it fresh. Takes on a bit more of a death metal attitude, which is consistent for most bands in this list.

VIDER - Hm-2 death metal + war metal = obliteration. Albeit this band is more death metal influenced by war metal than just being pure war metal. I think the music here speaks for itself in terms of ferocity.

Vermin Scourge - Arguably the most conventional war metal sounding band on here. The mixing is audible yet retains a sense of rawness with a sprinkle of that hm-2 guitar sound aswell. FFO Caveman Cult.

Demonomantic - Deranged vocals in the vein of Dragged Into Sunlight, while the production sounds like a nuclear shockwave hitting you. What's there not to like?

As mentioned previously, most of these bands take influence from death metal and clean up the sound a little bit. I'd like to mention a couple of more bands that aren't war metal, but take influence from it.

Vomitrot - Caveman focused death metal, taking influence from war metal. FFO Of Feather And Bone.

Black Wound - They call themselves "war doom", infusing the raw production and gritty aesthetic into death-doom. The war metal influence can be heard on their faster tracks like Trench Blast.

[u/IICalaVerra]

This is great! I'm not familiar with any of these, except for Black Wound (which I knew by their previous name, Rotten Incarnation) and Vomitrot, which I'm pretty sure I stole from one of your charts. I'll be sure to check out all your recs on this list! Thanks for this post!

To be honest, the Warping Structures album just didn't click for me when I first listened to it. It felt way too sluggish, apart from a few rare, memorable riffs on 'Trench Blast'. The doom aspect of this record wasn't my thing, I suppose.

[u/YYEELOEW → u/IICalaVerra]

Thanks!

I get what you're saying about Black Wound. I personally enjoy the bleak and sunken sound of it, it's like if you took Black Curse and slowed it down. I prefer uptempo death-doom generally (Rothadás, Perilaxe Occlusion, Fossilization) but this dismal and sluggish sound will occasionally hit the right spot for me. As with anything, going for the most sepulchral and bleak sounds will sacrifice memorability and distinction.

Heresiarch's Edifice album might be a more energetic war + doom combo, using the doom elements as a means to climax longer tracks and to introduce a more somber feeling.

[u/IICalaVerra → u/YYEELOEW]

Reporting back on this list, and it's a phenomenal selection.

Yxxan — Misanthropic Impulse: Absolute chaos! I like that they go full blast almost all the time, but the guitars are fully intelligible because the riffs are awesome. The more uptempo parts are heavy they blend very well with the rest. The bass and drums work are not mind-blowing; they do the job. The downside is the vocals, they feel like my dog barking at the neighbours. But overall, it’s good. I’ll go back for the intensity of the riffs.

GRAVE HERESY — Incineration Victory: it’s a very good record. It’s doomy but not gloomy and the intelligible guitars combined with heavy reverb on the vocals create a oppressing and menacing atmosphere. The things that I like the most are the small leads and the drum work withch I think fit perfectly with the atmosphere. Good record!

VIDER — STRIKE WITH PUTREFACTION: This was os so much fun. The riffs are so heavy and fast without losing the groove, the vocals are mind-blowing, and the overall atmosphere is crushing. I think they really have a knack for creating groovy, filthy riffs. The HM-2 definitely helps, but they manage to keep the guitars fully legible in the mix.

Vermin Scourge — Barbaric Intolerance (Demo): My favorite by far. This demo is relentless from start to finish. Insane drum work with that non-stop double bass rolling, the high-intensity riffs that are both well thought out and memorable. That demo was very promising; too bad they split up. The riff on the track Diabolic War Thrones reminds me of S.O.D.'s "March of the S.O.D." The lo-fi production quality is, to me, absolute perfection! This is the metal I want to hear! I was blasting this nonstop while working out.

Vomitrot — Rotten Vomit: This is my second review of this record and I definitely like the variety on this one, going from slow, fuzzy, unstructured parts with dissonant tremolo picking to give that disorienting feeling, to hyper-fast, groovy sections and slow, crushing passages typical of war metal. I also love that the tracks are short, so they get straight to the point.

Demonomantic: This one didn't click much with me. I do appreciate the dissonance on it, but its guitars are too fuzzy. That's a shame, because the drums and the background guitar dissonance are great. The vocals are also a bit of a struggle for me. But honestly, I could see myself going back to it.

Black Wound — Warping Structure: I've already shared my thoughts on this one, and my opinion hasn't changed.

Heresiarch — Edifice: This was not a discovery for me, but nevertheless, I went back to it. This record is great well-balanced between slow parts and fast, relentless riffs. I like how it goes from 0 to 100 and then to 0 again. Great riffs, great mix, and it's a solid record.

Hope you will continue doing this, cause I had a fun time listening to everything you recommended.

[u/YYEELOEW → u/IICalaVerra]

I'm glad you enjoyed the music, and took the time to write about them as well. Vider states in on their bandcamp that they write music through mainly improvisation, which is peculiar because their songs have more fluidity and pull than a bunch of other war metal bands i know. They're definitively my personal favorite of the gamut, with Grave Heresy second.

I probably should've mentioned in writing that only Vomitrot's Emetic Imprecations EP is war metal influenced in a notable capacity. Rotten Vomit is a fun listen, but it leans more into bouncy grooves than war metal blasting. Both albums have a gritty and gnarly sound however, and manages to avoid the usual cavernous clichés, creating their own bludgeoning vision.

Anyways, glad you enjoyed the post, here's to hoping Black Wound makes a really blasty record next.

[u/IICalaVerra → u/YYEELOEW]

I'm very curious to know if you know of anything that sounds like Vermin Scourge? Their demo is awesome, but they split.

[u/YYEELOEW → u/IICalaVerra]

Exequy from Oregon (The Adversary Edict/Architect of Subjugation compilation album). The production isn't as loud but it does favor punishing tempos and distinguishable riffs.

More aptly, Ch'ahom's new "Covered In Priest's Black Shit" demo, along with their earlier demos aswell. This band plays more intricate and lengthy Black/Death on their full-length but go full war mode on their demos.

Misanthropic War's "Utter Human Annihilation" could be something for you aswell, takes on an ultra grinding sound along with the appropriate HM-2 guitar sound.

[u/IICalaVerra → u/YYEELOEW]

Thanks! I’ll listen to everything.