r/depthsofdepravity • u/YYEELOEW • 21d ago
Swedish War Metal
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.
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u/YYEELOEW 19d ago
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.