metal
A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...
band that originated in
Helsingborg
Helsingborg (, , , ) is a city and the seat of Helsingborg Municipality, Scania (Skåne), Sweden. It is the second-largest city in Scania (after Malmö) and ninth-largest in Sweden, with a population of 113,816 (2020). Helsingborg is the cent ...
in 1998. Their music contains ample
thrash
Thrash may refer to:
*Thrashing (computer science), where increasing resources are used to do a decreasing amount of work
*Thrash (surname)
*Thrash, mascot of the Atlanta Thrashers
*''Thrash Rally'', a top-down perspective rally racing video game ...
elements interspersed with acoustic interludes and symphonic features, such as the in-studio use of synthesizers and occasionally full orchestras and choir singing. The name "Darkane" is a
portmanteau
A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of words
History
Formation and ''Rusted Angel'' (1998–2000)
Darkane was formed by former Agretator guitarist Christofer Malmström and drummer
Peter Wildoer
Karl Peter Wildoer is a Swedish musician who is the drummer for Darkane, Electrocution 250 and Grimmark. He has also drummed for the bands Armageddon, Majestic, Pestilence, Silver Seraph, Arch Enemy, Time Requiem, Soilwork, Gardens of Obscuri ...
, who recorded a 2-song demo in 1998. On the strength of these two songs, Darkane landed a record deal with War Music, and the band's lineup was completed by bassist Jörgen Löfberg, guitarist Klas Ideberg, and vocalist
Bjorn "Speed" Strid
Bjorn (English, Dutch), Björn (Swedish, Icelandic, Dutch, and German), Bjørn (Danish, Faroese and Norwegian), Beorn (Old English) or, rarely, Bjôrn, Biorn, or Latinized Biornus, Brum (Portuguese), is a Scandinavian male given name, or less oft ...
. However, as vocalist of the already-established
Soilwork
Soilwork is a Swedish melodic death metal band from Helsingborg. They are signed to Nuclear Blast. Formed in late 1995 by Björn Strid and Peter Wichers, originally under the name ''Inferior Breed'', the band changed their name in late 1996 to S ...
, Speed was unable to continue dividing his time, and decided to leave Darkane. After a period of several months without a vocalist, he was replaced by vocalist Lawrence Mackrory, who was recommended by the band's producer,
Daniel Bergstrand
Daniel Bergstrand is a Swedish record producer, most notable for his work with bands such as In Flames, Meshuggah, Soilwork, Dimmu Borgir, and Behemoth.
He is the owner of the Dugout Productions studio, which is based in Uppsala, Sweden.
His wor ...
.
Mackrory recorded all vocals on the debut album, ''
Rusted Angel
''Rusted Angel'' is the debut album by Swedish metal band Darkane. This was the only Darkane album with Lawrence Mackrory until his return in mid-2011. The song "July 1999" is about one Nostradamus prediction.
Track listing
Personnel Darkane
...
'', and performed several live dates with the band later that year. However, due to other commitments, Mackrory was unable to tour with the band in early 1999, and was replaced by Andreas Sydow, who had been a member of a cover band with Malmström years earlier.
''Insanity'' and ''Expanding Senses'' (2001–2003)
After playing many festivals and shows for the next several months, the band signed a new record deal with
Nuclear Blast
Nuclear Blast is a record label and mail order record distributor with subsidiaries in Germany, the United States and Brazil. The label was founded in 1987 by Markus Staiger in Germany. Originally releasing hardcore punk records, the label mov ...
, and returned to the studio to record their second album. These recording sessions would prove challenging, as electrical storms, floods, and equipment malfunctions caused significant issues during the production of the album, which was named ''
Insanity
Insanity, madness, lunacy, and craziness are behaviors performed by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity can be manifest as violations of societal norms, including a person or persons becoming a danger to themselves or to ...
'' as a result.
After more European touring and their first North American show in 2001, the band began work on their third album, '' Expanding Senses'', which was released in 2002.
''Layers of Lies'' (2004–2007)
Darkane toured extensively following the release of '' Expanding Senses'', and by early 2004 had almost an entire album's worth of songs written. However, at that time, drummer Peter Wildoer suffered a wrist injury, and began experiencing severe wrist pain. The band went on hiatus to allow Wildoer to recover. During this hiatus, guitarist Christofer Malmström released a solo album (Non Human Level) which was a compilation of unreleased songs he had written from 1998–2004. Guitarist Klas Ideberg spent time working with his side project
Terror 2000
Terror 2000 is a Swedish thrash metal band from Helsingborg.
History
A side project of Soilwork singer Björn "Speed" Strid, the band also includes guitarists Klas Ideberg (of Darkane) and Nick Sword (of Von Benzo), drummer Erik Thyselius, ...
.
By late 2004, Wildoer's injury had healed, and the band reconvened to record their fourth album, '' Layers of Lies'', released in May 2005. After more extensive touring, the band started putting together the live compilation DVD '' Layers of Live'', however, this effort would take several years, not being released until 2010. On 13 August 2007, vocalist Andreas Sydow decided to end his tenure with Darkane. This led to the arrival of former Construcdead and The Defaced vocalist, Jens Broman on 25 October 2007.
''Demonic Art'' and switching singers (2008–2011)
On 6 October 2007 it was announced that Darkane was writing new material for their fifth studio album ''
Demonic Art
''Demonic Art'' is the fifth album by metal band Darkane. It is the only album to feature vocalist Jens Broman. The concept of the album is based on the song "Organic Canvas" from Layers of Lies.
Track listing
# "Variations of an Eye Crush" ...
'', which was later released on 24 October 2008. Peter Wildoer posted this message on his website:
''"This coming winter we will start recording Darkane's fifth record. We have about nine songs ready. We were hoping to enter the studio earlier but in typical Darkane bad luck, our studio got flooded and badly damaged. So now we're looking for a new location for the studio and as soon as we find that we need to rebuild the studio which takes a lot of time. Hopefully we will start recording around Christmas (fingers crossed). In some weeks, we'll start working on the mix of the upcoming Darkane DVD. I just hope the DVD will be released early next year".''
Darkane's only full-length DVD was shot in May 2006 in the band's hometown of
Helsingborg
Helsingborg (, , , ) is a city and the seat of Helsingborg Municipality, Scania (Skåne), Sweden. It is the second-largest city in Scania (after Malmö) and ninth-largest in Sweden, with a population of 113,816 (2020). Helsingborg is the cent ...
, Sweden.
On 6 August 2011 it was announced that vocalist Jens Broman was leaving the band due to personal issues. He was replaced by former Darkane vocalist Lawrence Mackrory, who appeared on the debut album, ''
Rusted Angel
''Rusted Angel'' is the debut album by Swedish metal band Darkane. This was the only Darkane album with Lawrence Mackrory until his return in mid-2011. The song "July 1999" is about one Nostradamus prediction.
Track listing
Personnel Darkane
...
''.
''The Sinister Supremacy'' (2012–present)
On 30 July 2012, it was announced that Darkane was back in the studio recording their sixth studio album, which they plan to release in early 2013. Once released, this will be their first studio album since 2008's ''Demonic Art'' and with Lawrence Mackrory on vocals since 1999's ''Rusted Angel''.
The album's title '' The Sinister Supremacy'' and release date of 28 June 2013, was announced on 4 April 2013. Regarding the title, the band said: "''The Sinister Supremacy'' is a metaphor for the evil that controls us. It's the dark part of our minds and it's inside us all. It tells us it's OK to do bad things, to hurt other people, and hurt ourselves. It guides us into making choices based on pure selfishness, and it thrives on complete chaos."
The track listing and the
album cover
An album cover (also referred to as album art) is the front packaging art of a commercially released studio album or other audio recordings. The term can refer to either the printed paperboard covers typically used to package sets of and 78-r ...
, were revealed on 9 May 2013. The album cover was done by Carlos Holmberg (ex-
Soilwork
Soilwork is a Swedish melodic death metal band from Helsingborg. They are signed to Nuclear Blast. Formed in late 1995 by Björn Strid and Peter Wichers, originally under the name ''Inferior Breed'', the band changed their name in late 1996 to S ...
) and the cover is a
Rorschach test
The Rorschach test is a projective psychological test in which subjects' perceptions of inkblots are recorded and then analyzed using psychological interpretation, complex algorithms, or both. Some psychologists use this test to examine a pe ...
as seen by an individual who has completely succumbed to the sinister supremacy, according to the band.
On June 24th 2022, after 9 years the band released their long awaited follow-up to 2013's The Sinister Supremacy titled Inhuman Spirits.
Members
Current members
*
Peter Wildoer
Karl Peter Wildoer is a Swedish musician who is the drummer for Darkane, Electrocution 250 and Grimmark. He has also drummed for the bands Armageddon, Majestic, Pestilence, Silver Seraph, Arch Enemy, Time Requiem, Soilwork, Gardens of Obscuri ...
–
drums
A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...
lead guitar
Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...
bass guitar
The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...
(1998–present)
*
Klas Ideberg
Klas or KLAS may refer to:
* Klas (restaurant), a Czech restaurant in Cicero, Illinois, which operated from 1922 to 2016
* KLAS-TV, a television station (channel 8 analog/7 digital) licensed to Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
* The ICAO airport c ...
–
rhythm guitar
In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...
vocals
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...
(1998–1999, 2011–present)
Former members
*
Björn Strid
Björn Ove Ingemar "Speed" Strid (born 10 September 1978) is a Swedish vocalist who has worked with bands such as Allegaeon, Disarmonia Mundi, Terror 2000, Coldseed, The Night Flight Orchestra, Act of Denial, Gizmachi, and most notably Soilw ...
– vocals (1998)
* Andreas Sydow – vocals (1999–2007)
*
Jens Broman Jens may refer to:
* Jens (given name), a list of people with the name
* Jens (surname), a list of people
* Jens, Switzerland, a municipality
* 1719 Jens, an asteroid
See also
* Jensen (disambiguation)
* Jenssi
Joensuu (; krl, Jovensuu ...
– vocals (2007–2011)
Timeline
Discography
Albums
* ''
Rusted Angel
''Rusted Angel'' is the debut album by Swedish metal band Darkane. This was the only Darkane album with Lawrence Mackrory until his return in mid-2011. The song "July 1999" is about one Nostradamus prediction.
Track listing
Personnel Darkane
...
'' (1999)
* ''
Insanity
Insanity, madness, lunacy, and craziness are behaviors performed by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity can be manifest as violations of societal norms, including a person or persons becoming a danger to themselves or to ...
Demonic Art
''Demonic Art'' is the fifth album by metal band Darkane. It is the only album to feature vocalist Jens Broman. The concept of the album is based on the song "Organic Canvas" from Layers of Lies.
Track listing
# "Variations of an Eye Crush" ...
* ''A Tribute to Accept'' (cover of "Restless & Wild" by
Accept
Accept may refer to:
* Acceptance, a person's assent to the reality of a situation etc.
* Accept (band), a German heavy metal band
** ''Accept'' (Accept album), their debut album from 1979
* ''Accept'' (Chicken Shack album), 1970
* ACCEPT (or ...
)
* ''A Tribute to the Beast'' (cover of "Powerslave" by
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...