Kristian Wåhlin (born 4 December 1971) is a Swedish musician, singer, graphic designer and album cover artist for many bands in the

extreme metal Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. It has been defined as a "cluster of metal subgenres characterized by sonic, verbal, and visual tran ...

scene worldwide. He is often credited under his pseudonym Necrolord.

Biography

Wåhlin's interest in art began while attending Schillerska Grammar School, a secondary educational institution in central

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

. He has referenced Romantic and

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

painters like

Caspar David Friedrich Caspar David Friedrich (5 September 1774 – 7 May 1840) was a 19th-century German Romantic landscape painter, generally considered the most important German artist of his generation. He is best known for his mid-period allegorical landscape ...

Albrecht Dürer Albrecht Dürer (; ; hu, Ajtósi Adalbert; 21 May 1471 – 6 April 1528),Müller, Peter O. (1993) ''Substantiv-Derivation in Den Schriften Albrecht Dürers'', Walter de Gruyter. . sometimes spelled in English as Durer (without an umlaut) or Due ...

and

Hieronymus Bosch Hieronymus Bosch (, ; born Jheronimus van Aken ; – 9 August 1516) was a Dutch/Netherlandish painter from Brabant. He is one of the most notable representatives of the Early Netherlandish painting school. His work, generally oil on oa ...

as early influences. This interest also coincided with the time in which he studied music. At the age of 17, Wåhlin formed

Grotesque Since at least the 18th century (in French and German as well as English), grotesque has come to be used as a general adjective for the strange, mysterious, magnificent, fantastic, hideous, ugly, incongruous, unpleasant, or disgusting, and thus ...

(as guitarist) with school friend

Tomas Lindberg Tomas Lindberg (born 16 October 1972), 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 te ...

on vocals, Alf Svensson on guitar, and Tomas Eriksson on drums. The 1990 break-up of Grotesque would lead to the formation of

At the Gates 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 Ga ...

, who would be credited as instigators of the ''"

Melodic death metal Melodic death metal (also referred to as melodeath) is a subgenre of death metal that employs highly melodic guitar riffs, often borrowing from traditional heavy metal (including New Wave of British Heavy Metal). The genre features the heavines ...

sound"''. Wåhlin would collaborate with Lindberg and other At the Gates members a short time additionally in the

death metal Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, feat ...

band Liers in Wait, and would go on to design the "Russian icon" cover-art of At the Gates' cornerstone release, ''

Slaughter of the Soul ''Slaughter of the Soul'' is the fourth studio album by Swedish melodic death metal band At the Gates, released on November 14, 1995. It was their last album before their eleven-year breakup from 1996 to 2007. ''Slaughter of the Soul'' is conside ...

''.

Dissection Dissection (from Latin ' "to cut to pieces"; also called anatomization) is the dismembering of the body of a deceased animal or plant to study its anatomical structure. Autopsy is used in pathology and forensic medicine to determine the cause o ...

, who shared practice quarters with At the Gates, would display illustrations by Wåhlin on the cover of ''

The Somberlain ''The Somberlain'' is the debut album by Swedish black metal band Dissection, released on 3 December 1993. It proved to be a highly influential release for both black metal and melodic death metal. The band dedicated the album to Euronymous, who ...

'' and also ''

Storm of the Light's Bane ''Storm of the Light's Bane'' is the second full-length album by Swedish black metal band Dissection. It was released on 17 November 1995 by Nuclear Blast. This would be the band's last full-length album before Nödtveidt's 1997 incarceration for ...

''; the latter featuring the infamous scene of the "grim reaper horseman" in the middle of a snow-covered forest tundra. ''

In the Nightside Eclipse ''In the Nightside Eclipse'' is the first studio album and fourth official release by Norwegian black metal band Emperor, released in 1994 through Candlelight Records. It was their only album to feature drummer Faust and one-time bassist Tchort. ...

'', the debut of seminal Norwegian

black metal Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with t ...

band

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

, would also be graced with his work on the cover. Wåhlin would continue as an album artist for several other bands in the European

death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

doom Doom is another name for damnation. Doom may also refer to: People * Doom (professional wrestling), the tag team of Ron Simmons and Butch Reed * Daniel Doom (born 1934), Belgian cyclist * Debbie Doom (born 1963), American softball pitcher * ...

power Power most often refers to: * Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work" ** Engine power, the power put out by an engine ** Electric power * Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events ** Abusive power Power may a ...

and

gothic metal Gothic metal (or goth metal) is a fusion genre combining the aggression of heavy metal with the dark atmospheres of gothic rock. The music of gothic metal is diverse with bands known to adopt the gothic approach to different styles of heavy met ...

collective throughout the 2000s. ''Liers in Wait'' and ''Decollation'' would feature musical contribution by Wåhlin before both groups folded in the mid-1990s. In 1995 he started

band Diabolique, where he was joined by some musicians from bands in which he had previously participated. Diabolique's latest release was ''The Green Goddess'' in 2001. They are currently writing material for an upcoming 2010 album. Wåhlin also collaborated with longtime friend Lindberg in the hardcore band The Great Deceiver. His art studio is located in

Höganäs Höganäs () (old da, Højenæs) is a locality and the seat of Höganäs Municipality, Scania County, Sweden with 14,107 inhabitants in 2010. Höganäs is nationally known for its ceramics industry, Höganäs Keramik. Höganäs Keramik is part ...

municipality, Sweden.

Discography

Album covers

References

External links

Official website: Kristian Wåhlin
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wahlin, Kristian 1971 births Living people Swedish heavy metal guitarists Swedish heavy metal singers Swedish heavy metal drummers Swedish graphic designers 20th-century Swedish painters Swedish male painters 21st-century Swedish painters Album-cover and concert-poster artists 21st-century Swedish singers 21st-century guitarists 21st-century drummers 21st-century Swedish male singers Liers in Wait members Diabolique (band) members 20th-century Swedish male artists 21st-century Swedish male artists