Sacramentum (band)
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Sacramentum is a melodic black metal band from
Falköping Falköping is a locality and the seat of Falköping Municipality in Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 16,350 inhabitants in 2010. History The town of Falköping was first spoken of in the Icelandic ''Rimbegla'' (around 1100 A.D.), and ...
, Sweden, formed by Nisse Karlén (vocals/guitar) in the summer of 1990 under the name of Tumulus. The band released three full-length studio albums and two demos. They are best known for their debut album '' Far Away from the Sun'', which is often considered one of the best early melodic black metal releases.


History

Shortly thereafter, Anders Brolycke joined as a second guitarist. The group's first official recordings were made in the end of 1992; just before the release of the demo tape, called ''Sedes Impiorum'', the band name was changed to Sacramentum. In February 1994, Sacramentum went to Unisound Studio to record the self-financed five-track EP ''Finis Malorum'', which was re-released by Adipocere Records a year later. Following the release of this EP, Nicklas Rudolfsson (now also in Runemagick, Swordmaster and Deathwitch) joined in on drums, and Karlén shifted from guitar to bass. According to Karlén, With this three-piece line-up Sacramentum went back to Unisound Studio in June 1995 to record their full-length debut, entitled '' Far Away from the Sun''. Finally released in June 1996, the album was hailed in some circles as a masterpiece. The band then embarked on a tour of Europe with
Ancient Rites Ancient Rites is a Belgian black metal band formed in 1988. Initially, the lineup consisted of guitar players Johan and Phillip, drummer Stefan, and Gunther Theys on bass and vocals.Rivadavia, Eduardo " Ancient Rites Biography, ''AllMusic'', M ...
, Bewitched and
Enthroned Enthroned is a Belgian black metal band formed in Charleroi. It is one of the premier acts of the Belgian black metal scene. History The band was founded in 1993 by drummer Cernunnos. He soon recruited guitarist Tsebaoth and a vocalist from g ...
. In the spring 1997, Sacramentum signed with
Century Media A century is a period of 100 years. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c. A centennial or ...
. The second full-length album, ''The Coming of Chaos'', was recorded in June 1997 in
King Diamond Kim Bendix Petersen (born 14 June 1956), better known by his stage name King Diamond, is a Danish rock musician. As a vocalist, he is known for his powerful and wide-ranging countertenor singing voice, in particular his far-reaching falsetto s ...
guitarist
Andy LaRocque Andy LaRocque (born Anders Allhage, 29 November 1962) is a Swedish guitarist, songwriter, and producer, best known as a member of the heavy metal band King Diamond since 1985. Biography LaRocque started in the Swedish hard rock band Swedish Bea ...
's studio, Los Angered Recordings in
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 ...
, Sweden, and released in September 1997 on Century Media Records. It showcased the band moving in more of a
blackened death metal Blackened death metal (also known as black death metal) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal that fuses elements of black metal and death metal. The genre emerged in early 1990s when black metal bands began incorporating elements of death me ...
direction.
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
's Steve Huey writes that "Thanks to improved production, as well as the band's musical development, The Coming of Chaos is the best Sacramentum release available, not to mention their first domestic album." The band once again embarked on a tour of Europe, this time with labelmates
Old Man's Child Old Man's Child is a Norwegian black metal band from the city of Oslo. The band is the brainchild of Galder (formerly known as Grusom; birth name: Thomas Rune Andersen) who is the only permanent member of the band. History Old Man's Child was ...
and
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. Sacramentum's final album, ''Thy Black Destiny'', was recorded in September 1998 at Los Angered Recordings, and was released on April 13, 1999. The recording line-up was augmented by Nicklas Andersson (also in
Lord Belial Lord Belial is a Swedish black metal band. History The band formed in 1992 and released their debut album in 1995; placing them among the pioneers of Swedish black metal. Their sound has been compared with bands such as Dissection. In January ...
), who joined the group as a permanent guitarist. However, the band apparently split up sometime thereafter. "Employing classic death metal sounds, Sacramentum strip their sound down to the basics on Thy Black Destiny, recalling old-school thrash yet still mixing it up with enough modern black metal to stay contemporary." In 2008 their last two albums ''The Coming of Chaos'' and ''Thy Black Destiny'' were reissued in a compilation titled ''Abyss of Time'' on
Century Media Records Century Media Records is a heavy metal record label with offices in the United States, Germany and London. In August 2015, Century Media was acquired by Sony Music for US$17 million. Background Century Media was founded by Robert Kampf and Oli ...
. As of 2012, Anders Brolycke plays guitar with the Swedish black metal band Likblek, who released their self-tiled debut full-length album in 2010. Nicklas Rudolfsson has gone on to perform with many other bands, including Heavydeath, Necrocurse, and Runemagick. In 2013, the band's debut album ''Far Away from the Sun'' was reissued in CD, vinyl, and picture disc by
Century Media A century is a period of 100 years. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c. A centennial or ...
. The album art was rescanned by Necrolord, the music was remastered by Dan Swanö, and with a new layout by Nora Dirkling. In January 2022 the band started perforering live again – with a new line-up, starting in L.A. at California Deathfest 30 January. Next place was in Stockholm at Slakthuset 8 April. Then they played at Netherlands Deathfest 29 April. Continuing in Germany at Brain Crusher In Hell 20 May and then in Baltimore at Maryland Deathfest 29 May. Upcoming live performances set at the moment will be in Mexico, London and Iceland. Also they are working on their fourth album and also revealed that it would be titled ''Shadow of Oblivion''.


Musical style and influences

On the band's first album they performed a style of melodic black metal that has been compared to bands such as
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 ...
and
Unanimated Unanimated are a Swedish melodic death metal band. History The band formed in Stockholm and dissolved in 1996. They have 7 current complete members. Largely inspired by Dismember, they made two melodic death metal albums. In 1993, '' In the Fo ...
, which involved "a mixture of Black Metal's atmosphere and speed with the technicality and arrangement normally found in Death Metal". Over time the band began to move towards the kind of
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 heavine ...
sound many of their contemporaries in Gothenburg were pioneering. Nisse Karlén has said that "Our influences comes mostly from old heavy Metal bands and a lot of speed and thrash bands where we have our roots. A lot also comes from within ourselves, moods and so on." Anders Brolycke has cited Bathory,
Destruction Destruction may refer to: Concepts * Destruktion, a term from the philosophy of Martin Heidegger * Destructive narcissism, a pathological form of narcissism * Self-destructive behaviour, a widely used phrase that ''conceptualises'' certain kind ...
,
Coroner A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into Manner of death, the manner or cause of death, and to investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within th ...
, Slayer,
Autopsy An autopsy (post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death or to evaluate any di ...
,
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 ...
, and
Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...
as influences. He also said that "The lyrics are held on a personal level and deal with thoughts and reflections about life and death. They are often about a longing away from this earthly prison."


Band members


Current line-up

*Nisse Karlén – lead vocals (1990-2001, 2019-present), guitar (1990-1994), bass (1994-2001) *Anders Brolycke – guitars (1990-2001, 2019-present) * Calle Andersson - guitars (2021-present) *Tobias Kellgren – drums (2021-present)


Former members

*Niclas Andersson – guitars (1998-2001) *Freddy Andersson – bass guitar (1990-1994) *Mikael Rydén – drums (1990-1994) *Niklas Rudolfsson - drums (1994-2001, 2019-2021)


Live/session members

*Jonas Blom - guitars (2019-present) *Robert Axelsson - bass (2019-present)


Timeline


Discography

* 1993: ''Sedes Impiorum'' (demo) * 1994: '' Finis Malorum'' (EP) * 1996: '' Far Away from the Sun'' (album) * 1997: '' The Coming of Chaos'' (album) * 1998: " 13 Candles" on ''In Conspiracy with Satan – A Tribute to Bathory'' * 1998: " The Curse/Antichrist" on ''A Tribute to
Sepultura Sepultura (, "grave")Barcinski & Gomes 1999, page 17. is a Brazilian heavy metal band from Belo Horizonte. Formed in 1984 by brothers Max and Igor Cavalera,Barcinski & Gomes 1999, page 16. the band was a major force in the groove metal, thra ...
'' * 1998: "
Black Masses ''Black Masses'' is the seventh studio album by English doom metal band Electric Wizard, released on 1 November 2010. It is the band's only album to feature bassist Tas Danazoglou. Background Guitarist-vocalist Jus Oborn described the albu ...
" on ''Tribute to
Mercyful Fate Mercyful Fate is a Danish heavy metal band from Copenhagen, formed in 1981 by vocalist King Diamond and guitarist Hank Shermann. Influenced by progressive rock and hard rock, and with lyrics dealing with Satan and the occult, Mercyful Fat ...
'' * 1999: '' Thy Black Destiny'' (album) * 2008: ''Abyss of Time'' (compilation consisting of ''The Coming of Chaos'' and ''Thy Black Destiny'') * TBA: ''Shadow of Oblivion'' (album)


Notes and references


External links


Official Facebook page

Official MySpace page

Official Spotify page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sacramentum Swedish black metal musical groups Swedish melodic death metal musical groups Blackened death metal musical groups Musical groups established in 1990 pt:Sacramentum