Entombed released their debut, “Left Hand Path”, on June 4, 1990 via Earache — and wrote history: the album is considered the one that gave birth to Swedish death metal and the very “Sunlight” sound that defines the Scandinavian school. Metal Hammer called it “one of the most perfect pieces of Swedish death metal ever recorded.”
Country: Sweden
Genre: Death Metal
For fans of: Dismember, Morbid Angel, Carcass
The listen
The record’s sound is monumental: it combines the extremity of Earache-era British grindcore with the intricate structures of the Florida school, adding punky, groovy rhythms and heavy, doomy sections. The deeply downtuned guitars and the unique sound of Tomas Skogsberg’s Sunlight Studio created a template that dozens of bands copied afterwards.
The title track “Left Hand Path” opens with one of the most recognizable intros of the genre — with the theme from the 1979 horror film “Phantasm” cutting into the middle of the song — and continues with tracks like “Drowned,” “Revel in Flesh” and “Bitter Loss.” Lars-Göran Petrov’s roar is one of the most distinctive in death metal, while the rhythms of Cederlund and Andersson lock in with absolute precision.
According to AllMusic, “Left Hand Path” was “an achievement for death metal that heralded the pivotal role Scandinavia would play in the genre’s evolution.” With Dan Seagrave’s artwork completing the picture, Entombed’s debut remains one of the most influential and beloved albums in the history of extreme sound.
See also
TORTURERAMA – The Elaborate Theatre of the Macabre · Carcass: Postponing their shows
