Blood, Fire, Death: The Swedish Metal Story

In the early 1990s, Swedish death metal revolutionized the international music scene. Suddenly, the mild-mannered Scandinavian country found itself at the forefront of a new movement with worldwide impact thanks to bands such as Entombed, Dismember, and At the Gates. The birth of black metal drove the culture to even greater extremes, featuring a rawer, darker sound and non-ironic death-worship. Soon churches in both Norway and Sweden were aflame, and be- fore long Satanism emerged as more than just an image. But how did it all start? Why did Sweden become a hotbed for such aggressive, nihilistic music? And who are the people and bands that brought it all about?
Blood, Fire, Death: A Swedish Metal Story recounts the evolution of the genre from the massive amplifier walls of 1970s rock, through the church-burning Satanic 1990s, to the diverse and paradoxical manifestations of the scene today. This book focuses on the phenomena that have propelled the scene forward in an evolution that has not only been musical, but aesthetic and ideological as well. This is a story about grotesque logos and icons that invoke death and darkness, but also a story of dedication, friendship, community, and a profound love for music.


About the Author
Johannesson, Ika: - Ika Johannesson has been one of Sweden's major music journalists for the last 20 years. Mainly as a writer for different publications and editor-in-chief of Tidningen Sex, an interview magazine about alternative popular culture, but also within radio and tv. She is currently the anchor of the culture news on Swedish national television.Klingberg, Jon Jefferson: - Jon Jefferson Klingberg combines his writing with a music career. He plays the guitar for Swedish veterans Docenterna, and used to wield the axe in internationally known Whale and several local death metal bands at the end of the 80's. His first novel was published in 2008. He has but one tattoo; the Manowar eagle on his lower arm.