Abruptum
Encyclopedia
Abruptum was a black metal
and dark ambient
band from Sweden
formed in 1989 by IT (aka Tony Särkkä
), All (aka Jim Berger
), and Ext. IT had already planned to create the band in 1987, but it wasn't until 1990 that he found the right members to do it. The same year, they recorded their first two demos. After the release of the first demo, they fired their bass player Ext. After the release of a 7-inch EP
simply called Evil in 1991 (later re-released by Psychoslaughter), All began to drink heavily and was forced to leave the band. IT then found a new member in Evil (aka Morgan Steinmeyer Håkansson) of Marduk
. Around this time, IT reunited with All to form the side project, Vondur
. At the time, IT was one of the leaders within what was called the Satanic Black Circle, part of the Swedish Black metal scene.
Abruptum was signed to Euronymous
's label Deathlike Silence Productions
, on which they released two albums. Euronymous noted them as being "the audial essence of pure black evil", and IT considered Euronymous to be "a true ally." After Euronymous's murder, they would contribute the opening track to the compilation album Nordic Metal: A Tribute To Euronymous.
IT left the band and the black metal scene altogether in 1996, following numerous threats made to him and to his family. Evil kept Abruptum going and released material on his own record label, Blooddawn Productions, until 2005 when he announced that he had ended Abruptum.
and dropped most of the metal sound.
The two newest albums noted below are unclear as to how new (or old) these recordings are and who participated on them.
along with All but has since left (the band has also disbanded). All also worked with IT again in Ophthalamia
, but that band has also disbanded. Evil continues his work with Marduk
and Devils Whorehouse. No information is available on Ext.
Black metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....
and dark ambient
Dark ambient
Dark ambient is a subgenre of ambient music that features foreboding, ominous, or discordant overtones. Although it had its roots in the 1970s, Dark ambient emerged in the 1980s and 1990s with the introduction of newer, smaller, and more affordable Effects units, synthesizer and sampling technology...
band from Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
formed in 1989 by IT (aka Tony Särkkä
Tony Särkkä
Tony Särkkä, who goes by the stage name It, is a Swedish-Gipsy multi-instrumentalist who has played in many black metal bands. He plays guitar, drums and bass guitar as well as doing vocals. He is joined by Jim Berger in many projects. His projects include Abruptum, Ophthalamia, Vondur, Incision,...
), All (aka Jim Berger
Jim Berger
Jim Berger is a Swedish black metal singer who goes by the stage name All. His original project was Abruptum. He also performed in many side-projects including Ophthalamia, Vondur, War, usually with Tony Särkkä.-Sources:...
), and Ext. IT had already planned to create the band in 1987, but it wasn't until 1990 that he found the right members to do it. The same year, they recorded their first two demos. After the release of the first demo, they fired their bass player Ext. After the release of a 7-inch EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
simply called Evil in 1991 (later re-released by Psychoslaughter), All began to drink heavily and was forced to leave the band. IT then found a new member in Evil (aka Morgan Steinmeyer Håkansson) of Marduk
Marduk (band)
Marduk is a black metal band from Norrköping, Sweden. The band formed in 1990 and released their first record in 1991. Their name is derived from the Babylonian god Marduk, patron deity of Babylon.-Musical style:...
. Around this time, IT reunited with All to form the side project, Vondur
Vondur
Vondur was a black metal band from Sweden. It was made up of members of the bands Ophthalamia and Abruptum, "It" and "All" . The sound could be described as primitive black metal, though rumors have claimed that this was conceived as a joke band...
. At the time, IT was one of the leaders within what was called the Satanic Black Circle, part of the Swedish Black metal scene.
Abruptum was signed to Euronymous
Euronymous
Øystein Aarseth , who went by the pseudonym Euronymous, was a Norwegian guitarist and co-founder of the Norwegian black metal band Mayhem...
's label Deathlike Silence Productions
Deathlike Silence Productions
Deathlike Silence Productions was an Oslo, Norway based independent record label founded in the late 1980s that focused primarily on black metal. It was the first independent label to do so. The label was founded by Øystein Aarseth, also known as Euronymous, who operated the label until his murder...
, on which they released two albums. Euronymous noted them as being "the audial essence of pure black evil", and IT considered Euronymous to be "a true ally." After Euronymous's murder, they would contribute the opening track to the compilation album Nordic Metal: A Tribute To Euronymous.
IT left the band and the black metal scene altogether in 1996, following numerous threats made to him and to his family. Evil kept Abruptum going and released material on his own record label, Blooddawn Productions, until 2005 when he announced that he had ended Abruptum.
Music themes and style
While Abruptum is classified as a black metal/dark ambient band, the band took a different approach to their music. They did not focus on creating any structured songs, and mostly just made noise. Earlier material had shorter songs but their later releases typically included one or two tracks with more than forty minutes of music. They primarily used standard drums, guitars, bass, keyboards and other various instruments, but what stood out even more was the screaming, as the band supposedly tortured and cut each other during their recordings. Whether this is true or not has never really been verified. This led to Euronymous' now (in)famous distinction of Abruptum as "The Audial Essence Of Pure Black Evil". After IT left the band, Evil changed the band's musical style to more dark ambient/noiseNoise music
Noise music is a term used to describe varieties of avant-garde music and sound art that may use elements such as cacophony, dissonance, atonality, noise, indeterminacy, and repetition in their realization. Noise music can feature distortion, various types of acoustically or electronically...
and dropped most of the metal sound.
The two newest albums noted below are unclear as to how new (or old) these recordings are and who participated on them.
Members
- IT (Tony SärkkäTony SärkkäTony Särkkä, who goes by the stage name It, is a Swedish-Gipsy multi-instrumentalist who has played in many black metal bands. He plays guitar, drums and bass guitar as well as doing vocals. He is joined by Jim Berger in many projects. His projects include Abruptum, Ophthalamia, Vondur, Incision,...
) - Vocals, Guitars, Bass, Drums, Violin (1989-1996?) - Evil (Morgan Håkansson) - Guitars, Piano, Vocals, Programming (1991-2005?)
- All (Jim BergerJim BergerJim Berger is a Swedish black metal singer who goes by the stage name All. His original project was Abruptum. He also performed in many side-projects including Ophthalamia, Vondur, War, usually with Tony Särkkä.-Sources:...
) - Vocals (1990–1991) - Ext - Bass (1990)
Discography
- Abruptum (Demo, 1990)
- The Satanist Tunes (Demo, 1990)
- Evil (7" EP, 1991)
- Orchestra of Dark (Same as 'The Satanist Tunes' with additional 'Outro' added, 1991)
- Obscuritatem Advoco Amplectere Me (Deathlike Silence ProductionsDeathlike Silence ProductionsDeathlike Silence Productions was an Oslo, Norway based independent record label founded in the late 1980s that focused primarily on black metal. It was the first independent label to do so. The label was founded by Øystein Aarseth, also known as Euronymous, who operated the label until his murder...
, 1993) - In Umbra Malitae Ambulabo, In Aeternum In Triumpho Tenebrarum (Deathlike Silence ProductionsDeathlike Silence ProductionsDeathlike Silence Productions was an Oslo, Norway based independent record label founded in the late 1980s that focused primarily on black metal. It was the first independent label to do so. The label was founded by Øystein Aarseth, also known as Euronymous, who operated the label until his murder...
, 1994) - Evil Genius [First Two Demos and 7" EP on one CD; Hellspawn Records, 1995; remastered and re-reissued by Black Lodge Records and Southern Lord Records with a bonus track ('De Profundis Mors Vas Cousumet' from the Nordic Metal compilation) in 2007]
- Nordic Metal: A Tribute To Euronymous (Track Contribution: 'De Profundis Mors Vas Cousumet', 1995)
- Vi Sonas Veris Nigrae Malitiaes (Full Moon ProductionsFull Moon ProductionsFull Moon Productions is a record company started in May 1991 by Jon "Thorns" Jamshid from Lakeland, Florida. After releasing the first issue of Petrified 'zine, Thorns decided to sign several black metal bands which included Burzum, Hades , Algaion, Nåstrond and Vlad Tepes...
, 1996) - De Profundis Mors Vas Cousumet ('Nordic Metal' track + 2 Unreleased Tracks); Blooddawn Productions, 2000)
- Casus Luciferi (Blooddawn Productions, 2004)
- Maledictum (EP) (Blooddawn Productions, 2008)
- Potestates Apocalypsis (Blooddawn Productions, 2011)
Since Abruptum's disbanding
IT fronts a techno/industrial band, 8th Sin and was briefly involved with the band (Total) WarWar (Swedish band)
War was a Swedish black metal supergroup, formed by Tony "IT" Särkkä of Abruptum, David "Blackmoon" Parland of Dark Funeral and Peter Tägtgren of Hypocrisy....
along with All but has since left (the band has also disbanded). All also worked with IT again in Ophthalamia
Ophthalamia
Ophthalamia was a Swedish heavy metal band that formed in 1989.-Biography:Ophthalamia was started in 1989 by singer All and guitarist It, both also active in the musical groups Abruptum and Vondur. The band named themselves Ophthalamia after a fantasy-world created by It. He created and named the...
, but that band has also disbanded. Evil continues his work with Marduk
Marduk (band)
Marduk is a black metal band from Norrköping, Sweden. The band formed in 1990 and released their first record in 1991. Their name is derived from the Babylonian god Marduk, patron deity of Babylon.-Musical style:...
and Devils Whorehouse. No information is available on Ext.