Bloodbath
Encyclopedia
Bloodbath is a Swedish death metal
supergroup
from Stockholm
formed in 1998.
(Opeth
) on vocals, Dan Swanö
(Edge of Sanity
, Nightingale
, etc.) on drums, Anders "Blakkheim" Nyström
(Katatonia
, Diabolical Masquerade
) on guitar, and Jonas Renkse
(Katatonia
, October Tide
) on bass, released their EP
Breeding Death
, followed two years later by their debut album Resurrection Through Carnage
.
In 2005, singer Mikael Åkerfeldt left Bloodbath to free up more time for his primary band Opeth
. To replace him, Bloodbath brought in Peter Tägtgren
(Hypocrisy
). The lineup changed further, with Dan Swanö
switching to play the guitar instead of drums. Martin Axenrot
(Witchery
, Satanic Slaughter
and now Opeth
) took his place and the band was now bigger and more serious, no longer just a secondary project. The band's second full release, Nightmares Made Flesh
, was released in Europe in September 2004.
In February 2005, Tägtgren left the band due to "conflicting schedules". That same year, Mikael Åkerfeldt rejoined the band for a single live show at Germany
's Wacken Open Air
on August 5. Prior to the show, the band commented on the Wacken show: "Not only the first, but also the last gig for Bloodbath (with Mikael Åkerfeldt on vocals)"; later it also turned out to be the last one with Dan Swanö. In September 2005, Bloodbath started searching for a new lead singer.
In August 2006, the band announced the departure of Dan Swanö
from their ranks due to musical differences, as well as Swanö's being busy with other projects. They simultaneously closed the vocal auditions, announcing that no suitable singer had been found.
On 27 March 2007 the band announced that a new line-up would shortly be unveiled, along with news that they were producing new material, to be released on a mini-CD towards the end of summer. In August 2007, band member Jonas Renkse
wrote a message on the band's official discussion forum which suggested that work was in progress. On 30 January 2008, it was announced via the Bloodbath website that Mikael Åkerfeldt would be rejoining the line-up on vocals, along with new member Per Eriksson (ex-21 Lucifers, ex-Genocrush Ferox) on guitar. In March 2008, the EP Unblessing the Purity
was released. Also released in 2008 was the Wacken live CD/DVD The Wacken Carnage
. Bloodbath released their third full length album, The Fathomless Mastery
, in October 2008.
On April 25, 2011, Bloodbath released their second DVD, Bloodbath Over Bloodstock
, which contains their performance at Bloodstock Festival 2010, as well as their 2008 performance at Party San.
On November 1, 2011, during the final show of the American Opeth/Katatonia tour at Ram's Head Live in Baltimore, MD, Bloodbath performed a surprise encore after Opeth's set.
Former members
EPs
Live
Death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....
supergroup
Supergroup (music)
In the late 1960s, the term supergroup was coined to describe "a rock music group whose performers are already famous from having performed individually or in other groups"....
from Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
formed in 1998.
History
A year after being formed, the band, then consisting of Mikael ÅkerfeldtMikael Åkerfeldt
Lars Mikael Åkerfeldt is a Swedish musician who achieved fame as the lead vocalist, guitarist and songwriter of progressive death metal band Opeth as well as the lead vocalist of death metal band Bloodbath. He was the vocalist and guitarist for the band Sörskogen and the guitarist of the band Steel...
(Opeth
Opeth
Opeth is a Swedish heavy metal band from Stockholm, formed in 1990. Though the group has been through several personnel changes, singer, guitarist, and songwriter Mikael Åkerfeldt has remained Opeth's driving force throughout the years...
) on vocals, Dan Swanö
Dan Swanö
Dan-Erland Swanö is a Swedish musician who is currently the vocalist, guitarist, ex-bassist and ex-drummer for the band Nightingale as well as the Owner of Unisound but he achieved fame as the vocalist and songwriter of progressive death metal band Edge of Sanity.As a multi-instrumentalist he is...
(Edge of Sanity
Edge of Sanity
Edge of Sanity was a Swedish death metal band. Edge of Sanity are regarded alongside Opeth as being the first to fuse extreme metal styles like death and black metal with progressive rock.- History :...
, Nightingale
Nightingale (band)
The band's latest album is White Darkness and it was released 4 June 2007.-Line-up:*Dan Swanö : Vocals, guitars, keyboards...
, etc.) on drums, Anders "Blakkheim" Nyström
Anders Nyström
Anders Nyström, also known as Blakkheim is a Swedish musician who was born on April 22, 1975 in Stockholm.-Biography:...
(Katatonia
Katatonia
Katatonia is a Swedish metal band formed in Stockholm in 1991 by Jonas Renkse and Anders Nyström .-1991-1993:The early Katatonia releases, such as the EP Jhva Elohim Meth.....
, Diabolical Masquerade
Diabolical Masquerade
Diabolical Masquerade was a Swedish one-man black metal band with progressive influences. The band was formed in 1993 in Stockholm as side project of Anders Nyström , known for his work as the guitarist of Katatonia.- History :...
) on guitar, and Jonas Renkse
Jonas Renkse
Jonas Petter Renkse is a founding member, songwriter, lead vocalist and ex-drummer of the band Katatonia, founding member, songwriter, bassist, backing vocalist, ex-guitarist of the band Bloodbath and member of Sailors With Wax Wings.He was also the founding member, drummer, vocalist, guitarist...
(Katatonia
Katatonia
Katatonia is a Swedish metal band formed in Stockholm in 1991 by Jonas Renkse and Anders Nyström .-1991-1993:The early Katatonia releases, such as the EP Jhva Elohim Meth.....
, October Tide
October Tide
October Tide is a death/doom metal side project that was created in 1995 by Katatonia vocalist Jonas Renkse and then Katatonia guitarist Fred Norrman.-1995 - 1999:...
) on bass, released their 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...
Breeding Death
Breeding Death
Produced and engineered by Dan Swanö. Lyrics written by Mikael Åkerfeldt and Jonas Renkse. Recorded and mixed at The Sanctuary in Sweden.-Credits:*Mikael Åkerfeldt – vocals*Anders "Blakkheim" Nyström – guitar*Jonas Renkse – bass*Dan Swanö – drums...
, followed two years later by their debut album Resurrection Through Carnage
Resurrection through Carnage
Resurrection Through Carnage, released in 2002 on Century Media Records, is the first full album release from Swedish death metal group Bloodbath...
.
In 2005, singer Mikael Åkerfeldt left Bloodbath to free up more time for his primary band Opeth
Opeth
Opeth is a Swedish heavy metal band from Stockholm, formed in 1990. Though the group has been through several personnel changes, singer, guitarist, and songwriter Mikael Åkerfeldt has remained Opeth's driving force throughout the years...
. To replace him, Bloodbath brought in Peter Tägtgren
Peter Tägtgren
Alf Peter Tägtgren is a Swedish musician and producer. He is the founder, main songwriter, lead vocalist, and guitarist of the death metal band Hypocrisy as well as the industrial metal band PAIN in which he is the only member....
(Hypocrisy
Hypocrisy (band)
Hypocrisy is a melodic death metal band from Sweden. It was formed in 1990 in Ludvika, Sweden by Peter Tägtgren.Musically, the band started off with a traditional death metal sound on their first albums, and soon drifted to become a melodic death metal band. The lyrics in their early stages -...
). The lineup changed further, with Dan Swanö
Dan Swanö
Dan-Erland Swanö is a Swedish musician who is currently the vocalist, guitarist, ex-bassist and ex-drummer for the band Nightingale as well as the Owner of Unisound but he achieved fame as the vocalist and songwriter of progressive death metal band Edge of Sanity.As a multi-instrumentalist he is...
switching to play the guitar instead of drums. Martin Axenrot
Martin Axenrot
Erik Martin "Axe" Axenrot is the drummer for the bands Opeth, Bloodbath and Witchery. Axenrot played with Opeth on their last five tours, filling in for then drummer Martin Lopez. On May 12, 2006, he officially joined the band as Lopez left permanently...
(Witchery
Witchery
Witchery is a Swedish thrash/speed metal band, formed by former members of Satanic Slaughter in 1997. The current lineup consists of vocalist Emperor Magus Caligula , ex-Devian), guitarists Patrik Jensen and Rickard "Richard Corpse" Rimfält, bassist Sharlee D'Angelo, and drummer Martin Axenrot...
, Satanic Slaughter
Satanic Slaughter
-History:Having previously performed under the name Evil Cunt, the group first adopted the name Satanic Slaughter in 1985. The group went through several guitarists and other lineup changes in its early years before releasing its first demo, One Night in Hell, in 1988. The group split late in 1989...
and now Opeth
Opeth
Opeth is a Swedish heavy metal band from Stockholm, formed in 1990. Though the group has been through several personnel changes, singer, guitarist, and songwriter Mikael Åkerfeldt has remained Opeth's driving force throughout the years...
) took his place and the band was now bigger and more serious, no longer just a secondary project. The band's second full release, Nightmares Made Flesh
Nightmares Made Flesh
Nightmares Made Flesh, released by Century Media Records in 2004, is the second album by Swedish death metal band Bloodbath.This album features Peter Tägtgren, who was brought in to replace Mikael Åkerfeldt as the vocalist, as well as Martin Axenrot to replace Dan Swanö as the drummer...
, was released in Europe in September 2004.
In February 2005, Tägtgren left the band due to "conflicting schedules". That same year, Mikael Åkerfeldt rejoined the band for a single live show at Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
's Wacken Open Air
Wacken Open Air
Wacken Open Air is a summer open air heavy metal music festival. It takes place annually in the small town of Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein, northern Germany...
on August 5. Prior to the show, the band commented on the Wacken show: "Not only the first, but also the last gig for Bloodbath (with Mikael Åkerfeldt on vocals)"; later it also turned out to be the last one with Dan Swanö. In September 2005, Bloodbath started searching for a new lead singer.
In August 2006, the band announced the departure of Dan Swanö
Dan Swanö
Dan-Erland Swanö is a Swedish musician who is currently the vocalist, guitarist, ex-bassist and ex-drummer for the band Nightingale as well as the Owner of Unisound but he achieved fame as the vocalist and songwriter of progressive death metal band Edge of Sanity.As a multi-instrumentalist he is...
from their ranks due to musical differences, as well as Swanö's being busy with other projects. They simultaneously closed the vocal auditions, announcing that no suitable singer had been found.
On 27 March 2007 the band announced that a new line-up would shortly be unveiled, along with news that they were producing new material, to be released on a mini-CD towards the end of summer. In August 2007, band member Jonas Renkse
Jonas Renkse
Jonas Petter Renkse is a founding member, songwriter, lead vocalist and ex-drummer of the band Katatonia, founding member, songwriter, bassist, backing vocalist, ex-guitarist of the band Bloodbath and member of Sailors With Wax Wings.He was also the founding member, drummer, vocalist, guitarist...
wrote a message on the band's official discussion forum which suggested that work was in progress. On 30 January 2008, it was announced via the Bloodbath website that Mikael Åkerfeldt would be rejoining the line-up on vocals, along with new member Per Eriksson (ex-21 Lucifers, ex-Genocrush Ferox) on guitar. In March 2008, the EP Unblessing the Purity
Unblessing the Purity
Unblessing the Purity is an EP by Swedish death metal supergroup Bloodbath on Peaceville Records. It is their first release since Resurrection Through Carnage to include Mikael Åkerfeldt on vocals. Per 'Sodomizer' Eriksson replaced Dan Swanö on guitar beginning with this EP. The cover art is by...
was released. Also released in 2008 was the Wacken live CD/DVD The Wacken Carnage
The Wacken Carnage
The Wacken Carnage is a CD/DVD set of the death metal band Bloodbath at a very rare live appearance recorded on August 5, 2005 at the Wacken Open Air Festival in Germany....
. Bloodbath released their third full length album, The Fathomless Mastery
The Fathomless Mastery
The Fathomless Mastery is the third full length album by the Swedish death metal band Bloodbath. It is the first full length Bloodbath release to feature the new guitarist Per "Sodomizer" Eriksson. Former Scar Symmetry vocalist Christian Älvestam did guest vocals on the sixth track, "Iesous"...
, in October 2008.
On April 25, 2011, Bloodbath released their second DVD, Bloodbath Over Bloodstock
Bloodbath Over Bloodstock
Bloodbath Over Bloodstock is a live DVD by Swedish death metal band Bloodbath. It features the entire live set the band played at Bloodstock Open Air in August 2010. It was filmed by the production company The Dark Box...
, which contains their performance at Bloodstock Festival 2010, as well as their 2008 performance at Party San.
On November 1, 2011, during the final show of the American Opeth/Katatonia tour at Ram's Head Live in Baltimore, MD, Bloodbath performed a surprise encore after Opeth's set.
Members
Current members- Mikael ÅkerfeldtMikael ÅkerfeldtLars Mikael Åkerfeldt is a Swedish musician who achieved fame as the lead vocalist, guitarist and songwriter of progressive death metal band Opeth as well as the lead vocalist of death metal band Bloodbath. He was the vocalist and guitarist for the band Sörskogen and the guitarist of the band Steel...
– lead vocals (1998–2004, 2005, since 2008) - Anders "Blakkheim" NyströmAnders NyströmAnders Nyström, also known as Blakkheim is a Swedish musician who was born on April 22, 1975 in Stockholm.-Biography:...
– lead guitars, backing vocals (since 1998) - Per "Sodomizer" ErikssonPer Eriksson (musician)Per "Sodomizer" Eriksson is the guitarist for Bloodbath and Katatonia. Previously, he was a guitar technician for both bands.-References:...
– guitars (since 2008) - Jonas RenkseJonas RenkseJonas Petter Renkse is a founding member, songwriter, lead vocalist and ex-drummer of the band Katatonia, founding member, songwriter, bassist, backing vocalist, ex-guitarist of the band Bloodbath and member of Sailors With Wax Wings.He was also the founding member, drummer, vocalist, guitarist...
– bass (since 1998) - Martin "Axe" AxenrotMartin AxenrotErik Martin "Axe" Axenrot is the drummer for the bands Opeth, Bloodbath and Witchery. Axenrot played with Opeth on their last five tours, filling in for then drummer Martin Lopez. On May 12, 2006, he officially joined the band as Lopez left permanently...
– drums, percussion (since 2004)
Former members
- Peter TägtgrenPeter TägtgrenAlf Peter Tägtgren is a Swedish musician and producer. He is the founder, main songwriter, lead vocalist, and guitarist of the death metal band Hypocrisy as well as the industrial metal band PAIN in which he is the only member....
– lead vocals (2004–2005) - Dan SwanöDan SwanöDan-Erland Swanö is a Swedish musician who is currently the vocalist, guitarist, ex-bassist and ex-drummer for the band Nightingale as well as the Owner of Unisound but he achieved fame as the vocalist and songwriter of progressive death metal band Edge of Sanity.As a multi-instrumentalist he is...
– drums, percussion (1998– 2004), guitars (2004–2006)
Discography
Studio albums- Resurrection Through CarnageResurrection through CarnageResurrection Through Carnage, released in 2002 on Century Media Records, is the first full album release from Swedish death metal group Bloodbath...
(2002) - Nightmares Made FleshNightmares Made FleshNightmares Made Flesh, released by Century Media Records in 2004, is the second album by Swedish death metal band Bloodbath.This album features Peter Tägtgren, who was brought in to replace Mikael Åkerfeldt as the vocalist, as well as Martin Axenrot to replace Dan Swanö as the drummer...
(2005) - The Fathomless MasteryThe Fathomless MasteryThe Fathomless Mastery is the third full length album by the Swedish death metal band Bloodbath. It is the first full length Bloodbath release to feature the new guitarist Per "Sodomizer" Eriksson. Former Scar Symmetry vocalist Christian Älvestam did guest vocals on the sixth track, "Iesous"...
(2008)
EPs
- Breeding DeathBreeding DeathProduced and engineered by Dan Swanö. Lyrics written by Mikael Åkerfeldt and Jonas Renkse. Recorded and mixed at The Sanctuary in Sweden.-Credits:*Mikael Åkerfeldt – vocals*Anders "Blakkheim" Nyström – guitar*Jonas Renkse – bass*Dan Swanö – drums...
(2000) - Unblessing the PurityUnblessing the PurityUnblessing the Purity is an EP by Swedish death metal supergroup Bloodbath on Peaceville Records. It is their first release since Resurrection Through Carnage to include Mikael Åkerfeldt on vocals. Per 'Sodomizer' Eriksson replaced Dan Swanö on guitar beginning with this EP. The cover art is by...
(2008)
Live
- The Wacken CarnageThe Wacken CarnageThe Wacken Carnage is a CD/DVD set of the death metal band Bloodbath at a very rare live appearance recorded on August 5, 2005 at the Wacken Open Air Festival in Germany....
(2008, CD/DVD) - Bloodbath Over BloodstockBloodbath Over BloodstockBloodbath Over Bloodstock is a live DVD by Swedish death metal band Bloodbath. It features the entire live set the band played at Bloodstock Open Air in August 2010. It was filmed by the production company The Dark Box...
(2011, DVD)