SPAWN OF POSSESSION

Technical Death Metal • Sweden

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Spawn of Possession rose from the ashes of various constellations in Feb. '97, consisting of Jonas Bryssling (guitar), Jonas Karlsson (guitar) and Dennis Röndum (drums). The whole idea of the band was to create Innovative Technical Brutal Death Metal. (And to play the most insane shit people have ever heard.)

After three years of dedicated song writing the band went to record their first demo, "The Forbidden", which got nothing but great responses and earned the band a respectful name in the death metal community world wide. Right after the release of "The Forbidden" the band found bass player Niklas Dewerud to fill the empty bass spot the band had suffered from since the start. A year later the band once again laid siege to the studio to record their second demo, "Church of Deviance" which got praised in every review it faced and in Dec.2001 Spawn of Possession signed read more...

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SPAWN OF POSSESSION Discography

SPAWN OF POSSESSION albums / top albums

4.12 | 9 ratings

Cabinet
Technical Death Metal 2003

SPAWN OF POSSESSION Noctambulant album cover

4.17 | 11 ratings

Noctambulant
Technical Death Metal 2006

3.77 | 17 ratings

Incurso
Technical Death Metal 2012

SPAWN OF POSSESSION EPs & splits

SPAWN OF POSSESSION The Forbidden album cover

3.00 | 2 ratings

The Forbidden
Technical Death Metal 2000

SPAWN OF POSSESSION live albums

SPAWN OF POSSESSION demos, promos, fans club and other releases (no bootlegs)

SPAWN OF POSSESSION Church of Deviance album cover

4.00 | 1 ratings

Church of Deviance
Technical Death Metal 2001

SPAWN OF POSSESSION re-issues & compilations

SPAWN OF POSSESSION singles (0)

SPAWN OF POSSESSION movies (DVD, Blu-Ray or VHS)

SPAWN OF POSSESSION Reviews

SPAWN OF POSSESSION Church of Deviance

Demo · 2001 · Technical Death Metal

UMUR

"Church of Deviance" is the second demo release by Swedish death metal act Spawn of Possession. The demo was independently released in September 2001. It succeeds "The Forbidden" demo from 2000. There´s been one lineup change since the first demo as bassist Niklas Dewerud has been added to the lineup, making Spawn of Possession a quartet on "Church of Deviance".

"Church of Deviance" features 3 tracks and a total playing time of 9:08 minutes. More is not needed though to convince the world of the greatness of Spawn of Possession. Jaw-dropping brutal and technical death metal, featuring constant rhythm changes, breaks, and an arsenal of fast-paced brutal riffs. Drummer Dennis Röndum also handles the vocals, and he has a mean and relatively intelligible growling vocal style, which suits the material perfectly. All three tracks on "Church of Deviance" would subsequently be re-recorded and included on the band´s debut full-length studio album "Cabinet" (2003), and that probably makes this demo a bit redundant today, but back then, two years before the release of "Cabinet" (2003), Spawn of Possession definitely put their name on the map.

"Church of Deviance" features a professional and well sounding production job. Every detail is audible in the mix, and there is a good balance between brutality and rawness and technical sophistication and complexity. Upon conclusion "Church of Deviance" is probably one of the most impressive death metal demo releases I have yet come by, and a 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

52 days ago
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SPAWN OF POSSESSION Noctambulant

Album · 2006 · Technical Death Metal

UMUR

"Noctambulant" is the 2nd full-length studio album by Swedish death metal act Spawn of Possession. The album was released through Neurotic Records in May 2006. It´s the successor to "Cabinet" from 2003 and features one lineup change as Spawn of Possession have added lead vocalist Jonas Renvaktar to the lineup. Drummer Dennis Röndum, who performed lead vocals on "Cabinet (2003)" is credited for additional vocals on "Noctambulant", but in reality he performed most of the vocals on the album.

Stylistically the material on "Noctambulant" continue the brutal technical death metal style of "Cabinet (2003)". There have been some development of style and Spawn of Possession have added some new musical ideas (which include some jazz/fusion influenced parts), but "Noctambulant" still feels like a natural successor to "Cabinet (2003)". Fast-paced staccato delivered growling vocals, some of the most inventive and twisted guitar work on the scene (some of these tracks sound like little is repeated twice), and some powerful and intricate precision drumming. This is not easily accessible music, and even for the genre (which is usually were busy and technical) it´s a challenging and sometimes difficult listen, as the music features constantly changing tempos and time signatures. How these guys remember how to play the material is beyond me. That´s how complex the tracks are on "Noctambulant".

The speed and dexterity are at times jaw-droppingly virtuosic. Spawn of Possession are a strong playing unit and all involved are extremely skilled at playing their instruments. The growling vocals are pretty standard for the genre though, and I´ll go as far as to call them the weak link of the music. More distinct sounding and intelligible growling vocals could definitely have made that part of the music more interesting. "Noctambulant" features a well sounding production, which is well suited for the material. It´s not too meaty and bottom deep, but more clear and detailed than what is standard for the genre.

Upon conclusion "Noctambulant" is a high quality brutal technical death metal release, which manages to stand out as original on the scene. As mentioned it´s a difficult listen, and it is sometimes a minor issue that it´s such a challenging listen, that the listener at times becomes almost disorientated. A few more hooks and catchy vocal phrases and a little more variation between tracks would have been welcome. Spawn of Possession have chosen the path of uncompromise though and as a consequence "Noctambulant" is more a musicians album made for other musicians than an album for the more casual death metal fan. You can decide for yourself if that´s a good or a bad thing. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

1 year ago
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SPAWN OF POSSESSION Cabinet

Album · 2003 · Technical Death Metal

UMUR

"Cabinet" is the debut full-length studio album by Swedish death metal act Spawn of Possession. The album was released through Unique Leader Records in January 2003. Spawn of Possession formed in 1997 and released "The Forbidden" demo in 2000 and the "Church of Deviance" demo in 2001. "Dirty Priest" from "The Forbidden (2000)" demo and all three tracks from the "Church of Deviance (2001)" demo are featured in re-recorded versions on "Cabinet".

Stylistically the music on "Cabinet" is ultra technical brutal death metal. Constantly shifting tempos, breaks, and unconventional time signatures are some of the main ingredients of the music. The riffs are strong, twisted, and very creative for the genre, the drumming is technical and sharp, and lead vocalist/drummer Dennis Röndum delivers a decent growling performance. The vocals are probably the least interesting feature on the album though, as they are fairly standard for the genre, but they get the job done fine and listening to some of the vocal rhythm patterns it shouldn´t be lost on the listener that Röndum is a drummer.

While "Cabinet" is certainly a very brutal death metal release, the album actually features a sound production which isn´t as bottom heavy and raw as many other contemporary releases in the genre. Initially I felt the album lacked a little power as a result of the production choices, but having given the album more spins I´ve arrived at the conclusion that the fact that the sound production is less massive and meaty than what is typical for the genre, makes the album stand out more, and it also has the advantage that all instruments and vocals are clearly defined in the mix. In other words "Cabinet" features a very well sounding production.

The material on "Cabinet" are well written and in some cases pretty catchy (well...relatively). This is not easy listening material by any means though, and the constantly changing tempos and breaks are bound to keep the listener on his/her toes throughout the playing time. There are some jaw-dropping technical moments on the album, but Spawn of Possession thankfully possess restraint too, which means they almost always incorporate a hook, a guitar solo, a melodic intro, or something else to prevent the listener from being overwhelmed and tired of listening to an album long tech fest. So upon conclusion "Cabinet" is one of those rare brutal technical death metal albums which stand out. There´s an original approach to the songwriting, the musicianship is through the roof, and the album also features an interesting production job. It´s a high quality release through and through and a 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

more than 2 years ago
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SPAWN OF POSSESSION The Forbidden

EP · 2000 · Technical Death Metal

UMUR

"The Forbidden" is the first demo release by Swedish death metal act Spawn of Possession. The demo is a self-released affair from 2000. It was distributed through Pama Records.

Spawn of Possession were formed in 1997 and listening to "The Forbidden" it´s obvious the band have had some years to hone their craft. The band are both technically well playing and they know how to write an effectful death metal tune too. Stylistically the music on the 4 track (one is a short intro), 13:10 minutes long demo is brutal technical death metal. Fast-paced drumming, brutal speedy riffing, and an unintelligible growling vocalist in front. There is very little here to call original, but Spawn of Possession do what they do well.

Considering that "The Forbidden" is a demo release the sound production is relatively well sounding. The drums have a touch of cardboard box tone and the rhythm guitars lack a bit of power, but it´s nothing serious, and "The Forbidden" is overall a well produced demo, which upon conclusion gives the listener a good idea of what Spawn of Possession are about. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.

more than 2 years ago
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SPAWN OF POSSESSION Incurso

Album · 2012 · Technical Death Metal

adg211288

Incurso is the third full-length album by Swedish technical death metal act Spawn of Possession. The album was released in 2012, their first in six years. The band’s line-up has been largely reworked in this time, leaving only two members of the band who performed on their last album Noctambulant (2006) still with the band on Incurso; guitarist Jonas Bryssling and drummer Dennis Röndum, the latter of which has switched to vocals.

Incurso is primarily a technical death metal release, as with the prior albums. It also draws very slightly on progressive death metal influences and, particularly in the closing track Apparition, symphonic death metal. The technical aspect is the main feature here though as the driving force behind the music.

While Incurso does set a very strong first impression because of the band’s excellent technical playing, which really is about as top grade as you’ll likely find, it is something of a double-edged sword in that after the initial good impressions have worn off it does start to feel like the band is using their technical prowess just because they can and while I do still enjoy the songs the band has provided on Incurso, I can’t help but consider it somewhat inferior to some of the other technical death metal releases I’ve encountered in the last couple of years. The musicianship is excellent and honestly unfaultable, and Dennis Röndum provides a strong if rather incomprehensible vocal performance. The real problem is that the songs lack a bit of proper death metal bite where the riffs are concerned for the most part due to the sheer amount of technical playing going on. That said the album doesn’t lack a brutal edge since the growling is deep and powerful.

There are however exceptions among the tracks which allow the album to remain in fairly high scored territory for me though. Apparition with its symphonic elements is about as good a closer for the album as Spawn of Possession could possibly have done and I also enjoy The Evangelist a lot although it does feel a bit overlong at times.

In short, I have enjoyed my experience with Incurso, and I think a praiseworthy score is in order. I don’t think on the other hand it will be a technical death metal album I return to much whenever I feel like hearing something out of the genre, and therein lies the biggest issue with Incurso; so much goes on where the technical playing is concerned that the majority of the tracks ultimately don’t leave much of a lasting impression as songs, and the album comes over as something of an indulgence. It is good, but it could easily have been great or better.

7.4/10

(Originally written for Heavy Metal Haven (http://metaltube.freeforums.org))