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Seance: Fornever laid to rest

08/12/11 || BamaHammer

Thanks to this very website and Lord K’s Pulitzer Prize worthy review of “Saltrubbed eyes”, I discovered Seance about five years ago, and I’ve practically worshiped them and everything they’ve done ever since. The only problem is that their entire catalog is only three full-lengths deep, and I find that an absolute shame because this is one of the most criminally underrated bands in death metal history.

Of course “Saltrubbed eyes” stands as this band’s trademark monument, complete with the legendary bass sound and undeniable groove. As much as I love that album (and it’s probably nowhere near as much as K does), I always craved more from these guys. I even thoroughly enjoy their 2009 release, “Awakening of the gods” (which is an easy find online these days) quite often despite the fact that it’s nowhere near “Eyes” in terms of quality, groove, production, songwriting, or really anything. It’s still an enjoyable album with more than a handful of memorable tracks (“They” is a death metal hit).

Tracking down “Fornever laid to rest” proved to be a bit more of a challenge, seeing as it’s pretty rare and a semi-sought after piece of Swedeath history. However, I finally got my mitts on it, and it is yet another gem in this band’s amazing crown. Even the cover is awesome, another Dan Seagrave painting of something one would only see in the Elder Scrolls, accented by one of the coolest band logos of all time in blue.

The first impression I got when I first played this album was that it is unmistakably Seance. Johan Larsson’s growls can only be described as simply classic Johan Larsson. In a genre where every guy with a mic sounds like every other guy with a mic, Larsson has crafted a style that is his own. Much like Erik Rundkvist of Vomitory or Jörgen Sandström, Larsson’s guttural grunts are instantly recognizable, and while they’re not the best in the scene by any means, they fit what Seance does to a tee.

The heart of Seance’s existence is without a doubt the groove, and that groove begins with the riffing. The reason I don’t hold “Awakening” in nearly the same regard as “Eyes” or this album is the obvious absence of Jensen on guitar. Tony Kampner is more than an adept guitarist, but what he brings to the table in playing skill and talent is somewhat offset by a lack of prolific songwriting skill. Granted, Kampner co-wrote a few excellent songs on “Fornever,” but he’s not even in the same league with Patrick Jensen in terms of songwriting groove and clearly can’t carry the band himself as evidenced by the band bringing Witchery’s Richard Corpse back onboard for “Awakening” to handle the majority of the songwriting duties. On this album, however, Jensen is at the height of his powers.

During the 1990s, Jensen was apparently a riff-writing machine. Essentially every single riff on “Eyes” was awesome, in my opinion. After heading in a decidedly thrashier direction later in the decade, his work on The Haunted’s first album was pretty good. Witchery’s first two albums were ace. Jensen just could not fail, and his contributions on Seance’s debut all the way back in 1991 were no exception.

Many of Jensen’s riffs have a very American death metal feel to them, and as a result, Seance is one of the least Swedish-sounding bands from Sweden. Many of the riffs even possess an Azagthothian (go ahead and add that to your death metal dictionary) weirdness about them that makes you listen harder to try to figure out what the fuck he’s doing. The opening riff of “Who will not be dead” has the fretboard-scaling range reminiscent of many technical American death metal bands, yet it delivers a catchiness that technicality usually ignores. And try listening to “Sin” and not be hypnotized by the groove. It’s just unreal.

This album also provides improved re-recorded versions of four of the five tracks from their “Levitised spirit” demo tape that I have no interest whatsoever in procuring, especially after the search for this album at a reasonable price. Those four tracks themselves are also four of the most brutal tracks I’ve heard from these guys.

Seance is really the impeccably perfect blend of American and Swedish death metal, and that makes them one of the most unique death metal bands you’ll find on either continent. They mix the aggression and brutality of Cannibal Corpse or Deicide with the groove and catchiness of Entombed or Dismember. I have a hard time speaking about this band with any kind of rationality simply because I’m such a huge fan of their work, but I will say that if you love death metal of any style and you’ve never heard Seance, you’re an idiot. If you dig Seance, but you’ve never taken the time to seek out “Fornever laid to rest,” you owe it to yourself to hear it. It’s one of the best pieces of death metal ever created. Is it better than “Saltrubbed eyes”, you ask? If I had to choose, I’d say no. It’s close, but no. But it’s still an incredible album.

And I know what you’re thinking, and the answer is no. Bino Carlsson’s bass sound is not even close to what it would become on “Eyes,” but it does sound really, really fucken good.

Information
Released: 1992
Label: Black Mark Production
Website: Seance MySpace
Band
Johann Larsson: vocals
Patrick Jensen: guitars
Tony Kampner: guitars
Bino Carlsson: bass
Mique Flesh: drums

Tracklist
01. Who Will Not Be Dead
02. Reincarnage
03. The Blessing of Death
04. Sin
05. Haunted
06. Fornever Laid to Rest
07. Necronomicon
08. Wind of Gehenna
09. Inferna Cabbala

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