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Afflicted (band)

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Afflicted
OriginSweden
Genres
Years active1988–1995
Labels
MembersMichael Van Der Graaf
Jesper Thorsson
Joacim Carlsson
Philip Von Segebaden
Yasin Hillborg
Past membersJoakim Bröms

Afflicted was a technical death metal band from Sweden, active in the early 1990s. They were part of the Swedish death metal scene, though overshadowed by better-known bands like Entombed, Dismember and Tiamat.[1]

Hailing from Stockholm, the band was formed on the basis of a defunct band Defiance. The band was known as Afflicted Convulsion from 1988 to 1990. Their first demo Beyond Redemption came in 1990, followed by their first single "Ingrained" the same year. The single "Wanderland" from 1992 was released on Relapse Records. The same year, the band struck a record deal with Nuclear Blast. Here, their first album was released, Prodigal Sun in 1992. Later, the band decided to scrap death metal for a more melodic style, notably changing its singer from Joakim Bröms to Michael Van Der Graaf.[2] The change in style to power metal was evident already in 1994, when Afflicted was represented on the Nuclear Blast compilation Summer Blast 1994. This was before HammerFall revived power metal in Sweden.[3] The band quit around the same time as releasing Dawn of Glory in 1995.[4]

Prodigal Sun was marked 3 out of 5 by Swedish newspaper Expressen. While the album was "clearly worthy of buying", the reviewer advised to avoid the "first edition, whose mix is catastrophal".[5] Dawn Of Glory could only beget a one-star review from Aftonbladet: "Here, honour, vikings and battle is the order of the day, when the Swedes peel off as good as all death metal, and revert to the eighties' metal. Unfortunately, Afflicted mix the worst from both styles, and the result is thin and lame, even sonically. In addition, I miss the essential twinkle in the eye".[6] In another negative review, Death Metal Underground noted that "This is not metal all. This is rock n’ roll. This, sounds like an attempt at commercialization.[7] Both albums were also reviewed by Rock Hard.[8][9]

When Metal Mind Productions re-released Prodigal Sun in 2008, a reviewer for Teeth of the Divine noted that the band had been severely overlooked in its time. "Prodigal Sun (1992) contained eleven mind-blowing tracks, ranging from slow-paced death metal monsters to fast, thrash-influenced bulldozers". While being "extremely heavy", the album also featured "complex structure" with unusual musical references such as "Arabic folk music".[2] Wrote Death Metal Underground, the intro and subsequent melodies on the album took the listener to "an ancient Egyptian landscape".[7]

The drummer Yasin Hillborg worked several years on a documentary about metal music, Så jävla metal [sv], which premiered in 2011.[1] Philip Von Segebaden started the project Defender, which released an album in 1999. He had also played in Cranium.[10]

Members

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  • Michael Van Der Graaf - vocals
  • Jesper Thorsson - guitar
  • Joacim Carlsson - guitar
  • Philip Von Segebaden - bass
  • Yasin Hillborg - drums

Discography

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References

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  1. ^ a b Söderlund, Fredrik (7 October 2011). "Järnkoll på svensk metal". Helsingborgs Dagblad (in Swedish).
  2. ^ a b "Afflicted – re-release of the debut album". Teeth of the Divine. 9 June 2008.
  3. ^ Pacheco, George (27 February 2020). "Forgotten Lore: 20 Essential Metal Compilation Albums". Outburn Magazine.
  4. ^ Hill, Gary. "Afflicted Biography". Allmusic.
  5. ^ Prodigal Sun review, Expressen 14 October 1992
  6. ^ Dawn of Glory review, Aftonbladet 31 March 1995
  7. ^ a b Clark, Sawyer (22 July 2018). "Afflicted". Death Metal Underground.
  8. ^ Prodigal Sun review, Rock Hard
  9. ^ Dawn of Glory review, Rock Hard
  10. ^ Henderson, Alex. "Defender Biography". Allmusic.
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