Nihilist was one of a couple of bands who began the swedish death metal scene. Many of the guys who were a part of Nihilist later formed or played in legendary bands like Entombed and Unleashed. It all started out, when Nicke Andersson, later the drummer in Entombed, formed the band in 1987 together with Alex Hellid, now the guitarist in Entombed, and Leif "Leffe" Cuzner on bass. They recruited a guy called Mattias Boström to do the singing, but he was unstable and so the later Entombed singer, L.G. Petrov was asked to help them out. With this four piece lineup and Petrov as session vocalist, the band recorded their first demo in 1988, with some help on guitar by Uffe Cederlund, now the current guitar player in Entombed, but without Mattias as vocalist. After this, Mattias left the band. Petrov now became a permanent member of Nihilist, and a new bass player was introduced in Johnny Hedlund, who later formed the heathen death metal band Unleashed. Leif now took on the guitars, and with this constellation, Nihilist recorded their second demo in Sunlight Studios, and it was produced by Tomas Skogsberg, who had a great role to play in the sounds of the early swedish death metal and doom bands. Some months later Leif moved to Canada, and Uffe Cederlund was asked to become a permanent member, which he accepted. In august 1989 the third and last demo was recorded, and as the other members had some problems with bassplayer Johnny, they decided to break up the band. The other four guys stayed together though, but it was the end of Nihilist as they changed their name to Entombed. Nihilist 1989: L.G. Petrov, Johnny Hedlund, Nicke Andersson, Alex Hellid and Uffe Cederlund Premature Autopsy, Demo, 1988.  Rating: 60 A really good first demo by these swedish death metallers. The first two tracks, Sentenced To Death and Supposed To Rot were really groundbreaking at the time and no wonder, this sound and style were making big headlines back then in the underground community. These, the first Nihilist tracks ever released, were actually some of the best, Nihilist had to offer. Supposed To Rot is so good that it even made it to the first Entombed full length Left Hand Path under the same name. The last track is called Carnal Leftovers, and it can also be found in an Entombed version on their debut, but as a bonus track. Gryn made this review, and the rating only reflects this sick individual's oppinion. Only Shreds Remain, Demo, 1988.  Rating: 63 The three track Only Shreds Remain is their best demo, and it is kicked off by the great track Abnormally Deceased. Not surprisingly, as the bassist in Nihilist, Johnny Hedlund, later moved on to play in Unleashed, there can be heard a noticeable Unleashed sound on the second track, Revel In Flesh. In fact there is a more Unleashed like feeling on this demo than on the others, and that is also heard on the vocals, which, at least on Revel In Flesh, are very similar to those on the great Unleashed tribute to our heathen forefathers, Across The Open Sea. So similar that I suspect that Johnny also did the vocals on at least this track, as opposed to Lars Göran Petrov, who are usually considered as being the vocalist of Nihilist. The shreds that remained from Nihilist in the band Entombed can be heard on Alex Hellid's or Uffe Cederlund's solo on the last track, Face Of Evil. This distinct sound is being used in Entombed even today, and it's pretty interesting to experience hearing this. A really good demo, and I recommend you check it out, if you should one day be fortunate enough to get your hands on this one. The first two tracks are also on the Entombed debut. Gryn made this review, and the rating only reflects this sick individual's oppinion. Drowned, Demo, 1989.  Rating: 55 This demo, originally released on tape, was also released the exact same year on 7" vinyl, and it is from this release, the cover has been scanned. The demo cover only differs by the invertion of the 7"'s colours. Two tracks are presented on this demo, Severe Burns and When Life Has Ceased. They are both good death metal tracks with a few outbursts of fast tempo and you can hear the guys are getting more tight and precise in their play. Interesting it is also to hear their development in the sound, which is getting more Entombed like, so the demo is definitely worth a listen. When Life Has Ceased is also featured on the Entombed debut. There exists a rehearsal tape of this demo, that includes an unrealeased track recorded in the same session. This track, Morbid Devourment, is available on the 1989 bootleg Radiation Sickness. Gryn made this review, and the rating only reflects this sick individual's oppinion. Radiation Sickness, Bloody Rude Defect, 1989.  Rating: 61 We usually don't care to review bootlegs on Mother North, but when it comes to Nihilist, Radiation Sickness is too interesting to go unnoticed. Partly because Nihilist only recorded a scarce amount of tracks and three of them are only on this bootleg, but also because of the quality of these tracks. The 7" contains, as mentioned, three tracks. These were recorded during the Drowned recording session, and they were not released until this bootleg came out, a while after Nihilist's departure from death metal history. The title track Radiation Sickness is a cover of the band Repulsion, whom I know nothing about, but by the impression I get from the Nihilist cover, I would say that it is probably a punk band, and the "Oooh baby" outbreak at the closing surely made me laugh :). Track two is a re-recording of Face Of Evil from the Only Shreds Remain demo, but it doesn't sound that different really. The last track Morbid Devourment, sound like Dismember and Entombed because of the guitar sound, which is excellent, but also a lot like Unleashed. The production is obviously pretty bad, but that does not ruin the fact, that this is a great death metal track, probably the best, Nihilist made along with Supposed To Rot, Revel In Flesh and Face Of Evil. Entombed thought a great deal about this track aswell, as it is also featured on their debut. Radiation Sickness, with these three tracks, therefore must qualify as the best Nihilist release together with the second demo and the first demo as a close runner up, and it was rather ironic, that Nihilist didn't release it themselves. Gryn made this review, and the rating only reflects this sick individual's oppinion.

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