Entombed A.D.: Forever Roaming The Left Hand Path
For fans of European death metal, ENTOMBED are a household name. Left Hand Path and Clandestine are genre classics that helped define the uniquely Swedish style of death metal. However, following a schism in the band in the early 2010s, founding vocalist Lars “LG” Petrov has been carving his own path with super-group FIRESPAWN and his own off-shoot of ENTOMBED under the moniker ENTOMBED A.D.. With three FIRESPAWN albums and two ENTOMBED A.D. albums under his belt since the breakdown of the original ENTOMBED line-up, Petrov is feeling more positive than ever as he prepares to unleash the third ENTOMBED A.D. album upon the world – Bowels Of Earth.
“Sometimes it takes a couple of albums to find your own identity and find where your comfort zone is. FIRESPAWN and ENTOMBED A.D. are two different bands, so of course they’re going to sound different but I like it! It’s a challenge, having two different voices. I’ve just got to work hard for both, and see what the future holds, you can never know.” Petrov remarks on the quality of his most recent albums.
Petrov’s legacy is long, and, as with any artist, it’s hard to avoid comparisons with their current bands to the ones that kickstarted their careers. But for Petrov, the listening transition from ENTOMBED to ENTOMBED A.D. is more clear cut. “I see ENTOMBED A.D. as a continuation. It’s just that we are actually doing stuff. We have three albums out, and I’ve even had time for FIRESPAWN. If you use the time you have correctly, you can actually come up with a result within a reasonable time span.” He offers, his jovial tone turning a bit more serious. “We’re not the band right now that wants to wait around for 10 years between every album. We want to release the album, tour for two years, and then start making new riffs for the next album. We’re pretty fast in moving forward!”
Pretty fast would be putting it mildly. In the space of just five years, Petrov has released six albums between his two bands; a stark contrast to the ongoing wait for new material from ENTOMBED proper. But despite a desire and drive to move ever forward, Petrov has no problem looking back to his genre-defining debut, which will be celebrating its 30th birthday next year.
“Fucking hell, 30 years… Wow. It’s good we figured it out when we were young!” He laughs, before taking a more thoughtful tone. “Left Hand Path came at the right time. There’s some great songs on it, and it turned out to be a classic, so people say. Back at the time we were like, 15, 16, we were just happy to play music, making demos and stuff like everybody did. To get a record deal was the biggest thing, holding your first vinyl in your hands…. And up to this day, when you hold a new vinyl or CD in your hands, it’s like, ‘Hey, we created this!’ It has the same feelings, it’s very cool.”
With the release of Bowels Of Earth quickly approaching, it’s clear Petrov is eager to get back on the road again. In October, ENTOMBED A.D. will be doing an extensive European run with label mates ABORTED and BAEST – starting with the sole UK date at The Dome in London. His excitement to getting back on tour and his enthusiasm for the new material is obvious. “I want to be able to play every song! Basically, we want to rehearse as many songs as possible so we can choose every night. I mean, we’re not going to play the whole album live, obviously, but if we have five or six of the new songs down, then you can pick out which ones you play randomly for every show.”
A road warrior with a passion for life, Petrov lives death metal. While it would be a bit idealistic to suggest there is no weight to the grumpy stereotype of OG extreme metal fans who can’t see past the glory days of yesteryear, Petrov has nothing but excitement for the next generation of death metal bands to come in the future. “You can see in Sweden, when we play shows where underage kids can come and see us, you see a lot of youngsters with their dads, and they have the old death metal patches on their little vests – it’s very cool!” He laughs. “There’s definitely a new wave of youngsters coming into the scene… judging by the people coming to the shows I think has to be some bands around from the new wave of Swedish death metal. It’s looking good… If I find a new band that I like, like BAEST, for example, then I go and support them by picking a CD or by buying a t-shirt. Everybody helps each other out.”
But do not mistake his excitement for the next generation as an eagerness to pass the torch. His career may span three decades, he may be one of the genre’s founding voices this side of the pond, and there may be plenty of young blood more than able to jump to the genre’s top tier, but Petrov has no intention of slowing down. “I’ve been doing this for 30 years now… Why not 30 years more!”
What were the themes you wanted to explore or the stories you wanted to tell within the lyrics of Bowels Of Earth?
Lars: It’s basically the same: we write about what life gives you, the positive and negatives that come with it. Bourbon Nightmare, for example. We went to Mexico and played with DEICIDE and DARK TRANQUILITY. Of course, we expected tequila on the rider, but we got bourbon instead! [laughs] After the show, we got drunk on that, and Guilherme [Miranda], our guitarist, said he wanted to write a song about it – it can be pretty simple sometimes! [laughs] And some of the songs… We play death metal, so we write about death, you know how it goes!
With both ENTOMBED A.D. and FIRESPAWN, you seem to be really hitting your stride with the albums you’re releasing in 2019. Are you starting to feel optimistic about the future for both bands?
Lars: Yeah, sometimes it takes a couple of albums to find your own identity and find where your comfort zone is. It shouldn’t be too technical – we’ve never been technical in that sense! FIRESPAWN and ENTOMBED A.D. are two different bands, so of course they’re going to sound different but I like it! It’s a challenge, having two different voices. I’ve just got to work hard for both, and see what the future holds, you can never know. The only thing you can do is work for it. As long as you find it fun, go for it! I’ve been doing this for 30 years now… Why not 30 years more! [laughs]
In your mind, do you see ENTOMBED A.D. as a continuation of ENTOMBED, or a separate band entirely?
Lars: No, I see it as a continuation. It’s just that we are actually doing stuff. We have three albums out, and I’ve even had time for FIRESPAWN. If you use the time you have correctly, you can actually come up with a result within a reasonable time span. We’re not the band right now that wants to wait around for 10 years between every album. We want to release the album, tour for two years, and then start making new riffs for the next album. We’re pretty fast in moving forward! We [still play the classics as well]. We do the whole thing, Left Hand Path, Clandestine, Wolverine Blues. People want to hear it, and we want to play it. We have we have a good set list with a mix [of the original ENTOMBED songs and ENTOMBED A.D. material], and we play different songs every night. So far, people seem to like the mix!
The Stockholm death metal scene in the late 80s/early 90s was one of the most prolific scenes in heavy music. Back in the NIHILIST/early ENTOMBED days, did you have a feeling that you were creating something special, or are you still a bit surprised at the influence Left Hand Path has had over the last 30 years?
Lars: Fucking hell, 30 years… Wow. It’s good we figured it out when we were young! [laughs] Left Hand Path came at the right time. There’s some great songs on it, and it turned out to be a classic, so people say. Back at the time we were like, 15, 16, we were just happy to play music, making demos and stuff like everybody did. To get a record deal was the biggest thing, holding your first vinyl in your hands. Then things turned out the way they did. We’re all just happy. When people say this album is a classic, or we are legends, we’re just like “Okay… thank you?” [laughs] We don’t see it like that, but I can understand why some people might, so it’s cool. And up to this day, when you hold a new vinyl or CD in your hands, it’s like, “Hey, we created this!” It has the same feelings, it’s very cool.
DISMEMBER are doing some shows now and having some kind of reunion, and GRAVE are out playing, so is UNLEASHED. We’re just following each other. We meet at festivals and stuff, and everyone is basically the same as we were 25 years ago. You can see in Sweden, when we play shows where underage kids can come and see us, you see a lot of youngsters with their dads, and they have the old death metal patches on their little vests – it’s very cool! [laughs] There’s definitely a new wave of youngsters coming into the scene.
Are you still involved in the death metal scene in Stockholm when you are not on tour, and are there any bands coming up in the scene you are particularly impressed by?
Lars: I live not so far from the venue with most bands play. There’s KING DIAMOND playing there next week, I’m very excited for that. For new bands, to be honest, I haven’t really heard many new ones. In Stockholm there is a shortage of rehearsal rooms, which is bad. But judging by the people coming to the shows I think has to be some bands around from the new wave of Swedish death metal. It’s looking good. Just check on the internet! That’s also a little bit of the fun, when you just stumble upon something and think “Oh, this is cool!” You then check to see if the band is still active, if not then you need to search for their stuff a bit harder. Old demos can be really hard to get. But if I find a new band that I like, like BAEST, for example, then I go and support them by picking a CD or by buying a t-shirt. Everybody helps each other out.
Bowels Of Earth is out now via Century Media Records. ENTOMBED A.D. are featured in our latest digital issue. Subscribe to our Patreon Page to access it.
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