THC Zine Spotlight: Afflicted – Prodigal Sun

by: R Ibanez

By 1992, Swedish death metal band Afflicted were ready to record and release their killer debut (wreck)ord, “Prodigal Sun”. Their three 7″ EP releases before were already laden with psychedelic rock and stoner classic rock but the death metal mix was more dominant.

Previously known as Afflicted Convulsion, the band simplified their name to Afflicted in 1990. After recording three earlier demos (Toxic Existence, Psychedelic Grindcore, and Beyond Redemption) things began to go more lysergic and experimental.

The first step was when they let go of original singer Martin Holm. Enter new vocalist Joakim Broms who recorded one 1990 demo, then their more or less official demo The Odious Reflection, and Wanderland, and three 7″ records, each progressing the growing disturbance of the psychedelic death metal abyss that finally culminated in this first full length.

On Prodigal Sun, the band had the proper alchemical mix done: it was still savage death metal but they’ve successfully fused the psyche rock elements and tripped out jams into their Stockholm DM framework. It was a heady and deadly brew that knocked out the Swedish Death Metal scene. Nuclear Blast released it with their stamp of approval in late ’92.

While the Swedish death metal scene was abuzz with the big 4 (Entombed, Dismember, Grave, Unleashed) and the savage Sunlight “chainsaw” HM-2 sound and aesthetics, Afflicted were different. They went the other route and made sharp experimental left turns but without abandoning the brutal death metal foundation of their early demos and 7″‘s.

This is what happens when 90s death metal dudes decide to explore LSD and DMT laden necro sounds into alternate dimensions. Minimal synths, wah and fuzz pedals, psyche and space rock solos, lysergic riffs, acoustic and sitar hashish meditation clash and mesh perfectly with blast beats, otherworldly death vomits, and sinister Swede-death riffs. This weird combination makes them a psycheprogdeath band at times. But it also makes them heavier, more dynamic, and yes, even more doobed out and mind-expanding Swedish old school death metal.

Oldschool death meets lysergic tripping sounds like Allman Brothers/Grateful Dead tripping on Swedish OSDM and vice versa. But in Afflicted’s alternate universe, it exists and it works.

To capture this otherworldly sound, Stockholm-sound engineer and producer Tomas Skogsberg and the infamous Sunlight Studios hosted the death trip recording sessions. Many people didn’t care for his production, but for some reason, the raw doomed out vibe and production made it sound more decrepit and just added to the atmosphere.

While their technical pieces cause mind-bending shifts in the brain, Afflicted knows how to balance their songwriting by not forgetting the power of the riff. They twist you into grotesque form with lysergic death trips and then return to their main hooks before building psychedelic noise washes and acid-death solo jams.

additional album information:

released on Nuclear Blast on December 1st, 1992

lineup:

Joakim Bröms – Vocals
Jesper Thorsson – Guitars
Philip von Segebaden – Bass
Joacim Carlsson – Guitars (also in General Surgery)
Yasin Hillborg – Drums (also in Crucifyre)

Tomas Skogsberg: Producer, Engineering, Mixing
Gottfrid Järnefors: Photos
Markus Staiger: Executive producer
Art Attack: artwork

One of their lead off tracks, “Consumed” is an example of that confusing description above. In just one song, Afflicted prove they can play killer 90s death but manage to trip out on DMT on their lunchbreak, and then reflect on it back on earth and then finish the song on a still brutal note.

It’s included on “Certified Death” a Philippine compilation of 90s death metal tracks produced by Universal Records (compiled by legendary death metal A&R staff Noel V. Lazo), some of which appeared on cassette releases in local record stores, along with hundreds of other releases.

The local label didn’t include (or didn’t press enough copies of) their album and opted to focus on the bigger and more popular Swedish DM releases (Entombed, Dismember, Grave, Unleashed, Tiamat and USA death metal).

It seemed this was the case in other territories during this time, even in metal magazines and zines. This made Afflicted a more cult and obscure entity in ’90s death metal. Sure, those other bands are brutal and earned more money and bigger crowds, but Afflicted could play circles around them and provide sinister psychedelic death metal that sounds like no one else to this day.