Nekrodawn, a Swedish death metal band, have made their mark with the release of their debut album, Sculpted By Torture, through Legions Of Bane. Formed in 2022 by death metal veteran Jonas Kjellgren, the band aims to deliver a brutal and innovative take on old-school death metal.
Bassist Johan Jansson discussed his gear and how he recorded the album. “On the album recording, I played a Warwick RB Vampyre 4. It has a 35-inch scale length, which is great for the Drop-G tuning we use. The onboard active electronics work well for adding some bite to the tone. It fills out the low end without ‘farting out,’ so to speak. Live, I use my Schecter Stiletto Extreme-4, four-string bass, because it’s much nicer to play a normal scale length, plus the Warwick is ugly as hell.”
The Schecter Stiletto Extreme-4 features a 34-inch scale length, a thin “C” shaped maple neck, and a rosewood fretboard with pearloid and abalone vector inlays. It has 24 X-Jumbo frets and a 16-inch radius. The body is made of mahogany with a quilted maple top and a bolt-on construction. It includes Schecter Diamond Bass pickups, an active 2-band EQ, and a 9-volt battery compartment. The hardware is black chrome, and it uses a Diamond Bass bridge.
Discussing the recording process, Jansson explained, “On the album, we tracked the bass through a Neve 1073 with some EQ on the DI track, plus some UAD 1176 compression. The signal is split, one track is Neve-DI and the other is an old Marshall JMP 100-watt guitar amp for some grit to make it cut through the wall of guitars.”
Sculpted By Torture features a variety of styles, from fast and brutal to slow and doomier tracks. Jansson described his approach to the bass lines: “Ninety percent of the bass lines are just backing up the guitars or locking in tight with the drums, but every now and then some parts have room for extra bass fills. The most important thing for that crushing bass power is to hit it at least as hard as Danny Lilker and not play softly on the strings like someone’s grandma with arthritis.”
The track Origin Of Terror was the first single released from the album. Jansson explained its significance: “I think it was chosen because it includes both fast and heavy parts that represent the whole album.”
Recording at Black Lounge Studios with Jonas Kjellgren was an important step for the band. Jansson reflected on this collaboration: “Jonas and I have known each other for ages now. We played together in both Dellamorte, Centinex, and Sideburners. You already know that it will be a killer sound at Black Lounge with Jonas, so the end result wasn’t such a surprise.”
Nekrodawn have made the album available in various formats, including LP, CD, and cassette. Jansson stated, “All releases should always include all formats, I think. People prefer different formats, so it’s good for everyone.”
For those new to Nekrodawn, Sculpted By Torture encapsulates the band’s essence. “If you’re into heavy and catchy brutal death metal, you should check out Nekrodawn. A second album is almost written, so keep your eyes open!”
