Entombed - Clandestine

Entombed were in turmoil when they made Clandestine, yet the 1991 album became a cornerstone of Swedish death metal and one of the genre's most distinctive records.

Original vocalist L-G Petrov had been fired before recording, and although Johnny Dordevic was credited on the sleeve as the new singer, drummer Nicke Andersson actually handled every vocal on the album. Released on Earache, the Stockholm band's second album was produced by Tomas Skogsberg alongside the band, and it locked in the massively distorted guitar tone that would come to define the Swedish sound. Dan Seagrave's eerie cover art sealed its mystique.

The songs are longer and more twisting than on the debut, with riffs that lurch from crushing grooves into sudden bursts of speed. Opener "Living Dead" sets a grim tone, "Sinners Bleed" stretches out with tempo shift after tempo shift, and "Evilyn" proves death metal could carry a memorable hook. A re-recorded "Crawl," first heard on an EP, rounds out a set built for repeated, headbanging study.

Uffe Cederlund and Alex Hellid's guitars sound like they were dragged through a crypt and back, while Lars Rosenberg's bass adds a thick, rumbling floor.

For death metal fans, it remains essential, the second half of one of the genre's mightiest opening runs.