Selfmindead
Eskilstuna, Sweden8 reviews across 2 releases
Selfmindead was a hardcore band formed in Eskilstuna, Sweden, in the winter of 1994-95. Its early music combined heavy grooves with flowing rap rhythms without becoming rapcore, while distorted vocals remained unusually intelligible. The 1997 debut, Selfmindead, used loud guitars, pounding bass and drums, frequent tempo changes, pauses, feedback and disjoint rhythms to create a dense but carefully arranged sound. Its lyrics moved between anguish and religious hope, including warnings about technology and direct appeals to self-respect. Reviewers compared the guitar weight to Korn and Deftones, but also noted the band's own identity and song variety. By At the Barricades We Fall in 2000, Selfmindead had moved from technical, fractured metalcore toward a more direct hardcore approach, with fewer start-stop passages and a fuller, less metallic attack.
Tapani Hoikkaniemi left after the debut, and Emil Nikolaisen took over bass before departing during the writing of At the Barricades We Fall. Marko Hautakoski moved from drums to guitar, with Tommy Akerholdt filling the drum position and Even Steven playing bass for a period. Hakon Sverre Nakken and Michal Backrud later became the more permanent rhythm section, after which the band toured in Europe and the United States. Selfmindead played its last known show in Eskilstuna in August 2002 and ended on March 22, 2003. Ilkka Viitasalo and Hautakoski formed Benea Reach, while Timo Sillankorva began the electronic project Tiikeri. The original group reunited for Norwegian shows in 2014 and appeared at the Brainstorm Festival in the Netherlands in November 2016.
2 releases reviewed
At the Barricades We Fall