Crypt Of Kerberos

Crypt of Kerberos was formed in October 1990 in Eskilstuna, Sweden, from the ashes of their former group Macrodex. After a short time of rehearsals the group got offered to release a 7? EP on the small obscure underground label Sunable Records. This resulted in the ?Visions Beyond Darkness? EP (limited to 500 copies). The release of the vinyl single left a lot to be wished for as the whole pressing was heavily distorted.

In 1991 the group recorded one unreleased demo cassette entitled ?From The Abyss?. The first official release from Crypt Of Kerberos was ?Demo 91?, the tape which contained four songs proved to be popular with tape traders across the globe. The band performed concerts with among others Bolt Thrower, At The Gates and Unleashed.

Guitarist Johan was removed from his position and Jonas Strandell was recruited to fill the position. Only a couple of months after the first demo hit the underground it was time for the second tape. This time it was named ?Promo 91? and contained five tracks. This release was mainly spread to record labels. These songs showed a huge improvement in the groups ability, both as song writers, musicians and production wise.

In late 1991 the group was approached by French record company Adipocere Records and after some negotions the group signed for one 7? EP and one full length CD. The EP was recorded in Studio Skyline in February 1992. After the recording, drummer Mikael Sjöberg left the group. The EP featured a cover designed and made by bass player Stefan Karlsson.

In May 1992 former Embryo drummer Mattias Borgh officially joined the group. Rehearsals and writing sessions for the debut album commenced.

In July 1992 the 7" EP was released by Adipocere. It featured the songs "Cyclone Of Insanity" and "The Ancient War". The single received fine reviews from the international press, especially the guitar playing was highly praised.

In August of 1992 the band traveled to Finland to play their first concert abroad. The band headlined a sold out concert in Rihim?ki with among others Beherit, Adramelech and some local acts.

In early September Jessica Strandell joined Crypt Of Kerberos on keyboards. With Jessica onboard the group wrote and rehearsed album opener ?The Canticle? and the instrumental song ?The Sleeping God?.

On the fourth of January 1993 Crypt Of Kerberos entered Studio Skyline to record the ?World of Myths? album. Most of the instruments were recorded live onto a twenty four channel analogue machine. Only vocals and guitar solos (and some acoustic guitars) were dubbed. Recording and mixing was completed in just five short days.

The line-up was:

Christian Eriksson: Vocals
Peter Pettersson: Guitar
Jonas Strandell: Guitar
Stefan Karlsson: Bass
Jessica Strandell: Keyboards
Mattias Borgh: Drums

One day before mixing the album the group played a concert with among others Eternal Darkness, Utumno, Adramelech and Demigod. The live pictures on the CD booklet of World of Myths were taken during this concert.

When the recording session was finished the group took a short break from rehearsals.

As the six piece band got together for rehearsing and writing new material, it was quite evident that both Jonas and Jessica wanted to play more heavy material. While the rest of the group wanted to write more melodically and rhythmically intriguing songs. After some serious discussions both Jonas and Jessica left the group. By then the calendar pointed on March 1993.

Just a few weeks later bass player Stefan Karlsson decided to leave as well, this was around late April 1993.

Johan Hallgren and Marcus Pedersen who had just left the band Infester joined the group in May 1993 on guitar and bass respectively.

Album track ?The Canticle? was included on the ?Against All Gods? compilation CD released in June 1993 by Displeased Records.

In September 1993 Adipocere Records released ?World of Myths?. The virtuoso guitar shredding combined with melodies so strong that they could wake the dead made way for great critical acclaim. The album was distributed in the bigger part of Europe and in the USA.

During the Halloween weekend in October 1993 the new line-up played a concert in V?ster?s.
This was the last time they would perform material from their debut album. During the concert the new line-up played a handful of new songs. It was evident that the band had changed their style quite a lot from their debut album. This became the final concert featuring singer Christian Eriksson.

In November 1993, after writing five new songs, Crypt Of Kerberos entered Studio Underground, which was a semi professional sixteen track studio literally around the corner of their rehearsal place. Prior to the recording sessions Jonas Strandell rehearsed with the new line-up. He was to have recorded keyboards for the new songs. The songs were longer and much more complex in their character. The influence of progressive music started to be heard even more than before.

The recording was aborted after having finished the basic tracking. Vocalist Christian Eriksson wanted to and did step out from the group. The recording itself was never finished and the songs just exists as very rough mixes.

When the remaining members performed an instrumental concert featuring the new material they met singer/guitarist Daniel Gildenlöw. After some discussions he joined the band as the new vocalist.

Just some week later bass player Marcus Pedersen left the band, in order to focus more on playing contra bass he relocated to Stockholm.

Stefan K?llarsson from the then put to sleep House of Usher entered as the new bass player. Peter Jansson was recruited as the new keyboardist. From here on the music took an abrupt change in its direction. The group started writing completely new material for an upcoming concept album with the working title ?Nadia?.

The 1994 line-up was:

? Daniel Gildenl?w: Vocals
? Peter Pettersson: Guitar
? Johan Hallgren: Guitar
? Stefan K?llarsson: Bass
? Peter Jansson: Keyboard
? Mattias Borgh: Drums

In July of 1994 four songs were recorded on a four track machine as pre-production material.
In August the group once again entered Studio Skyline to record one of the new songs with a bit bigger production. The song was called ?Temptation Denial?. Former keyboardist Jessica Strandell came in as a guest musician to record some cello parts.

Since the formation of the new line-up, the group felt it had little to do with the well known Crypt Of Kerberos sound. After some brainstorming the band decided to be reborn bearing a new name.

In December of 1994 the new six piece line-up played a show with some local bands. This show was the first and last to be played with the new band name: Stigmata Martyr. Crypt Of Kerberos was officially no more!

In 2005 Australian record label Bleed Records released ?The Macrodex of War?. This compilation CD featured newly re-mastered recordings spanning from 1990 until 1994. Drummer Mattias Borgh got in touch with guitarist Peter Bj?rg? (formerly Pettersson) and some discussions about playing together once again arose.

In January 2006 the group met up at Bj?rg?'s Erebus Odora studio. The official announcement of the Crypt Of Kerberos reactivation spread like wildfire a few months later. After a paus in the writing of new material, the band is currently preparing to enter Bj?rg?'s Erebus Odora studio to record new material!

Crypt Of Kerberos anno 2009:

Christian Eriksson: Vocals
Peter Bjärgö: Guitar
Jonas Strandell: Guitar
Stefan K?llarsson: Bass
Mattias Borgh: Drums

Official site: http://www.cryptofkerberos.com