By Luis Fernando Ribeiro and Leandro Abrantes
Hailing from a country that has become an inexhaustible source and ultimate reference point for melodic death metal bands, the Swedish band Hellbound goes against the grain of this globally popular genre, showing us that the talent of their country's artists transcends the boundaries of these labels.
Founded in 2011 and having already released a studio album in 2013, the excellent "Through Hell And Muddy Waters," Hellbound began to gain significant international notoriety with the release of their most recent album, Overlords , in 2020, with particular emphasis on South America, which has received their music very well, being among the band's main audiences according to streaming platform statistics.
Undeterred by the extreme cold of northern Sweden, Hellbound, from the city of Umeå in the province of Västerbotten, treats us to their warm, vibrant music, full of contagious and inviting energy, forged from an unlikely combination that includes Rob Zombie, Lordi, Motörhead, Black Label Society , southern music and horror movies , but which in the talented hands of these five musicians works as if these elements were originally created to work together, resulting in something between heavy, groove and industrial metal.
Having gone through several lineup changes in its nearly ten-year history, the band's current formation consists of vocalist Michael Rudin, Henrik Mikaelsson and Mathias Nylén on guitars, Nicklas Bäckström on bass, and drummer David Ekevärn . In addition to this experienced team, the band's most recent release features the already established vocalists Ralf Scheepers ( Primal Fear ) and Anders Engberg ( Sorcerer ).
Overlords features two music videos, one for the title track and another for the exciting "Too Fast to Die," which perfectly introduce the band's sound. However, they don't fully capture what's found on the album, which, despite its straightforward sound, is full of nuances and elements that deserve special attention. Even the heavier songs are laden with elaborate artistic construction and highly competent songwriting – observe the grandeur of the keyboard solo at the end of "Out of Time" or the slower parts of "Seven Seas of Pain" – with melodies full of feeling , slowly built, memorable solos, grandiose arrangements, and a powerful rhythm section that doesn't take a backseat even when the guitars and vocals take center stage, showing a band completely prepared to conquer the world, just as many of their countrymen have already done.
You can check out Hellbound's work on all major streaming platforms and on the Bandcamp page , as well as watch the excellent music videos for "Overlords" and "Too Fast to Die" below.
