One of the unsung early champions in Sweden's thriving death metal scene of the early '90s, God Macabre was formed by vocalist Per Boder, guitarist Ola Sjoberg, bassist Tomas Johansson, and drummer Niklas Nilsson. Originally calling themselves Macabre End, the foursome, like many of their friends, wound up at Stockholm's Sunlight Studios, where engineer Tomas Skogsberg (soon to become a scene icon himself) helped them record a three-song demo in September 1990. Fast-forward to a year later, and the group had significantly refined their post-grindcore rumble into a subtly melodic, tightly performed, yet still furious barrage of sound. Recorded in December 1991 (with guitarist/bassist Jonas Stalhammer replacing Johansson), The Winterlong boasted all of the sonic traits which would come to epitomize the classic Swedish death metal style, later made famous by the likes of Dark Tranquility, At the Gates, and the awesome Entombed. Unfortunately, the album was never released outside Sweden and quickly faded into obscurity as the band fell apart. It would, however, finally be released a decade later by Relapse Records, which also saw fit to include the band's demo recordings to boot. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia, Rovi
