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Unmoored - Biography


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1999-

Biography

In the fall/winter of 1993, guitarist/vocalist Christian Älvestam, guitarist Rickard Larsson and bassist Torbjörn Öhrling decided to put their own death metal band together and it was not long before Unmoored went with all sails set. A couple of songs were made and recorded, even though the trio were suffering from the absence of a drummer and consequently had to tape the whole thing with the poor help from a drum-machine. The demo entitled "Wood Chuck Tune" turned out to be more of a pointer in the individual process of developing and expanding the musical elements, rather than a self-evident milestone.

Not until the spring of 1995 a drummer was recruited and with the line-up now complete a new demo called "In The Shadows Of The Obscure" was recorded in the summer that same year. It showed a more progressive side of the band, containing less brutality than its predecessor. Instead the quartet tried to focus more on dynamics and harmonies this time around, experimenting with a view to musically ripen, but still they felt like there was something missing.

After some soulsearching months the material for the third and final demo to date, "More To The Story Than Meets The Eye", slowly but surely started to come about. Being recorded and released in the summer of 1997, the demo was generally very well received. It got the band contracted and in the winter that same year, "Cimmerian" was recorded at Sunlight studios under the engineering eye of Tomas Skogsberg. An album summoning up all the past efforts of combining death metal with thrash and heavy metal. For various reasons the album was delayed and wasn't released through Pulverised Records, until the early summer of 1999. During this time the band went through some critical, as well as important changes. They parted way with drummer Niclas Wahlén, among other things. Luckily Jocke Pettersson, co-producer of "Cimmerian", was willing to help out. With his skilled technique and experience gained from drumming in bands, such as Thy Primordial and Dawn, he reinforced the band in the preparations for their second album, entitled "Kingdoms Of Greed". It was recorded and produced by Tommy Tägtgren at the Abyss studios during two isolated weeks in October 1999. A quite intense work of art, way more brutal then its predecessor, yet without lacking the significant melodic atmosphere "Cimmerian" consisted of to a great extent. The album was released in the summer the following year and has to date been very well received all around the world.

In the beginning of 2001, Henrik Schönström joined the band as their new drummer. With the line-up now once again complete, a few gigs were made, before guitarist Rickard Larsson and bassist Torbjörn Öhrling felt they had played out and therefore chose to call it a day, in the summer of 2001. Shortly after their resignation, Tomas Johansson was recruited as the band's new solo-guitarist, turning the remaining duo into a trio.

Since the deal with Pulverised Records had been finished off for quite some time, preparations were made for a new promotional recording, with a view to try, finding a new suitable label. A promo, simply going under the name of "Promo 2001", was recorded at a local studio, in the late summer of 2001. It contains two new songs, still consisting of all the elements developed throughout the years, a bit more progressive and dynamical this time around though. After months of negotiating with major labels, unable to make up their craving-for-money-minds, a deal was made with the somewhat smaller, but way more dedicated and determined Italian label Code666. What is yet to be is prologue!

(Source: http://www.unmoored.com/mainframe.htm)