When formidable, critically acclaimed, heavily influential Swedish melodic death metal troupe and Earache recording artist
At the Gates decided to call it a day at the top of their game, three of its members quickly formed the Haunted. But what was still unclear was to whom vocalist
Tomas Lindberg would next lend his throaty growls. The answer to that question came in 1998 with the formation of
the Great Deceiver, a metallic quintet that treads a streamlined, hardcore path sharing a greater similarity to the Haunted's
Pantera-styled feel than
At the Gates' more traditionally metal-oriented melodic savagery. The band's sound is brutal, however, with its pounding rhythms, bone-rattling riffage, abrasive eagerness, and breakneck velocity. A Metal Hammer scribe likened
the Great Deceiver's sound to
Sepultura's landmark
Roots album "meets
Neurosis," which is perhaps not an inaccurate description of what these Swedes do.
The Great Deceiver's first recorded work -- the Jet Black Art mini-CD/10" EP -- surfaced in Europe on Swedish indie Bridge Records before it was licensed in 2000 by the more traditionally hardcore-oriented Trustkill in the United States. Original drummer Hans Nilsson left
the Great Deceiver shortly after the EP's completion, making the lineup consist of his replacement Kalle Anderson,
Lindberg, bassist Matti Lundell, and the dual guitar/songwriting team of Johan Osterberg and Kristian Wahlin. The band commenced writing material for their first full-length album shortly thereafter, halting for a time as
Lindberg lent his vocal talents to metal supergroup
Lock Up on tour after the band's vocalist quit to focus on other projects. In addition to
Lock Up (an outfit that has included members of
Napalm Death and
Dimmu Borgir, and at one point
Hypocrisy),
Lindberg was next seen fronting a band called
the Crown.
In interviews in late 2001,
Lindberg remarked that
the Great Deceiver was still going strong, despite his involvement in other bands. And in fact, the band's next album,
A Venom Well Designed, surfaced in mid-2002 via Peaceville, followed in the fall of 2003 by Terra Incognito. The Great Deceiver signed with Massachusetts-based Deathwish Inc the spring 2007 and readied their label debut, Life Is Wasted on the Living, for release that August. ~ Ryan J. Downey