Forhekset: Cliff Hanging Eulogies

Whether it was formed among a group of friends during high school or a merger between various bands, only a handful of these hopefuls attempting to live the dream and emulate their idols will go on to the desired path and play in festivals on a constant basis. Yet the road to stardom is strewn with nails along the way, threatening to burst their tyres and derail the band off their tracks with individual members leaving at some point of time or have their Fate being decided by the grim reapers of Fate and fickle music listeners. Is the death of a member both literally and metaphorically spell the end of a band? Or does it spur them on to continue their passion in memory of their fallen comrade?



With a long standing history which began at the tailend of the 80s and with a frontman in the form of Jon Nödtveidt who started out promoting black metal bands in native Sweden as a music journalist, Dissection was one of the pioneers in extreme music and spawning a host of bands which included At The Gates as the Scandinavian nation followed the likes of Norway and Denmark in establishing a strong foothold in Europe. Aside from Dissection, Nödtveidt also appeared in several other bands such as De Infernali, Terror and Opthalamia (under the guise of Shadow) just to name a few but despite a stint in prison after being convicted of murder, he did not waste time in going under the radar and quickly reformed Dissection and released an EP (Maha Kali) followed by a full length album in 2006 (Reinkaos) with the band looking poised to make a comeback and reclaim their spot as one of the foremost extreme metal bands in Sweden. Sadly, their promising return was nothing more but a brief flicker of hope as Nödtveidt ended his own life by suicide on 16 August 2006 with the remaining members of the band deciding to call it a day soon as Set Teitan and Thomas Asklund moving on to other projects. But Jon Nödtveidt was not forgotten in a flash as fellow Swedes Deathstars dedicated the song Via The End from their Night Electric Night in memory of him with bassist Nightmare Industries being his younger brother (Emil Nödtveidt) bequeathing a fitting eulogy. The same tragedy was faced with Damageplan as guitarist Dimebag Darrell Abbott was fatally shot onstage by one Nathan Gale just when he and his brother Vinnie Paul Abbott was about to begin a fresh start following the demise of their former band Pantera with Damageplan providing that opportunity to continue their love for music and sharing the stage together as siblings with bassist Bob Zilla and vocalist Pat Lachman completing the quartet. While their future looks uncertain, the likelihood of a subsequent record release is becoming near impossible as Bob and Vinnie Paul are currently busy with HELLYEAH while Pat is running his own music clinic. The hand of death also robbed a promising band of their most treasured member as drummer Witold "Vitek" Kiełtyka from Polish metal band Decapitated was killed in a road accident and died a few days later on 2nd November 2007 with vocalist Adrian "Covan" Kowanek going into a coma and while he was able to avoid death, his recovery was slower than expected and with Decapitated announcing the decision to go on hiatus, it looked as though the Grim Reaper added another fatality into his list by premature death



But the journey for Decapitated did not end just there despite taking 2 years before emerging from the depths of despair. Making up for lost time that was spent grieving over the loss of their members, guitarist Wacław "Vogg" Kiełtyka decided to gather up the shattered pieces and reassembled a new line up as part of his efforts to revitalise the once promising Polish band. Thankfully for them, their record label Nuclear Blast records and management company Hard Impact Music stood by their side in times of turmoil and the band has announced dates to tour in Europe and metal festivals with the intention to release a new album at the same time, showing their testament to continue the hard work in memory of Vitek. But they were definitely not the first band to continue working together in spite of tragedy as black metal icons Mayhem faced a spate of deaths throughout its tenure as a band with suicide and murder threatening to tear them apart. Formed in 1984, the Oslo based band from the Scandinavian nation of Norway, Mayhem's first brush with death came in 1988 when vocalist Per Yngve Ohlin (Dead) joined the band in place of Maniac who left the band due to depression but his stint with the band only lasted for 3 years as signs of his strange demeanour and onstage artillery of broken glasses and hunting knives providing a clear indicator. On 8 April 1991, Dead tried out the aforementioned knives but when it became apparent that it was blunt enough to penetrate, a rifle was used instead and the bullet to his dead provided the escape to the afterlife which Dead yearned for. Attila Csihar from Tormentor and Varg Vikernes (Burzum) were soon recruited with the latter in place of Necrobutcher who left soon after the death of Dead and it was Varg who became the cause of founder Øystein Aarseth (Euronymous) departure on 10 August 1993 as he was murdered Euronymous and was arrested soon after, spending 21 years in prison and Mayhem was on the verge of extinction. It was up to Hellhammer to hold the fort and continued carrying the burning torch as Maniac and Necrobutcher made a return to the band along with a new guitarist (Blasphemer) to record and release an EP (Wolf's Lair Abyss) followed by a full length album in 2000 (Grand Declaration Of War) while continuing to tour extensively and undeterred by the spate of incidents that have threatened to derail their progress. Despite the subsequent departures of Maniac (replaced by the returning Atilla Csihar) and Blasphemer (replaced by Morpheus), Mayhem continues to make nefarious music for the music and a blueprint for success in the face of tragedy and notoriety



As the wounds of the recent deaths of Ronnie James Dio, Peter Steele and Paul Gray remain fresh to fans and bandmates alike, it remains uncertain as to whether their respective bands Heaven & Hell, Type O Negative and Slipknot will continue to make music in honour of their deceased bandmate or to discontinue making music in that name to focus on other projects and respect the legacy that was made while they were around. But whatever the case is, it is certain that their impact will forever be embalmed and remembered in generations to come