GEHENNAH - SWEDEN

Hardrocker - 1995 - Primitive Art
King Of The Sidewalk - 1996 - Osmose
Decibel Rebel - 1998 - Osmose
Too Loud To Live, Too Drunk To Die – 2016 – Metal Blade

Gehennah image
  
 
Members
Vocals
Satanarchy>>MR. VIOLENCE [STEFAN MITANDER]>>Satanarchy

Guitar
The Coffinshakers, Timothy Griffiths' Psychedelic Sunrise>>ROB STRINGBURNER [ROBERT FJÄLLSBY]>>The Coffinshakers, Timothy Griffiths' Psychedelic Sunrise


Bass
Vomitory, The Boot Hill Hangmen, Turbocharged>>Ronnie Ripper [Ronnie Olson]>>Vomitory, The Boot Hill Hangmen, Turbocharged, Private War – Invasion, Python>>CHARLEY KNUCKLEDUSTER [KALLE SUNDIN]>>Invasion, Python

Drum
The Boot Hill Hangmen, Timothy Griffiths' Psychedelic Sunrise>>Hell COP [MICKE BIRGERSSON]>>The Boot Hill Hangmen, Timothy Griffiths' Psychedelic Sunrise





History & Biography
Taking their cues from the eighties thrash scene in general and Venom in particular, Gehennah was formed in 1992 and quickly became one of the leaders of the retro-thrash movement alongside bands like War. Two demos entitled Kill and Brilliant Loud Overlords Of Destruction follow in 1993 and 1994 before the band begins work with Sweden's Primitive Art Records. Both demos were limited to 100 copies. The band had already replaced Captain Cannibal with Hellcop on drums.

Hardrocker, recorded in December of 1994, follows and despite the title packs a heavier punch than the hard rock style of music would allow. The band further releases a 7" EP entitled No Fucking Christmas late in the same year. This EP will be re-released two years later as a 12". Next the band signs with Osmose and to support King Of The Sidewalk, which is again recorded at Studio Prim Volta, tours with Angelcorpse and Impaled Nazarene. The recording of the vocals on King... were prophetically delayed so the singer could recover his voice. In November of 1997 the band plays the Hellfest festival with Dismember, Disfear, Necrophobic, Edge Of Sanity and others in Stockholm. During this period Ronnie vacates the vocal slot with Vomitory.

In early 1998 both Ronnie Ripper and Hellcop have run-ins with the law with the former being incarcerated for a month for driving while intoxicated. Decibel Rebel is recorded at Sunlight Studios with Dismember's Fred Estby behind the controls. The band being disappointed with the sound on their second recording sought a more professional sound. Furthermore Prima Volta had closed its doors.

The band goes into hibernation until a new gig is announced for October of 2002 in Sweden. The group disbanded in 2008. It came back in 2011 of course. The band’s No Fucking Christmas! EP was reissued for the first time on 12” Picture Disc through Critical Mass recordings in late 2018. This title was supposedly out of print for twenty years.


Reviews

GEHENNAH - KING OF THE SIDE WALK - OSMOSE
Not to be confused with Gehenna which appeared on the metal scene around the same time, these Swedish metal heads are quoted in their biography as being influenced by 1980’s metal. Allow me to narrow it down for you: Motorhead! Very akin to Lemmy and crew, the eleven tracks here borrow riff, arrangement and hook to pay their own very personaI tribute to their influence and Inspiration. Although, one suspects, that the entire project is more humorous than most realise. With names like the title track, Tough Guys Don't Look Good and Saturday Night Blasphemer this gang is having a laugh at our expense. Check out the cover; the DRI mosher is out, the Gehennah drunkard is in! Quite why this bunch are on Osmose which began life as an innovative death/black metal label is not clear to most. Yet, it is now obvious that Osmose main man Herve has had a change of heart recently and instead of looking at the ground breaking in his roster, is seeking art in the retro. Check out Gehennah and "bang your head for Satan"... - Ali "The Metallian"


Interviews







Gehennah