Left Hand Path

Left Hand Path is the debut album from Entombed from 1990 that is known for defining the style of Swedish death metal by being the first recording to use the Tomas Skogsberg/Sunlight Studios "buzzsaw" guitar tone. The tone was created by heavily detuned electric guitars used with a maxed out Boss HM-2 Heavy Metal Pedal and a Boss DS-1 Distortion on a Peavey 40 watt Bandit amp. The originator of this guitar tone was Nihilist guitarist Leffe Cuzner.

The album's liner notes give thanks to Nirvana, but the band in question is the Swedish death metal group Nirvana 2002, not the famous grunge act.

The title of the album refers to a Left-Hand Path belief system. Guitarist Alex Hellid found the term in Anton LaVey's book The Satanic Bible. This is explored in the eponymous opening track of the album, with the first verse saying:

I am my own God, master, slave
And I will be beyond the grave
No one will take my soul away
I carry my own will and make my day

The more melodic, ambient section that comes in at 3:54 in the title track comes from the theme of the 1979 horror film Phantasm.

* Lars Göran Petrov - Vocals
* Uffe Cederlund - Guitars, Bass
* Alex Hellid - Guitars
* Nicke Andersson - Drums, Bass, Logo
* Produced by Tomas Skogsberg, Entombed
* Cover art by Dan Seagrave
* Photos by Micke Lundstrom
* Design by David Windmill