Entombed is a hugely influential Swedish Death and Roll band that has been active since 1987. Death and Roll is a sub-genre that might not even exist without Entombed in fact. They were among the very first acts to conjoin the sound of death metal to groove metal and classic rock. The band’s third album, Wolverine Blues, is considered a seminal moment in the establishment of the form.

They were also one of the first metal bands to utilize the “buzzsaw” guitar tone that has always been so prevalent in punk rock. Their guitar sound was so unique in metal that Kurt Ballou of groundbreaking metal core band Converge has sighted seeing Entombed on MTV’s Headbanger’s Ball in the early ’90s as the inspiration for his legendary guitar tone.

In recent years, the band’s two founders have had a bit of a falling out. Guitarist Alex Hellid left the band in 2013 and apparently took the name with him. Vocalist Lars-Göran Petrov and the rest of the band have continued on without him as Entombed A.D. They have already released their debut album under that moniker, 2014’s Back To The Front. No word yet on when or if there will be new music from Hellid’s version of Entombed.

Today’s Massive Metal Monday takes a look all the way back to where it all started for Entombed. From their 1990 debut album Left Hand Path here is the official video for the record’s title track.

Video

When I was growing up in rural Indiana in the early ’80s, there was very limited access to heavy music. These were the days before MTV blew up with the whole hair metal, Headbangers Ball phenomenon. But on Sunday nights, there was a two-hour radio show that came from WOXY, just across the state line in Oxford, Ohio (home of Miami University of Ohio). It was called Massive Metal for the Masses and I would wait all week for it to air. It was through this show that I was introduced to bands like Venom, Bathory, WASP, Michael Schenker Group, Slayer, and countless others. This Monday weekly column is my tip of the hat to that show. I call it Massive Metal Monday. Every week, I will pay tribute to defining moments by the artists that laid the groundwork for heavy metal to become the worldwide cultural bond for all of us metal heads.