Entombed - Clandestine

4 metal recommends
For one, vocalist Lars-Göran Petrov is missing in action here, though, to be fair, he's not necessarily missed. That's because drummer/songwriter Nicke Andersson takes over for him, and does such an impressive job, it's easy to mistake him for a full-time death-growler. In fact, the liner notes of Clandestine falsely credit Johnny Dordevic for vocals (technically, he was a member of the band at the time of the album's release, just not at the time of the album's recording sessions). Secondly, the production of Clandestine -- always a crucial aspect of music this overpowering -- is a notch or two better than that of Left Hand Path. Tomas Skogsberg produced both albums, as he did all of Entombed's early recordings, but he got a more cutting sound this go-round, with the guitars particularly standing out, along with the multi-tracked vocals. Too, the songwriting here is more distinctive than on Left Hand Path, which was comprised largely of reworked Nihilist (i.e., the band's pre-Entombed moniker) material. Everything considered, Clandestine might be a better album than Left Hand Path -- for sure, some fans favor it -- if not as historically significant nor as raw-sounding as that monumental debut.