Graveyard

Joakim Nilsson, Rikard Edlund (both formerly of Norrsken), Axel Sjöberg, and Truls Mörck formed Graveyard in 2006. When Norrsken disbanded in 2000, guitarist Magnus Pelander went on to form doomy folk metal act Witchcraft and Nilsson and Edlund joined Albatros, a growly blues rock band whose lineup also included Sjöberg on drums. Initially they considered Albatros to be a hobby, but five years later, the members began taking their music more seriously and had grown dissatisfied with the direction their sound had taken. When Albatros inevitably broke up, Nilsson and Edlund decided that for their next venture, they would head back towards their roots as musicians and songwriters. Nilsson explains, “I am a singer, but in Albatross I only played guitar. Rikard played guitar but he is a bass player. We also wanted a more straightforward [rock] sound. Together with Sjöberg and guitarist/singer, Truls Mörck (who left the band and was replaced by Ramm soon after completing their record), they began practicing as Graveyard. Upon their initial formation, Graveyard quickly recorded a two track demo, played a total of three shows, and began planning for a full-length album with Swedish boutique label, Transubstans Records. In the meantime, they posted a demo of some of their material on MySpace. Songs from the band’s myspace caught the ear of Tony Presedo, founder of TeePee Records. Their debut album Graveyard was recorded by Don Ahlsterberg. Their debut album, entitled Graveyard, was released in early 2008. Following the recording of said collection, the band saw the replacement of guitarist Truls Mörck with Jonatan Ramm, after the former called it a day.The debut album received good reviews. Graveyard performed at the 2008’s South by Southwest Music Festival. Graveyard was featured in Rolling Stone Magazine’s Fricke’s Picks for their first ever US gig at SXSW. After SXSW, Graveyard toured with label mates Witch. In the Fall of 2008 Graveyard toured with Witchcraft and then Clutch. In 2009 they toured with the rock band CKY. Graveyard released their second album in spring of 2011.