Kjell Höglund

BERGRAVEN was concieved in the early years of the new millenium as a one-man band by Sweden’s multi-instrumentalist Pär Gustafsson. Gustafsson’s interpretation of the bandname is ”The dark mountain”, i.e. the one you find within your own soul. The early recordings were slow and rather traditional Black Metal, with lyrics all in Swedish concerning death, superstition and the ruin of man.

2007 saw the release of ”Dödsvisioner” (”Visions of Death”), which can be considered the break-through of Bergraven. Most black elements are stripped away, leaving a doomy dark metal core with eerie cinematic passages, hauntingly epic clean guitars and an at times rock-like sensability infused with strange and complex movements. It was recorded at the infamous Necromorbus Studio by Tore G. Stjerna, and it is the first Bergraven release to feature acoustic drums (by Perra Karlsson). It has also the first non-Swedish lyric, sung in Norwegian by Koldbrann’s Mannevond. The future seems bright in the darkness of Bergraven, slowly morphing into less metallic, more progressive shapes, owing more to Chris Isaac than to, say, Darkthrone.

Pär Gustafsson is besides Bergraven involved in several other musical projects, most notably nostalgic doomsters NEX (with Tore G. Stjerna and Perra Karlsson).