At the time of writing, it is exactly 40 years since Enhänta Bödlar recorded the cassette album “Lychgate Threnody” in a terraced house in Södertälje. The world may not have shaken, but hell appeared in the form of industrial music.
Enhänta Bödlar was one of the first Swedish bands to explicitly devote themselves to the then budding genre of industrial music. The band was formed in Ljungby in 1982 by Uddah-Buddah, or Valiant Dunkeldäld as he is actually called, and over the years he has been the backbone of the band. But from time to time, collaborations have arisen. In the 1980s, industrial music was a truly obscure underground movement in Sweden, and the few people involved in the genre made sure to keep in touch with each other.
Uddah-Buddah got to know Conny Nimmersjö, who would later become a member of bob hund, KC BABY and other well-known bands. But at this time, Conny was in college and spent his time recording a strange and angst-ridden kind of industrial music on his own. One summer day Uddah-Buddah came to visit and in Conny’s room at home in Pershagen they recorded what would later become the cassette album “Lychgate Threnody”.
The conditions were primitive. The vocals are said to have gone through a pair of headphones and the bass rumbles through ordinary gramophone speakers.
This could be dismissed as two teenage outsiders trying to be odd (which it may well be), but 40 years later the feeling is even more obvious than when the cassette was first released. There is a total presence and energy, not least in Uddah-Buddah’s vocals. Welcome to pure hatred, pure obsession. Welcome to the 40th anniversary of the opening of the gates of hell in Södertälje.
On the 40th anniversary on 19 July, Fanfar! releases a restored and remastered version of “Lychgate Threnody” on digital streaming services. Fanfar! will also release “Lychgate Threnody” on vinyl in the autumn, in a very limited edition.
Jonas Siöström at Dynamic Audio is responsible for the master. The original cover is made by Valiant Dunkeldäld and the vinyl edition is by Daggan Stamenkovic.
