Biography
Anders Odden's first band, the death metal group Cadaver, reached an oddly quiet end in the early 1990s. After a brief interval with the little-known techno-ambient act Apoptygma Berzerk, he devoted most of the ensuing decade to low-profile work inside Norway's expanding black metal circles, appearing now and then as a guest musician or producer. In 2000 he chose to re-enter the foreground, launching Cadaver Inc. alongside vocalist Ole Jørgen Moe, bassist L.J. Balvaz, and drummer Carl-Michael Eide. Recalling the technical death metal approach of his earlier outfit, the new ensemble shaped a hybrid of present-day black metal and industrial textures for the widely praised 2001 debut Discipline. Even more striking, and sharply at odds with the fierce animosity conveyed in their lyrics, was the quartet's flair for ironic self-promotion: their website was styled as a legitimate corporate portal offering disposal services for unwanted corpses and listed an 800 number plus an address that happened to match the Norwegian Parliament's own. The stunt collapsed once officials became aware of it, yet by then extreme metal listeners had already embraced Cadaver Inc. as the season's favorite rebels. Concert activity further boosted their profile, and after appearing at Milwaukee Metal Fest the musicians returned home to begin their follow-up album.