Biography
Disfear formed in Nykoping, Sweden, during 1989 under the name Anti-Bofors and absorbed the raw punk-metal fusion pioneered by Discharge, the act frequently cited as originators of the D-Beat approach. Despite periodic lineup adjustments and stretches of limited activity, the band accumulated momentum across successive recordings and occasional personnel additions until it ranked among Europe’s foremost punk-metal hybrids in the twenty-first century. Anti-Bofors issued a lone 7-inch before adopting the Disfear name for its 1992 self-titled debut EP. Although the 1993 EP A Brutal Sight of War earned strong critical notice, the 1995 full-length Soul Scars placed the group firmly in the spotlight of its genre and led to tours alongside GBH, DRI, and Doom. That album remained the band’s sole release for Distortion; in 1997 it moved to Osmose for the follow-up Everyday Slaughter. The year 1998 brought dual shifts when vocalist Jeppe Lerjerud departed and Tomas Lindberg, frontman of Swedish death-metal legends At The Gates, stepped in to supply both the necessary vocal intensity and an unmatched domestic pedigree. The revised lineup performed several concerts, including festival dates, yet no new Disfear album appeared until 2003. That year the band issued the collection Misanthropic Generation, welcomed former Entombed guitarist Uffe Cederlund as second guitarist, and continued with founding members Bjorn Peterson on guitar, Henke Frykman on bass, and Marcus Andersson on drums. The refreshed roster sustained its drive by supporting Discharge and staging its first American concerts. A full U.S. tour followed in 2006 while the group prepared its next album, tracked in Salem, Massachusetts, under Converge guitarist Kurt Ballou during 2007. The resulting 2008 release Live the Storm faced delayed promotion when Lindberg rejoined At The Gates for an extensive multi-nation farewell tour.
Albums
