pest

Pest came together as a black metal unit in Sweden in 1997, intent on forging a ‘purer' strain of the style that rejected the symphonic and progressive leanings found in certain second- and third-generation acts. Their brisk take on the music first reached listeners via an initial run of demos that entered circulation in 1998. The lineup consisted of the duo Equimanthorn, who played bass and guitars (and should not be mistaken for the similarly named ex-member of Dark Funeral), alongside Necro on guitars, vocals, and drums, although the group sometimes brought in session drummers for particular recordings. Two more demos appeared in 1999 under the titles In Eternity Skyless and Black Thorns. The band then issued its first official recording, the Blasphemy Is My Throne EP, in 2002. Their debut full-length, Desecration, arrived in 2003 once the act had begun attracting notice within the ‘true' black metal underground. A pair of EPs came next, followed by the second album, In Total Contempt, in 2005. After Season of Mist added the group to its roster, Pest returned in 2008 with the third album Rest In Morbid Darkness.