Self Deception

Initial impressions might suggest Self Deception belongs among the many hard rock outfits that emerged in the 2000s, given their fast guitar work, guttural vocals, and double-time kick-drum patterns. This Swedish quartet nevertheless sets itself apart by weaving in electronic layers, EDM-inspired drops, and memorable singalong hooks. Genre-blurring cuts such as “Fight Fire with Gasoline,” “Hell and Back,” and “Smoke You Out” have found listeners well outside conventional alternative circles.

The band’s origin traces to an unintended text sent by Stockholm singer-guitarist Andreas Clark to drummer Erik Eklund. Both musicians happened to be seeking fresh projects and shared a desire to fuse their genuine affinity for alt-rock and metal, a pledge to authenticity that shaped the group’s name. They brought in guitarist Gabriel Rauhofer and bassist Nicklas Wester in 2005; the lineup quickly attracted attention through a favorably received demo and released its first album, Restitution, in 2007. The lead single “Relationship Redrum,” accompanied by a video shot inside an abandoned asylum, offered a strong example of melodic, guitar-driven rock. Wester soon departed, with Patrik Hallgren stepping in on bass.

The quartet resurfaced with 2011’s Over the Threshold, marking an initial move toward blending alt-rock with straightforward pop. Collaboration followed with the writer-producer duo Joy and Linnea Deb, who would later supply the 2015 Eurovision winner “Heroes” for Swedish vocalist Måns Zelmerlöw. Tracks like “The Shift” and the album title song earned regional airplay. Further personnel shifts occurred when Rauhofer exited and Ronny Westphal joined on guitar; Erik Eklund’s brother Nicklas, previously associated with J-pop act Tohoshinki, began a sustained songwriting partnership with the band.

Throughout the remainder of the decade the group alternated between mainstream overtures—illustrated by its 2015 cover of the Alesso and Tove Lo global dance smash “Heroes [We Could Be]”—and a focus on heavier textures, heard on the 2014 EP These Walls, the crowd-funded self-titled album of 2018, and Endorse the Art (2019), which grew into the full-length Shapes in 2020. Shapes reached a broader audience amid the COVID-19 pandemic through songs including “Hell and Back” and “Smoke You Out,” later re-recorded that year for the Reshaped EP with assistance from Crashdiet singer Gabriel Keyes and former Europe guitarist Kee Marcello. By then Self Deception openly embraced mixing rock with outside styles, a direction that produced some of its strongest material on 2023’s You Are Only as Sick as Your Secrets, notably “Fight Fire with Gasoline” and “Stockholm Hearts.” The follow-up Destroy the Art arrived in 2024 and included the striking “Matthew McConaughey,” whose title nods to the actor’s repeated “alright alright alright” line in Dazed and Confused.