LEACH

With three full length releases and one EP already under their belts, the guys have certainly established LEACH in the Scandi music scene. They’ve redefined the internationally cherished Swedish sound by merging elements of the iconic Gothenburg scene with that special aggressiveness of northern hardcore, while mixing in a good measure of old-school Stockholm death. Defining attributes of their work are electrifying and exciting smash songs with groovy twists – picture a blood-thirsty, melody-hungry bastard child of Entombed and Exodus, two of the band’s biggest, long-lasting influences.

This gang – Markus Wikander on vocals and guitars, Robert Karlsson on guitars, Anders Nordlander (as well as his successor Tobias Oja) on bass and Joachim Dahlström on drums – knows exactly how to work their blend of styles, and many of the most relevant playlist editors around the world have proven them right numerous times over the years. The vocals bite, the riffs burst to mosh and the melodies open up to passionate, huge life questions. The tense thematic run between revolution, social injustice and inner struggles in the band’s lyrics offers a superbly dynamic pressure vent for piled up emotions of all sorts.

And the Swedes aren’t a slouch in the touring department either: Through their wide-ranging live history, LEACH have shared the stage with prominent bands, such as Unearth, Misery Index, Belphegor and Kampfar. Over the recent years, this caused the gathering of an enthusiastic following around the band, as they describe by example of a typical LEACH live experience: “Over the top energy – the crowd can feel that we give it all and give us energy back.”