Edge of Sanity was a Swedish death metal band whose work often delved into experimental, even progressive, territory. While artists like Bathory and Emperor had recorded songs that could be regarded as epic, Edge of Sanity are regarded alongside Opeth as being the first to fuse extreme metal styles like death and black metal with genuine progressive rock.

History

Edge of Sanity asserted themselves as a solid death-metal outfit with their debut release Nothing But Death Remains, but their second release Unorthodox, with tracks like "Enigma" and "When All Is Said," showed them branching out from some of the genre's conventions. The Spectral Sorrows, Until Eternity Ends, and Purgatory Afterglow continued the trend, so that by the release of 1996's Crimson they were recording full-on progressive metal. Crimson was a 40-minute concept album consisting entirely of one track, concerning a post-apocalyptic future in which mankind had lost the ability to breed. After one more album, 1997's Infernal, guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Dan Swanö left the band, and his departure is generally associated with a decline in quality in the band's material. Swanö was replaced by Robert Karlsson, the vocalist of Pan.Thy.Monium (a side project in which Swanö was also involved), but after one more album, the same year's Cryptic, the band split up.

In 2003, Swanö reconvened the outfit as a one-man band (with several session musicians, however) and recorded a sequel to Crimson, naturally entitled Crimson II. Immediately after, he re-dissolved the project, and it has been silent ever since.

Members

Last lineup

• Dan Swanö - vocals, guitar, keyboards (1989-1997, 2003)

Former members

• Andreas Axelsson - guitar (1989-1999)
• Sami Nerberg - guitar (1989-1999)
• Anders Lindberg - bass (1989-1999)
• Benny Larsson - drums (1989-1999)
• Robert Karlsson - vocals (1997-1999)

Discography

Albums

• Nothing But Death Remains (1991)
• Unorthodox (1992)
• The Spectral Sorrows (1993)
• Purgatory Afterglow (1994)
• Crimson (1996)
• Infernal (1997)
• Cryptic (1997)
• Crimson II (2003)

Demos and EPs

• Euthanasia (demo) (1989)
• Kur-Nu-Gi-A (demo) (1990)
• The Dead (demo) (1990)
• The Immortal Rehearsals (demo) (1990)
• Dead But Dreaming (demo) (1992)
• Darkday (promotional demo) (1993)
• Lost (demo) (1993)
• The Spectral Sorrows Demos (demo) (1993)
• Until Eternity Ends (4-track EP) (1994)
• Infernal Demos (demo) (1996)

Compilations

• Evolution (compilation) (1999)
• When All Is Said (compilation) (2006)

Videos

• "Black Tears" (1994) from Purgatory Afterglow
• "Uncontroll Me" (1997) from Cryptic

External links

• Black Mark Records