Sanctifica was a Swedish unblack metal band that formed in 1996 and disbanded in 2003. After releasing the EP In the Bleak Midwinter in 1997, they were considered a leading modern Christian black metal band in the early 2000s with the album Spirit of Purity. Signed to Swedish Rivel Records and Finnish Little Rose Productions, the band played progressive death metal on their second and last album, Negative B. They toured Scandinavia to support that album, performing at well-known rock clubs in important cities. Hubertus Liljegren went on to join Crimson Moonlight, while the rest formed rock group As a Reminder.
History In 1996, Hubertus Liljegren (guitars) and Daniel Thelin (drums) formed Sanctifica, and were joined by Alexander Orest (bass). The band played death metal until Orest switched to keyboards and Jonathan Jansson took over on bass, giving them a more black metal sound.
During late 1997, Sanctifica recorded the Scandinavian black metal demo tape In the Bleak Midwinter, and released it in early 1998. Afterwards, Henrik Georgsson joined the band as a second guitar player.
By 1999, Orest was replaced with Aron Engberg. The band's sound changed from atmospheric to chaotic black metal. Sanctifica went to Studio Berghen to record its first full-length with producer Mick Nordström.
Little Rose Productions and Rivel Records (then C.L. Music & Publishing) released the debut album Spirit of Purity in March 2000. Following the release, Sanctifica played in Sweden, Norway, and Finland.
By 2001, the band evolved into an experimental, progressive death metal act. Later that year, Sanctifica recorded the concept album Negative B with producer Carl Johan Grimmark in four months, and released it in March 2002.
During the concerts following the album's release, Björn Isacsson played all guitar parts while Liljegren sang. In May, David Sieving of Crimson Moonlight joined as a vocalist, and Liljegren focused on guitar. Sanctifica played at different festivals in Scandinavia during the summer 2002. Some concerts included dancer Lovisa Lindström.
In 2002, the band was part of a sampler for Tarantula Promotions, titled Arachnid Terror Sampler, which featured bands such as Soul Embraced, Tortured Conscience, Frosthardr and Frost Like Ashes.
In the beginning of October, Sanctifica played a tour in Finland, performing at rock clubs of Turku, Helsinki and Jyväskylä. Afterwards. Hubertus left the band.
Sanctifica disbanded in 2003. Hubertus Liljegren went to join Crimson Moonlight, while the rest formed a group called As a Reminder.
Style Evolving from their death metal roots to black metal, their early music is characterized by technical, melodic tremolo riffs, mid-range shrieks or high-pitched growls, symphonic keyboards, cold, chaotic yet tight controlled soundscapes, obscurely mixed drum sounds and slow to fast-paced tempo arrangements. The style heard on Negative B contains unconventional song structures, experimental sound samples of clapping hands, cellphone ringtones and cable sounds to name a few, and technical and elaborate riffing. The vocals on that album were dominated by the clean voice while incorporating some death growls of Hubertus as well. Sanctifica did not adapt the visual side of black metal, preferring the more everyday look.
Reception The first EP, In the Bleak Midwinter received positive reviews. Spirit of Purity was mostly well-received, gaining rave reviews and some calling it a "masterpiece."Rivel Records However, the band was also quickly dubbed as an "Emperor clone" because of the similarities in their sound. The album was criticized for too chaotic output, lacking memorability, and bad drum mixing. Negative B got mixed reviews for its bizarre entity: Several critics considered it to be unique, at parts even "brilliant,"> but some reviewers called the style unbalanced and unfocused, claiming that the songs on the second half of the album lacked a proper structure. However, it was praised for its technically proficient musicianship.
Discography Demo In the Bleak Midwinter (1998)
Splits In the Bleak Midwinter / Songs of Solomon (2001; Split w/ Pantokrator)
Studio albums Spirit of Purity (2000) Negative B (2002)
Members Last Known Lineup MembersInstrumentsOther projects Hubertus Liljegren guitar, vocalsCrimson Moonlight, Oblivion, The Malice Daniel Thelin drums, percussion As a Reminder Henrik Georgsson guitar, vocals As a Reminder Jonathan Jansson bass, vocals Skogen, Pantokrator, Crimson Moonlight, Litania, As a Reminder Aron Engberg keyboards Ayenna, Mercenary, As a Reminder David Sieving vocals Crimson Moonlight, As a Reminder
Former members MembersInstrumentsOther projects Alexander Orest keyboards, bass Crimson Moonlight
References
External links Sanctifica - Encyclopaedia Metallum: The Metal Archives