Merciless

The band was founded in 1986 in Strängnäs, Sweden, by guitarist Erik Wallin, bassist Fredrik Karlén and drummer Stefan Carlsson. Singer Kåle later completed the line-up. They thus began to play a metal heavily influenced by the Thrash metal of the early 1980s, such as Kreator, Sodom, Destruction and Bathory. Originally, the band was called Obsessed, then Black Mass, then chose the name Merciless at the start of 1987. Their first demo, Behind the Black Door, appeared in 1987. Shortly after its release, singer Kåle left the band. He was then replaced by Roger "Rogga" Pettersson. They recorded and then released the demo Realm of the Dark in June 1988. This demo then drew the attention of the label Deathlike Silence Productions, run by Euronymous of the Norwegian Black metal band Mayhem.