LIFELOVER Pulver CD

LIFELOVER – Pulver CD (Reissue 2023)

A grim postcard from the concrete grey of Stockholm. Step into the drug-addled, desperate, and utterly miserable world of LIFELOVER with their ground-breaking debut album, Pulver. Formed in Sweden in 2005 by B and () (the alias of Kim Carlsson, famed for Hypothermia), Lifelover shattered the boundaries of extreme music. Reissued on CD by Osmose Productions in 2023, this record remains a unique monument of modern audio despair.

While often grouped under the banner of DSBM (Depressive Suicidal Black Metal), Pulver defies simple categorization. Rather than constructing the impenetrable, static walls of “white noise” characteristic of traditional DSBM, Lifelover brews a volatile, genre-bending cocktail. Here, raw black metal aggression collides head-on with cold post-punk, drug-hazed shoegaze, and melancholic alternative rock. It is catchy, erratic, and deeply disturbing all at once.

The instrumentation is built on striking, stark contrasts. Distorted, buzzing black metal riffs on tracks like the iconic opener “Nackskott” and the infectious “M/S Salmonella” are suddenly offset by clean, fragile guitar passages and stark piano keys. These dynamic shifts capture the chaotic mood swings of deep, clinical depression. The vocals — handled collectively by B, (), and 1853 — are nothing short of a psychological breakdown. Spanning manic laughter, agonizing shrieks, drug-addled whispers, and spoken-word mumblings, they convey human suffering and urban alienation better than almost any band in metal history.

Lyrically exploring themes of severe depression, chemical addiction, suicide, and the mundane horrors of everyday life, Pulver is a melancholic masterpiece. It does not romanticize sorrow; it forces you to sit in its dirty, unwashed reality, showing you that life is futile and bleak. An absolute must-have for fans of Shining, Forgotten Tomb, Psychonaut 4, and anyone drawn to the darker, more experimental edges of extreme metal.

Product Details

• Artist: Lifelover
• Title: Pulver
• Format: CD
• Country: Sweden
• Label: Osmose Productions
• Year: 2023 (Reissue)
• Original Release: 2006
• Genre: Depressive Black Metal / Post-Punk / DSBM

Tracklist

1. Nackskott
2. M/S Salmonella
3. Mitt öppna öga
4. Kärlek – Becksvart melankoli
5. Vardagsnytt
6. Avbrott sex
7. Stockholm
8. Söndag
9. Herrens hand
10. Medicinmannen
11. Nästa gryning
12. En sång om dig

You may listen HERE