Paranorm is a progressive thrash/death metal band based in Uppsala, Sweden. Starting out as a traditional thrash metal band, they soon began experimenting with other metal styles, before settling on a unique blend of thrash, death and progressive metal with a heavy focus on arrangement and melody.
The origin of Paranorm dates back to 2007, when Markus Hiltunen (guitar), Fredrik Kjellgren (guitar) and Marcus Blom (bass) met in high school. With a shared love for heavy metal they soon began playing together with various drummers and vocalists. Drummer Karl Askebro officially joined the band in 2008, and main lyricist Hiltunen took on vocal duties to complete the lineup. During the following two years, the band recorded a demo, played numerous shows around their home area, and refined their sound to a progressive form of thrash metal.
In 2011, Paranorm went into the studio with producer Nino Vukovic and released their first EP, titled Pandemonium’s Rise. After promoting the record on stage around Sweden, the band started work on a follow-up recording. The next release, a four-track EP titled The Edge of Existence and again produced by Vukovic, was released in 2014.
Askebro left the band in 2018, and Paranorm recruited powerhouse drummer Samuel Karlstrand (Wretched Fate) shortly thereafter. Meanwhile, work was ongoing for their most ambitious project to date: their full-length debut album. This time, Paranorm sought out the talents of producer Lars Hultman, and the album was recorded in 2019-2020. The album will soon be unleashed upon the world.
Review excerpts:
"It has been a very long time since I felt this excited about a new band, I believe PARANORM to be one of the Music Titans of our century, if this is only their EP I have high hopes for their debut album." - metal-temple.com
"This is a multi-dimensional band that keeps things original and throughout the entire album brings the thrash metal genre to a whole new level." - globalthrashassault.net
"Paranorm is the most interesting band that I've encountered since bands like Havok and Vektor." - UNT Hardrock
"Paranorm prefer to play a riffy brand of progressive thrash, entertaining through gallop passages and tempo turns that average musicians dream of making seamless. Heathen and Coroner comparisons came up early and often, along with Paradox, Forbidden, and the neo-classical lead work of Yngwie Malmsteen - but I believe the quartet are gravitating to their own style as they put in flashes of blast beats and unique dual workouts to establish their sound.” - metal-temple.com