Scheitan was formed in 1996 by Pierre Törnkvist (guitar/bass/vocals) together with Oscar Karlsson (drums). The duo started out as a blackmetal band but transformed during the musical journey into the fields of gothic/ambient rock.
Both members had previous musical experience mainly from death- & blackmetal such as The Moaning, Defleshed, The Everdawn and Gates of Ishtar to name a few and became to establish themselves as respected musicians in the 90´s underground scene.
Scheitan released it´s first album Travelling in Ancient Times on Invasion Records in 1996. The album was an 8-track blast of intense blackmetal except for the last track Portals of Might which was a first indication of Scheitan wanting to explore other musical realms.
The second album Berzerk 2000, also released on Invasion Records in 1998 was an album that was divided to say the least. The first 4 tracks showing a gothic/ambient Scheitan while the last 3 saw Scheitan bid a final farewell to its blackmetal roots.
The first 4 tracks of Berzerk 2000 saw a digital re-release in 2021 as the Deathgoth ep.
Century Media signed the band after the contract with Invasion was finished and in 1999 the band recorded and released Nemesis. The musical style was now completely devoted to the gothic/ambient/dark domain except for the vocals of Pierre Törnkvist who were still kept in the harsh style that was present on earlier albums.
The Nemesis album has in later days been hailed as a hidden gem and predecessor to many bands today with a similar style, Sweden’s biggest rock magazine Sweden Rock made a full-page interview about the album some time back.
Both on Berzerk 2000 as well as on Nemesis female vocalist Lotta Högberg was present with her smoky, dreamy voice on a few tracks.
When it was time to write new Scheitan material after Nemesis both Pierre and Oscar felt that it did not fit into the project and therefore Helltrain was started, which is a completely different story.
Scheitan went on a 24-year hiatus but was brought back to life in 2023 with the single Lost In Time, a gothic rock masterpiece in the veins of Sisters of Mercy, Fields of The Nephilim and The 69 Eyes. A video was also shot for the track and is available online.
A few weeks prior to the release of the single Scheitan signed to Greek label The Circle Music and is set to release a full-length album in 2024.
Links:
https://www.scheitan.se (Links to Spotify, Facebook, YouTube etc.)
https://linktr.ee/thecirclemusic (Record label)
Scheitan e-mail: pierretornkvist@gmail.com