- Kataklysm, Morbid Angel, Amon Amarth, Arch-Enemy, Gorefest, Entombed, Blood Stain Child, Bolt Thrower, Hypocrisy, Pungent Stench, Æon, Blood Red Throne, Immolation
Illdisposed are a Death Metal band from Aarhus, Denmark. Formed in 1991, they play a blend of traditional and melodic death metal, and are known for their experimentation, stage presence, and the instantly recognizable voice of frontman Bo Summer, who uses a subwoofer mic to give his vocals a deep, monstrous effect while still being pretty decipherable.
Their first album Four Depressive Seasons was released in 1993 after they recorded a demo the previous year. Though it was initially overlooked, it has been looked back upon in recent years as one of the precursors to the melodic death metal genre, being released the same year as Carcass's seminal Heartwork. Despite this, it was overall much closer in sound to the rawer American acts of the time, a sound which was carried over to their sophomore effort Submit. With their third album There's Something Rotten...in the State of Denmark, they began to incorporate more groove and melody into their sound, establishing their signature style from there. Their fourth album Kokaiinum, released in 2001, saw the band's first foray into their unique sense of humor, with tongue-in-cheek song titles like "Fear Bill Gates" and "Richard Scarry".
Though rooted in their normal OSDM/melodeath fusion, they have experimented with subtle influences from many other genres over the course of their career to keep their sound fresh. Frontman Bo Summer also has a few solid projects under his belt. He also sang for the blackened death metal band Panzerchrist for three albums, and performed in-studio with Aborted on their fourth album The Archaic Abattoir, providing guest vocals on "The Gangrenous Epitaph" and "The Inertia". He was also part of At the Grave, an underground passion project made up of several key figures in the Danish extreme metal scene.
Although they are a lesser-known act worldwide, they retain a cult following, and are very popular in their home country, being only the second Danish band period to perform in New Zealand (the other being Aqua (yes, the "Barbie Girl" band)), and having their latest 7 albums hit the charts. Their song "Dark" was also featured on the soundtrack to the original Saw, which helped them gain exposure to a wider audience. As of 2019, they have released 13 studio albums, one EP, and a cover album.
Main Discography:
- Four Depressive Seasons (1993)
- Submit (1995)
- There's Something Rotten....in the State of Denmark (1997)
- Kokaiinum (2001)
- 1-800 Vindication (2004)
- Burn Me Wicked (2006)
- The Prestige (2008)
- To Those Who Walk Behind Us (2009)
- There is Light (But It's Not for Me) (2011)
- Sense the Darkness (2012)
- With the Lost Souls on Our Side (2014)
- Grey Sky Over Black Town (2016)
- Reveal Your Soul for the Dead (2019)
- In Chambers of Sonic Disgust (2024)
Additional Discography:
- Return from Tomorrow (1994) - EP
- Retro (2000) - cover album
Illdisposed and their music provide examples of the following tropes:
- Bilingual Bonus: Although they usually sing in English, they have also penned lyrics in their native Danish as well as German. Justified, as the band is not only fairly popular in Germany, but in addition to speaking English as a second language, Bo is also conversational in German. For example, the closing track on The Prestige, "Ich Bin Verloren in Berlin", means roughly "I Am Lost in Berlin" in German, while "Nu gik det lige så godt" roughly means "Now It Will Go Well" or "It's Gone as Expected" in Danish. He also sings entirely in German on Panzerchrist's Soul Collector, his first record with said group.
- Cover Version: They released an entire cover album in 2000 titled Retro, featuring their versions of songs by bands who influenced them, including Darkthrone, Autopsy, Paradise Lost, Death, and Venom.
- Death Metal: One of the faces of the fairly small Danish scene.
- Disproportionate Retribution: The lyrics of "Near the Gates" depict a man killing a woman who is interested in him with a knife...just because he thinks he's too good-looking for her.
- Early-Installment Weirdness: Their first two albums are very straightforward Florida-style death metal with only a few hints of the melodeath fusion and genre mashups they'd later become known for. In an interview, Bo stated that this was because they placed more value on heaviness back then, and that they added more to their sound overtime. That being said, they did eventually return to their original sound decades later in the mid-2010s.
- Genre Mashup: Though of course rooted in death metal, they have experimented with many other genres over the years, including nu metal, industrial, groove metal, hardcore punk, and techno. According to guitarist Jakob Batten, the members listen to a little bit of everything, which shows in the music they make.
- Gorn: The cover for 1-800 Vindication, as well as the lyrics to some of their songs, most prominently "Eyes Popping Out".
- Harsh Vocals: Bo alternates between his signature compressed growl, shrieks, and occasional John Tardy-esque wails.
- Indecipherable Lyrics: It can be very difficult to make out the lyrics to their music due to Bo's signature growling style.
- Jerkass: In their few published English interviews, Bo comes off as extremely abrasive and vulgar.
- Lyrical Dissonance: The lyrics for "Case of the Late Pig" are extremely somber, being a letter from a musician (possibly Bo himself) to his family about how much he misses them when on tour, lamenting being unable to see his sons grow up....but it's set to an instrumental that's just as heavy and angry as their usual fare.
- Melodic Death Metal: A big part of their sound, and one of the genre's heavier bands overall.
- New Sound Album: Happens quite a bit:
- There's Something Rotten saw the band embracing their now-signature OSDM/melodeath fusion. The album also has subtle but noticeable Nu Metal elements, most prominently on the title track and the clean vocal segment of "Pimp".
- Kokaiinum was more stripped-down and tongue-in-cheek, as well as much simpler musically.
- 1-800 Vindication featured techno elements and more prominent guest clean vocals, as well as being their first album to embrace their melodeath side the most.
- Burn Me Wicked combined the melody of 1-800 with elements of the band's prior albums as well as prominent Industrial Metal elements, with clean vocals handled by ex-Mercenary singer Mikkel Sandager.
- The Prestige and To Those Who Walk Behind Us were rawer and more reminiscent of Kokaniium, albeit with more complex arrangements.
- There is Light brought back the techno/electronic elements of 1-800.
- Sense the Darkness was an almost complete return to the sound of There's Something Rotten, but with more modern production.
- With the Lost Souls on Our Side is somewhat of a return to their old-school roots, but retaining elements of their prior records, likely intentional given that the album is named after a song from their debut.
- Grey Sky Over Black Town featured prominent Black Metal elements, possibly serving as a call back to Bo's time in Panzerchrist.
- Reveal Your Soul for the Dead dropped the blackened death and expanded upon the old-school sounds reintroduced a couple albums prior, coming the closest to their roots thus far.
- Non-Indicative Name: "My Number Is Expired" is not about someone changing phone numbers, but rather about how one's birth year does not matter once they pass away, as one is just another statistic upon death regardless of how long they lived.
- Revisiting the Roots: With the Lost Souls on Our Side stripped back the melodic death and industrial elements and was closer in sound to straight up OSDM, with their albums after going even further in this direction, marking a nearly complete throwback to the sound of their first couple albums. Batten revealed that this change was due to the band getting tired of doing the same thing.
- Self-Deprecation: Goes without saying since the band's live DVD is called "We Suck".
- Transatlantic Equivalent: They are often considered to be Europe's counterpart to Canada's Kataklysm. Both bands play a melodic and groove-oriented style of death metal blending Scandinavian and North American influences, started off with a more frantic and raw sound on their first two albums far removed from their known style, formed in 1991, and are highly respected in their home countries while being less popular worldwide. Bo Summer also has a similar voice to Maurizio Iacono, albeit much deeper and with a different accent.
- Vague Age: None of the members have ever disclosed their ages, though assuming they were in their teens or 20s when the band was formed, it can be assumed that they are in the middle-aged range, possibly their 40s or early 50s. So far, only Bo's age has been confirmed, as it was revealed via their official Facebook that he turned 50 in October 2021, making his year of birth 1971.
