Axewitch

Lore & Background

Axewitch was created by Anders Wallentoft (vocals) and Magnus Jarl (guitar). They were soon joined by Tommy Brage (bass guitar) and brothers Mikael Johansson (guitar) and Mats Johansson (drums). This was the original line-up. The band won a contest where the first prize was to record in a studio. At the end of 1981, they recorded the EP, Pray for Metal, released in late 1982. The EP was not a success, but the band continued to play gigs and, in 1983, released its first full-length album, The Lord of Flies.

After the release of their second full-length album, Visions from the Past, all members except Wallentoft and Jarl left the band. Axewitch released another album in 1985 before eventually breaking up in 1987 with many members coming and going and never releasing any new material. At the time, Jarl went on to create a band called Sleazy Rose and ex-drummer Mats Johansson joined some of the former Mindless Sinner members to play in a band called Skinny Horse. Anders Wallentoft went on to another band called Regent.

In May 2007, Axewitch reunited with members Anders Wallentoft, Magnus Jarl, Mikael Johansson (whose surname now is A'delid), totally new member Lasse Fallman (bass guitar) and Mats Johansson. The band played two gigs in their home town Linköping and at the Sweden Rock Festival in 2008 and began working on a new album. In March 2012, Lasse Fallman decided to quit the band and Björn Hernborg became the new bass player and the production of the new album continued. Axewitch's first studio album in 36 years, Out of the Ashes Into the Fire, was released on 30 April 2021. The band's activity status after this release is unconfirmed.

Reader's Guide

Axewitch is a Swedish heavy metal band that formed around 1981 in Linköping. Though their early EP Pray for Metal was not a success, they persisted and released their debut full-length album The Lord of Flies in 1983. The band experienced significant lineup changes after their second album, leading to a breakup in 1987. Their legacy includes a reunion in 2007 that culminated in the 2021 album Out of the Ashes Into the Fire, their first studio release in 36 years. The band's history reflects the persistence of underground metal acts from the early 1980s, with members later contributing to other projects such as Sleazy Rose, Skinny Horse, and Regent. Their reunion and later album demonstrate a lasting connection to their fanbase and the Swedish metal scene.

Did You Know?

• Axewitch won a contest where the first prize was to record in a studio.
• The band's original line-up included brothers Mikael and Mats Johansson.
• After the 1987 breakup, Magnus Jarl formed a band called Sleazy Rose.
• Axewitch's first studio album in 36 years, Out of the Ashes Into the Fire, was released on 30 April 2021.

Formation and the Early Years

Axewitch emerged from the Swedish heavy metal scene around 1981, taking shape in Linköping. The project was initiated by vocalist Anders Wallentoft and guitarist Magnus Jarl, who quickly assembled a five-piece lineup by bringing in bassist Tommy Brage and the Johansson brothers—Mikael on guitar and Mats on drums. This original configuration would define the band's earliest sound. Their first real opportunity came through a contest victory that awarded them studio time. At the close of 1981, the group tracked the material that would become the EP Pray for Metal, issued in late 1982. Though the record failed to generate significant attention, the band refused to let that setback slow them down. They kept playing live shows and building momentum, which paid off in 1983 with the release of their debut full-length, The Lord of Flies. A second album, Visions of the Past, followed in 1984, cementing Axewitch as a working act within the Swedish metal circuit before the lineup began to fracture.

The Breakup and What Came After

The period following Visions of the Past proved to be the most turbulent chapter in Axewitch's history. Every member of the original five-piece departed except Wallentoft and Jarl, and the band entered a phase of constant personnel churn. They still managed to release Hooked on High Heels in 1985, but the revolving door of musicians—Klas Wollberg, Magnus Hedin, Abbey, Ralf Petersson, Per-Ove Johansson, and Denny Printz all passed through between 1984 and 1987—meant the group never found a stable identity again. By 1987, Axewitch had effectively dissolved, with no new material ever seeing the light of day. The former members scattered into other projects. Jarl went on to form Sleazy Rose, while ex-drummer Mats Johansson teamed up with some former Mindless Sinner members to create Skinny Horse. Wallentoft, meanwhile, joined a band called Regent. For two full decades, Axewitch existed only as a name on a handful of 1980s releases, a quiet footnote in the Swedish heavy metal landscape.

The Reunion and the Long Road to New Music

In May 2007, after a twenty-year silence, Axewitch announced their reunion. The returning lineup featured the original core—Wallentoft, Jarl, Mikael Johansson (who had since changed his surname to A'delid), and Mats Johansson—alongside a fresh face in bassist Lasse Fallman. The band immediately hit the road, performing two shows in their hometown of Linköping and later appearing at the Sweden Rock Festival in 2008. More importantly, they began the long process of writing and recording a new album. That process would take far longer than anyone likely anticipated. In March 2012, Fallman departed the group, and Björn Hernborg stepped in as the new bassist. Production continued, but the album remained elusive for years. Finally, on 30 April 2021, Out of the Ashes Into the Fire was released—Axewitch's first studio album in 36 years, a remarkable span that underscores both the difficulty of reuniting a band from the early 1980s and the patience of the members who saw it through.

Discography and Musical Identity

Across their entire career, Axewitch released just five recordings, a modest catalog that speaks to both the brevity of their active years and the extraordinary gap between their final 1980s output and their 2021 return. The discography reads as a compact snapshot of early-1980s Swedish heavy metal: the 1982 EP Pray for Metal, followed by three full-length albums—The Lord of Flies (1983), Visions of the Past (1984), and Hooked on High Heels (1985)—and then a thirty-six-year silence. That silence was finally broken by Out of the Ashes Into the Fire, which landed on 30 April 2021. The title itself evokes the band's journey from dissolution to rebirth, and the release marked a milestone: a group formed around 1981 delivering new, original material to listeners more than four decades later. For fans who discovered the band through its 1980s recordings, the album represented a long-awaited continuation; for newcomers, it offered a rare window into a Swedish metal act whose story spans two distinct eras of the genre.