Despite (band)

Despite is a melodic death metal band from Gothenburg, Sweden.

The group formed in 1998. Their first independent album, *In Your Despite*, came out in Sweden in March 2009 and included the track “MindPlague,” which featured guest vocals from Knut Agnred, a well-known Swedish singer and member of the comedy group Galenskaparna och After Shave. In October 2010, they released a second independent album, *Clenched*, with producer Andreas Kleerup contributing to the song “Commander of Hate.” After parting ways with vocalist Alex, the band brought in Peter Tuthill (formerly of Carnal Forge, Godsic, and Construcdead) as their new lead singer in December 2012. During spring 2013, they recorded the EP *EPic* at Crehate Studios, releasing it in early 2014 to positive reviews from the metal community; MusicReviewRadar described it as “refreshing, solid and heavy as f**k” and predicted the band would “leave the underground and dazzle the entire world.” On November 10, 2014, the standalone single “Chaos Trigger” came out, and VH1 later included Despite on its list “15 MORE Metal Bands You Should Be Listening To In 2015.”

In December 2014, bassist Mathias Dagerhed left and was replaced by Anthony Cui. The band also added a third guitarist, Zoran Panovic. In 2015, they released the single “Praedonum,” which was the last recording with drummer Oscar Nilsson, who left to focus on his studio work. Janne Jaloma (ex-Deals Death, Bloodshot Dawn) took over on drums. From late 2015 into early 2016, Despite recorded their first album *Synergi*, released on July 22, 2016, through Eclipse Records. The single “As You Bleed” reached the top three on Jose Mangin’s show “The Devil’s Dozen” on Sirius XM’s Liquid Metal and stayed there for several weeks. The album was praised by critics and fans worldwide. In May 2016, founding guitarist Timmy Leng left and was replaced by Eldor Pettersson. In 2017, the band released a standalone cover of The Prodigy’s “Breathe.” On February 15, 2019, they put out the single “Echo Chamber.”

Current members include rhythm guitarist André Gonzales (since 2011), vocalist Peter Tuthill (since 2012), third guitarist Zoran Panovic (since 2014), bassist Anthony Cui (since 2015), drummer Janne Jaloma (since 2015), and lead guitarist Eldor Pettersson (since 2016). Former members include vocalists Jimmie Strimell, Alex Losbäck Holstad, and Michel Kolic; guitarist