Mayadome

by Eleanor DitzelLong songs with some intricate arrangements pushed Mayadome, a Swedish heavy metal group, into the eye of the public in October 1996 when Shrapnel Records released the groups debut album, Paranormal Activity. The groups music somewhat echoed the classic progressive metal sounds of Dream Theater, but went a new direction.The strength of the group came from guitarist Fredrik Kjorling, who was superb on crunching the riffs; from Erik Grandin (bass), who excelled in enthusiasm; and from drummer Teddy Moller, considered by some to be one of the best in his field. Moller also played bass and some keyboards, and was formerly with the Hidden, G.A.M., and F.K.U. For its debut album, Mayadome included Jonas Haag on the keyboards and Bjorn Holmquist on vocals. Holmquists vocals had a Swedish accent that was new to many fans, and the group as a whole created a solid melody with some great complexity held together with acoustics. For its sophomore album, Near Life Experience, released by Siegen Records in April of 2000, Sebastian Okupski replaced Haag on the keyboards and Bassel Elharbiti replaced Bjorn Holmquist on vocals. This album carried Mayadome into the leading group of progressive metal, with its mood shifts and strong rhythm foundation.By November 2001, trouble brewed for the group as differences, both personal and contractual, led to their disbanding. Three of the members, Kjorling, Grandin, and Moller, then joined with Alvaro Romero Torres (drums) and Niklas Kupper (guitar and bass) to form Loch Vostok.