Dan Swanö

Dan-Erland Swanö, [1] also known as Dan "The Man" Swanö (born 10 March 1973), is a Swedish musician and record producer who is currently the vocalist, guitarist, ex-bassist and ex-drummer for the band Nightingale, lately vocalist, keyboardist and drummer for the band Witherscape, as well as the owner of Unisound, but he achieved fame as the vocalist and songwriter of progressive death metal band Edge of Sanity.

Dan Swanö
Dan Swanö live at Nosturi
Background information
Also known as	Day DiSyraah
Born	(1973-03-10) 10 March 1973 Finspång, Sweden
Origin	Örebro
Genres	Progressive metal, death metal, progressive rock, power metal, avant-garde metal, gothic rock, melodic death metal, black metal, doom metal
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards, drums, percussion, saxophone, cello, programming
Years active	1988–present
Labels	Black Mark
Associated acts	Therion, Edge of Sanity, Bloodbath, Katatonia, Nightingale, Opeth, Ribspreader, Millencolin, Witherscape, Marduk, Threshold, Star One (band)

As a multi-instrumentalist he is regarded as influential in the underground melodic death metal, black metal, progressive metal, death metal, progressive rock, power metal communities. He is known for his progressive rock-influenced songwriting style and his frequent use of both clean and growled vocals.

Career

Swanö has fronted a number of bands, including Edge of Sanity, Brejn Dedd, Unicorn, Infestdead and Route Nine. He has also been a member of Katatonia and Ribspreader, as well as playing drums and lead guitar in death metal band Bloodbath.[2]

He has also contributed his vocal talents to Arjen Lucassen's Star One project. The two musicians are good friends, with Lucassen contributing guitar parts to Swanö's Nightingale project. He can also be heard on the albums Theli and A'arab Zaraq – Lucid Dreaming by the symphonic opera metal band Therion. He was also producer and contributing writer of the band Diabolical Masquerade, the now-defunct solo avant-garde black metal band of Anders Nyström aka Blakkheim (Katatonia, Bloodbath, ex-Bewitched). He also contributed some guitar solos, backing vocals on various Diabolical Masquerade albums, and played the drums on the album Nightwork. He also produced and played the keyboards on the Memories from Nothing album by Swedish progressive rockers Another Life, released on Vic Records.

Swanö has also released a solo progressive death metal album entitled Moontower, on which he showcases his multi-instrumental talent, playing all instruments (guitar, bass, drums, keyboard) as well as providing all the vocal work.

During 2009 Swanö re-activated Odyssey, this time performing all instruments by himself. Swanö recorded 7 of his all-time favourite songs which was released in November 2010 on the album 'Reinventing The Past', together with the three 1999 tracks as a bonus on Dutch based Vic Records. His brother Dag played guest lead guitar on the song 'Gypsy' (Uriah Heep cover).

In 2013, Swanö released with his new project Witherscape the full studio album The Inheritance, with Ragnar Widerberg as co-member, and the collaboration of, amongst other guest musicians, Novembers Doom's founder Paul Kuhr. It was followed a year after by the EP The New Tomorrow. In 2016, the full studio album The Northern Sanctuary was released, via Century Media Records like its predecessors, featuring once again Paul Kuhr.[3][4]

Dan Swanö has a diverse vocal register, encompassing many styles, which include death growls; clean, melodic singing with a warm rich tone; deep, dark, gothic vocals and thrash shouting. As a peculiarity, he is a left-handed guitarist, but plays on right-handed guitars without reversing the strings (highest strings up), which is quite unusual.

Unisound Studio

Unisound Studio (also Unisound Recordings[5][6] or Gorysound Studio)[7] is a recording studio owned and operated by Dan Swanö. It used to be in Finspång, Sweden, but was closed down in around 2001 because of his family.[8] The studio was later relocated into Swanö's home in Örebro, Sweden.

Family and work

Dan with his brother Dag

Despite the large amount of releases to his name, Swanö up until recently worked full-time in a music store[9] (Musikbörsen) in Örebro, near his home in Sweden, rarely doing live performances with any of his bands. Dan has an older brother, Dag Swanö who plays guitars and keyboards in Nightingale, formerly under the name of "Tom Nouga".[10]

Musical contributions

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Bands	Audio engineering	Audio mastering	Audio mixing	Backing vocals	Bass guitar	Drum kit	Electric guitar	Electronic keyboard	Former member	Member	Other Instruments	Record producer	Vocals
Aeon[11]		Y	Y
Altar				Y				Y
Ancient	Y		Y	Y				Y				Y
Ancient Ascendant		Y[12]		Y[12]
Another Life						Y	Y	Y
Another Perfect Day													Y
Argentum							Y						Y
As Light Dies		Y				Y						Y
Battlelore		Y	Y									Y
Bloodbath	Y			Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y			Y
Bombshell Rocks								Y
Brejn Dedd						Y			Y				Y
Bucovina		Y	Y
Canopy							Y						Y
Coldworker												Y
Coraxo		Y[13]
Cronian		Y
Dark Funeral												Y
Darkcide					Y		Y						Y
Darkified							Y	Y	Y
Dawn	Y
Dawn of Dreams		Y[14]											Y
De Infernali													Y
Demiurg							Y>	Y		Y
Demon Project													Y
Denial		Y
Diabolical Masquerade						Y	Y	Y				Y	Y
Dissection	Y
Edge of Sanity	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y		Y	Y
Effloresce		Y	Y
Evergrey		Y	Y
Evocation[15]												Y
Evoke												Y
Fall of Serenity												Y
Fleshcrawl												Y
Fractal Gates		Y	Y										Y[16]
Frameshift													Y
Gates of Ishtar								Y
Ghost						Y
Ghostorm				Y>								Y	Y
Godsend								Y	Y				Y
Gorath[17]		Y
Hail of Bullets[18]												Y	Y
Hallows Die		Y
Hearse		Y
Incision					Y		Y						Y
Infestdead					Y	Y		Y
Insomnium			Y[19]
Kaoteon		Y
Karaboudjan	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y		Y	Y
Katatonia				Y		Y		Y
Lay Down Rotten		Y	Y										Y
Maceration				Y				Y					Y
M.E.S.S.		Y	Y
Mahlstrøm													Y
Marduk			Y
Masticate					Y		Y		Y			Y
Mechanization		Y[20]
Millencolin												Y
Mirrors of Obsidian		Y
Moredhel												Y
Mörk Gryning												Y
Motorowl		Y[21]	Y
MyGrain		Y	Y
Nasum		Y										Y
Necrochamber		Y	Y
Nightingale	Y	Y			Y	Y	Y	Y				Y	Y
Novembers Doom[22]			Y				Y
Novembre												Y
Nårdegaist		Y
Oddland		Y	Y
Odyssey[23]					Y[24]	Y[24]		Y				Y	Y
Omnium Gatherum		Y	Y	Y								Y
Opeth	Y		Y									Y
Overflash						Y
Pain	Y
Pan.Thy.Monium					Y			Y
Proserpine[25]													Y
Rakshasas		Y
Ribspreader						Y	Y			Y
Route Nine					Y		Y	Y	?	?		Y
Rytmihäiriö[26]		Y	Y
Scartown		Y[27]
Somnae		Y[28]
Sörskogen					Y	Y		Y	Y
Star One				Y								Y	Y
Steel									Y			Y
Subway Mirror							Y					Y
The Foreshadowing[29]		Y	Y
Theatre of Tragedy	Y		Y								Y
Therion												Y
Threshold												Y
Torture Division[30]												Y
Total Death		Y	Y	Y								Y
Total Terror							Y		Y			Y
Uncanny	Y
Under Black Clouds	Y		Y				Y					Y
Vinterland								Y				Y
Wake Arkane													Y
Winds												Y
Witherscape	Y	Y	Y	Y		Y	Y	Y		Y		Y	Y
Wounded Knee												Y	Y

Discography

Year	Bands	Title	Instruments					Notes
1985	Ghost	Djävulstriangeln	Vocals			Drums		Demo
1986	Ghost	Hollywood	Vocals			Drums		Demo
1987	Ghost	Solens Söner	Vocals			Drums		Demo
1988	Brejn Dedd	First Demo	Backing vocals			Drums		Demo
1988	Brejn Dedd	Ugly Tapez	Backing vocals			Drums		Demo
1989	Brejn Dedd	Born Ugly	Backing vocals			Drums		Demo
1989	Unicorn	A Collection of Worlds, Part I	Vocals			Drums		Demo
1989	Unicorn	A Collection of Worlds, Part II	Vocals			Drums		Demo
1990	Masticate	Desecration	Vocals	Guitars	Bass			Demo
1990	Stygg Död	Välkommen till Helvetet	Vocals		Bass			Demo
1990	Stygg Död	666+Våld	Vocals		Bass			Demo
1990	Pan.Thy.Monium	...Dawn			Bass		Keyboards	Demo
1990	Ulan Bator	Gummicancer	Backing vocals			Drums		Demo
1990	Incision	Perverted Possessions	Vocals			Drums		Demo
1990	Deppdöden	Titta först på när jag dansar				Drums		EP
1990	Wounded Knee	Searching	Backing vocals			Drums		EP
1990	Ulan Bator	På Rätt Spår	Backing vocals			Drums		EP
1990	Subway Mirror/O(:the circle)	Prime	Vocals	Guitars
1991	Pan.Thy.Monium	Dream II			Bass		Keyboards	EP
1991	Incision	Infest Incest	Vocals			Drums		EP, Unreleased
1991	Edge of Sanity	Nothing But Death Remains	Vocals	Add. Guitar			Keyboards
1991	Subway Mirror/O(:the circle)	Golliwog	Vocals	Guitars
1991	Unicorn	The Weirdest of Tales	Vocals			Drums		Demo
1991	Wounded Knee	Feelings	Backing vocals			Drums
1992	Edge of Sanity	Unorthodox	Vocals	Add. Guitar			Keyboards
1992	Pan.Thy.Monium	Dawn of Dreams			Bass		Keyboards
1992	Maceration	A Serenade of Agony	Vocals
1992	Route Nine	Disrupted Vacancy	Vocals		Bass	Drums	Keyboards	Demo
1992	Subway Mirror/O(:the circle)	RaQ	Vocals	Guitars
1992	Unicorn	After Before	Vocals			Drums		Demo
1993	Edge of Sanity	The Spectral Sorrows	Vocals	Add. Guitar			Keyboards
1993	Route Nine	Before I Close My Eyes Forever	Vocals		Bass	Drums	Keyboards	EP
1993	Pan.Thy.Monium	Khaooohs			Bass		Keyboards
1993	Unicorn	Ever Since	Vocals			Drums
1993	Subway Mirror/O(:the circle)	Jpp	Vocals	Guitars
1994	Edge of Sanity	Until Eternity Ends	Vocals	Add. Guitar			Keyboards	EP
1994	Edge of Sanity	Purgatory Afterglow	Vocals	Add. Guitar			Keyboards
1994	Subway Mirror/O(:the circle)	Unreleased album	Vocals	Guitars
1995	Unicorn	Emotional Wasteland	Vocals			Drums
1995	Nightingale	The Breathing Shadow	Vocals	All Instruments
1996	Edge of Sanity	Crimson	Vocals	Add. Guitar			Keyboards
1996	Nightingale	The Closing Chronicles	Vocals	Guitars		Drums	Keyboards
1996	Infestdead	Killing Christ		Guitars	Bass	Drum-programming		EP
1996	Pan.Thy.Monium	Khaooohs and Kon-Fus-Ion			Bass
1997	Edge of Sanity	Infernal	Vocals	Add. Guitar			Keyboards
1998	Subway Mirror/O(:the circle)	Wisepope	Vocals	Guitars
1997	Infestdead	Hellfuck		Guitars	Bass	Drum-programming
1998	Steel	Heavy Metal Machine	Vocals					EP
1998	Dan Swanö	Moontower	Vocals	All Instruments
1999	Edge of Sanity	Evolution	Vocals	Add. Guitar			Keyboards	Compilation
1999	Odyssey	Odyssey	Vocals	All Instruments				EP
1999	Katatonia	Tonight's Decision				Session drums
1999	Infestdead	JesuSatan	Vocals	Guitars	Bass	Drum-programming
2000	Nightingale	I	Vocals	Guitars		Drums	Keyboards
2000	Bloodbath	Breeding Death	Backing vocals			Drums		EP
2001	Karaboudjan	Sbrodj	Vocals	All Instruments				EP
2001	Route Nine	The Works	Vocals	Guitars	Bass	Drums	Keyboards	Compilation
2002	Bloodbath	Resurrection Through Carnage				Drums
2002	Nightingale	Alive Again	Vocals	Guitars			Keyboards
2002	Star One	Space Metal	Vocals
2003	Edge of Sanity	Crimson II	Vocals	All Instruments
2004	Nightingale	Invisible	Vocals	Guitars			Keyboards
2004	Bloodbath	Nightmares Made Flesh	Backing vocals	Guitars	Bass
2005	Nightingale	Nightfall Overture	Vocals	Guitars			Keyboards
2005	Nightingale	Alive Again	Vocals	Guitars			Keyboards	Live
2006	Edge of Sanity	When All Is Said	Vocals	Add. Guitar			Keyboards	Compilation
2007	Darkcide	Split EP with Infestdead	Vocals	All Instruments
2007	Nightingale	White Darkness	Vocals	Guitar			Keyboards
2008	Bloodbath	The Wacken Carnage	Backing vocals	Guitar				Live
2008	Total Terror	Total Terror	Vocals	Guitar
2008	Nightingale	Box of Rock	Vocals	Guitar			Keyboards	Compilation
2010	Odyssey	Reinventing the Past	Vocals	All Instruments
2010	Star One	Victims of the Modern Age	Vocals
2010	Pan.Thy.Monium	...Dawn+Dream II			Bass		Keyboards	Compilation
2012	Edge of Sanity	Kur-Nu-Gi-A	Vocals	Add. Guitar			Keyboards	EP
2013	Witherscape	The Inheritance	Vocals			Drums	Keyboards
2014	Nightingale	Retribution	Vocals	Guitars			Keyboards
2014	Witherscape	The New Tomorrow	Vocals	Guitars			Keyboards	EP
2015	Unicorn	A Collection of Worlds Resurrection	Vocals			Drums		Compilation
2016	Infestdead	Satanic Serenades			Bass	Drum-programming		Compilation
2016	Witherscape	The Northern Sanctuary	Vocals	Guitars			Keyboards
2017	Nightingale	Rock Hard Live	Vocals	Guitars			Keyboards	Live
2018	Ghost	1983-1988	Vocals			Drums		Compilation

Miscellaneous

• Laodicea
• Manfred Villes
• Necrony – guest vocals, guitars, compositions (under the alias "Day Disyraah")
• Second Sky[31]
• Schecht + Akerfeldt + Swanö '98
• The Lucky Seven
• The Project Hate MCMXCIX – producer[32] on Cybersonic Superchrist. Mixing and Mastering on Deadmarch: Initiation of Blasphemy, Armageddon March Eternal – Symphonies of Slit Wrists, In Hora Mortis Nostræ, and The Lustrate Process
• Ulan Bator

References

1. "Ratsit – Gratis upplysning pĺ företag och privatpersoner". Ratsit.se. Archived from the original on 4 October 2011. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
2. Ankeny, Jason. "Biography: Bloodbath". Blabbermouth.net. Retrieved 16 March 2010.
3. "Witherscape: Releases". Witherscape.com. Archived from the original on 18 August 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
4. "Century Media Records: Witherscape". Century Media Records. Archived from the original on 3 August 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
5. Who is who in Lithuania, UAB Neolitas, 1997, p, 75.
6. Not to be confused with the Athens-based Unisound Records.
7. Nicolas Bénard, Robert Culat, Katatonia : Sous un ciel de plomb, Camion Blanc, 2015, "Environnement technique."
8. CoC : Katatonia : Interview : 8/12/2001 Archived 28 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Chroniclesofchaos.com. Retrieved on 2016-07-25.
9. "Dan Swanö comments on the next album release". UltimateMetal.com. 21 February 2011. Archived from the original on 14 November 2011. Retrieved 15 March 2012.
10. "Dag Swanö - Encyclopaedia Metallum: The Metal Archives". Metal-archives.com. Archived from the original on 30 April 2019. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
11. "Aeon: New Album Title Announced". Blabbermouth.net. 17 February 2010. Archived from the original on 19 February 2010. Retrieved 16 March 2010.
12. "ANCIENT ASCENDANT To Release 'Into The Dark' In August". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. 7 June 2012. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
13. "Unisound". Unisound.se. Archived from the original on 10 May 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
14. "Unisound". Unisound.se. Archived from the original on 10 May 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
15. "Evocation Prepares To Record New Album". Blabbermouth.net. 24 January 2010. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 16 March 2010.
16. "Beyond the Self". Fractalgates.bandcamp.com. Archived from the original on 2 July 2019. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
17. "Gorath Parts Ways With Drummer, Announces Replacement". Blabbermouth.net. 27 December 2009. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 16 March 2010.
18. "Hail of Bullets Putting Finishing Touches on New Album". Blabbermouth.net. 13 March 2010. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 16 March 2010.
19. "Century Media Records - Insomnium: : new album and book "Winter's Gate" to be released September 23rd, 2016!". Centurymedia.com. Archived from the original on 5 October 2016. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
20. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 23 March 2012. Retrieved 10 May 2011.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
21. "MOTOROWL: NEW ALBUM "OM GENERATOR"". Century Media Records. 26 June 2016. Archived from the original on 5 January 2017. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
22. "Novembers Doom: A Eulogy For The Living Lost Video Released". Blabbermouth.net. 16 February 2010. Archived from the original on 18 February 2010. Retrieved 16 March 2010.
23. "Odyssey: Reinventing The Past Artwork Unveiled". Blabbermouth.net. 1 March 2010. Archived from the original on 4 March 2010. Retrieved 16 March 2010.
24. Odyssey (EP, 1999) & Reinventing the Past (Album, 2010)
25. "About Proserpine". Proserpineband.com. Archived from the original on 5 March 2012. Retrieved 30 March 2010.
26. "Albumit | Rytmihäiriö". Surmacore.com. Archived from the original on 12 July 2010. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
27. "Легенды большого города" (Russian spelling for "Legends of a big city")
28. Forever More (EP)"Dan Swanö Mastering Somnae Forevermore E.P." Myspace.com. Archived from the original on 26 December 2013. Retrieved 20 March 2010.
29. "Second World Out Now". The Foreshadowing.com. Archived from the original on 26 December 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
30. "Torture Division: Evighetens Dårar II Demo Details Revealed". Blabbermouth.net. 2 March 2010. Archived from the original on 4 March 2010. Retrieved 16 March 2010.
31. "Dan Swanö Issues Update on Second Sky Project". Blabbermouth.net. 4 February 2010. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 16 March 2010.
32. "The Project Hate MCMXCIX Announces Lineup Changes". Blabbermouth.net. 5 January 2010. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 16 March 2010.

External links

• The official Dan Swanö website
• Unisound
• Official Odyssey Myspace page
• Interview with Swanö