About Me
Stockholm Black Metal outfit MÖRK GRYNING, which, in English, means ‘Dark Dawn’, were founded in 1993 by vocalist / guitarist / bassist Goth Gorgon (a.k.a. Jonas Berndt) and guitarist / drummer Draakh Kimera (Peter Nagy) during 1993. The opening 1995 record 'Tusen År Har Gått', recorded at Unisound Studios and released by No Fashion, was produced by EDGE OF SANITY's DAN SWANÖ. That same year, Berndt, under the pseudonym 'Heinous', activated side project MORTIFER.
The following year the founding pair pulled in live musicians BERSERK, DISMEMBER, THYRFING and SINS OF OMISSION bassist Martin Persson, ETERNAL OATH keyboard player Pär Almqvist and drummer Dennis "Devastator" Ekdahl, a well known figure from acts such as MORTIFER, ATHELA, MOURNFUL, MYSTIC PROPHECY, RAISE HELL and SINS OF OMISSION.
The group returned to action in recorded in November 1996, working at Sunlight Studios together with Tomas Skogsberg and DISMEMBER's Fred Estby to craft the 'Return Fire' follow up. This album would include their interpretation of SLAYER's 'Necrophiliac'. Berndt and Ekdahl's MORTIFER venture issued the 'Battle Of The Titans' demo in 1997. They also recorded an album, 'Masters Of The Universe', although this did not see release.
MÖRK GRYNING then took a break for a few years, returning in 2000 along with guitarist Avatar (a.k.a. Mattias Eklund), a scene veteran of REPUGNANT, SINS OF OMISSION, MORTIFER, FIST FIRST, VANISHED, REQUIEM and, as drummer 'Necropounder', "Crack Metal" band CATHTICE. This unit cut the 'Maelstrom Chaos' album at Grieghallen Studios. 2001 live dates would see the inclusion of further session players, guitarist Stefan Lundgren and keyboard player HYPOCRITE Henrik "Headbang" Hedborg.
Jonas Berndt would join Death Metal band DIABOLICAL as stand in live bassist during May of 2001. A European package tour, billed with AETURNUS, HECATE ENTHRONED, ENTHRONED, AGATHODAIMON and INFERNAL POETRY, ensued during Spring of 2002. However, these dates would be minus guitarist Avatar who quit in March. Further changes later in the year witnessed the induction of keyboard player Johan Larsson but the decampment of drummer Henrik Aberg.
Both Goth Gorgon and Draakh Kimera guested on the 2002 album 'The Faint Smell Of Suicide' from Italian Death Metal band INFLICTION. The band, working with producer Daniel Bergstrand, regrouped in early 2003 cutting a new album provisionally billed as 'Pieces Of An Expressionistic Avantgardism'. This title was subsequently changed to 'Pieces Of Primal Expressionism'. The group allied themselves with GREEN CARNATION and SUIDAKRA for European touring in October of 2003. However, upon completion of these shows Draakh Kimera resigned his post in order to prioritise his other acts ETERNAL OATH and AMARANTH.
In January of 2004 MÖRK GRYNING cut their rendition of 'Neverwhere' for an AT THE GATES tribute album 'Slaughterous Souls - A Tribute to At The Gates' released through Drowned Scream Records. Jonas Berndt, revealing that "Black or Death Metal simply doesn't attract me in the way it used to do", announced the band was to fold in January 2005. The singer subsequently revealed he was working up a Stoner / Psychedelic band.
Bio located at http://www.rockdetector.com/
