‘Gore metal’ is a somewhat nebulous term, but make no mistake, Stockholm’s LIK fall under it. Featuring current and former members of Witchery, Katatonia, Bloodbath, Repugnant, and Carnal Forge, the band may be more arch and deliciously melodic than acts like Exhumed or Impaled, but their music still revels in all things carnal and disgusting. While 2018’s Carnage launched them to new heights with its cyclone of claw-inspiring riffs and snarled lyrics about gross medical malpractice, this year’s upcoming Misanthropic Breed promises to add a little more hate and force to the band’s sound.
As such, it might not surprise fans to learn that guitarist Niklas Sandin enjoys a good horror movie or two. “I’ve been a fan of horror movies since I was approximately ten years old, watching flicks like Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street,” the axe-man tells The Pit. Given his adoration for the glory of guts, we decided to ask Nik to tell us his favorite gore scenes from cinematic history. Here’s what he ripped from the crevice of his mind and jiggled in our faces…
Braindead (Dead Alive) (1992) – Death by lawn mower
“A classic movie from Peter Jackson, who became famous for the Lord Of The Rings movies, is Braindead [Known throughout a lot of the world as Dead Alive. -Ed]. It’s a very gory but yet humorous tale about a rat monkey that makes it to a zoo in a calm and sleepy town. Things eventually get out of hand and the last chunk of the movie is a proper gorefest. One can’t stop laughing at how people get killed, and my fave is when the lead character picks up a lawn mover and goes for a proper bloodbath. “
Robocop (1987) – Melting toxic waste man goes pop
“One scene that comes to mind, in a movie that might not be labeled as a horror movie, is one of the last ones in Robocop. One of the bad guys drives into [a vat of] toxic waste and starts to melt. Eventually, with the last energy and effort in his body, he stumbles out in front of a car and get totally annihilated.”
Event Horizon (1997) – Hell montage
“Event Horizon is by far the best horror movie to take place in space. It has a very creepy vibe and it always gives me goosebumps. It features some quick and semi subliminal clips that are truly gory, with human bodies being torn apart when hanging from chains. They’re very fast, but I’ve made sure to pause when they appear, and they could all fit for a death metal album cover. Legend says that there’s lots more of those horrific scenes, but that someone has misplaced them, making it impossible to make a directors cut. Which I think is a real shame.”
Pet Semetary (1989) and Hostel (2005) – Achilles tendon cut
“For this one, it is something that happens in not just one movie but two, making it worth mentioning both. It’s a maybe not so bloody, but yet for me, so disturbing. I have to honestly look away every time that happens in a movie. It’s when the child in Pet Sematary cuts of the heel tendon at the end of the movie. It makes my whole body shiver and the same happens in Hostel, when one of the travelers is offered to walk out from the torture room with both cut off.”
Tucker and Dale vs Evil (2011) – The wood chipper scene
If you haven’t seen Tucker and Dale Vs Evil yet, it’s a must. A good slasher comedy that takes place out in the woods. It has a great spin on the whole genre and, I absolutely love it every time I see it. In it, there’s an epic scene with a youngster trying to attack Dale while he is disposing wood. The kid stumbles and accidentally fins his way into the disposer and gets chopped into oblivion.”
The Cabin In The Woods (2011) – The monster mash
“Another movie in the same vein is Cabin in the Woods, which also is a must in my book.”
LIK’s Misanthropic Breed comes out Friday, September 25, via Metal Blade Records, and is available for preorder.
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Words by Chris Krovatin
