31 Years Ago: MEFISTO record The Puzzle demo

Daily Noise - / 2017

31 Years Ago: MEFISTO record The Puzzle demo

Cult Swedish thrash / death, MEFISTO recorded their last demo together in November 1986. They split soon after (see interview except below) but have recently reunited with the original lineup to record a new album, 2.0.1.6: This Is the End of It All... the Beginning of Everything... and a self-titled album in 2017.

Musically, we drifted in different directions, which you might be able to hear on the two demos. Omar's guitar solos started to take over, like seven-minute Malmsteen solos. He became very egoistic. Sure he was skilled, but Roberto and I wanted to play rawer and more straightforward, like on Megalomania. Roberto and Omar never really got along, which resulted in a tooth being kicked out during the demo recording.
- Sandro Cajander, Mefisto interview, Septic zine #5

I was into tape trading, and the singer who formed Opeth, David, gave me Mefisto's The Puzzle demo. Up until then I was interested in death metal, but I wasn't really blown away. Death metal like Hellhammer was just brutal and I liked the brutality but I was missing something. Mefisto had a guitar player who played classical guitar intros, and the solos were great, but it still had that brutality which I was looking for. I was just completely floored. For me The Puzzle is the Scandinavian death metal super classic.
- Mikael Åkerfeldt, Opeth interview, Swedish Death Metal