Edge Of Sanity was one of the top Swedish death metal bands of
the early nineties, as well as the main vehicle for
Dan Swanö, who has recorded with several other bands and has
been a well-respected producer in the Swedish metal community.
While the early-to-mid material such as Purgatory Afterglow were
quite good, the band arguably peaked with the ambitious Crimson,
consisting entirely of a single, impressively performed
40-minute song.
Their followup,
Infernal, though not bad, appears to foreshadow
Swanö's impending departure, as the album seems to lack any sort
of identity, and there is a noticeable split of Swanö songs
vs. non-Swanö songs.
With Swanö out of the band, the rest of the members
recruited Robert Karlsson as new vocalist and recorded one last
album, Cryptic, which was somewhat of a return to the
faster, less melodic early period of the band.
After the release of the Evolution compilation (which
features, as many compilations do, various remixes and unreleased
material), the members drifted apart and the band eventually
broke up, though not with any real announcement.
Finally,
In 2003 Swanö resurrected the Edge Of Sanity name in 2003,
recording Crimson II essentially as a solo release with some
help from various friends.
The band was formally dissolved soon afterward.
