Humans have long imagined oblivion. Through literature, film, music and art, we’ve stretched our imaginations into far-reaching places to envision the end of the world. Whether through slow dystopian descents under totalitarian rule, abrupt apocalyptic disasters or everything in between, humanity’s demise has always been a fertile subject.
But what happens when that decay unfolds right before your eyes, and fiction starts feeling terrifyingly real?
This is the question Swedish progressive metalcore outfit Allt grapple with on their debut album, From the New World. They plunge themselves into their worst nightmare, exploring the emotional and physical devastation left in the aftermath of a nuclear event.
The chilling “Remnant” imagines the terror of surviving such a disaster, while the squalling “Memory of Light” draws a dark picture of the destruction that would cause to one’s mental health. Later, the somber “Echoes” shines a light on Allt’s more melodic side, as they focus on a survivor reckoning with overwhelming grief and loss.
“It’s pretty scary,” acknowledges vocalist Robin Malmgren of the record’s theme. “It’s impossible to tell where we’re going. Everything goes so fast and [you think], Are we going to be the downfall of ourselves? One guy can just hit one button and then it’s over. If you survive, what do you do? You’ve got no one left, and that brings about an apocalypse within.”
Guitarist Olle Nordström deeply relates. In fact, the world’s state of permacrisis has weighed heavier on his shoulders than most. “Between the years of 2017 and 2020, until around the pandemic hit, I had heavy bouts of depression. I really felt that the world was going to end,” he says. “I was just waiting for something catastrophic to happen, basically, and I was stuck in that mindset for a couple of years. So that’s what I draw a lot of inspiration from, personally, trying to come to terms with those feelings, because it was quite heavy.”
Allt are transforming those feelings into colossal yet thoughtful metal — and people are listening. Since forming in 2020, they’ve been spreading their message through live shows across the United Kingdom and Europe, earning scores of new fans and cosigns from the likes of Animals as Leaders, Bleed From Within and Imminence — all of whom they’ve toured with.
This spring, they’ll bring the dark visions of From the New World across the Atlantic on their first-ever North American tour as the opener for Silent Planet and Invent Animate’s co-headlining run. All signs point to this being the year of Allt’s global breakout. But to understand where they’re headed, you first must know where they came from. That story begins in the small Swedish city of Karlskoga.
Robin Malmgren
Allt’s origins stretch back to their school days. Though they weren’t in the same grade, they were all part of the school choir. “You could skip mathematics if you went to the choir, and we all enjoyed music,” says Malmgren. Meanwhile, the band’s future guitarist Viktor Florman drafted Malmgren to scream on some demos he was working on — even though, at this point, the budding singer had never let out a guttural in his life. He taught himself by watching YouTube videos. “I probably did everything wrong,” says Malmgren, “but some small screams did come out.” After bringing onboard Nordström, bassist Samuel Mills and drummer Adam Björk, they set about making music — though not all that seriously at first.
Everything changed when the pandemic hit in 2020. They wanted to step things up, and that meant throwing their entire selves into creating. Up until then, they had been playing under a different name, but they decided to shed that identity, along with its more casual approach, to become Allt (which translates to “everything” in Swedish).
Their debut EP, Dark Waters, dropped during COVID’s first year — a unique experience in Sweden, where quarantine lockdowns were deemed unconstitutional and never enforced. Live music was still on ice, like everywhere else, which bought Allt time to hone their craft and develop their live performance. For Malmgren, it was also an opportunity to work on what he could do with his lungs.
“We [used] a lot of time to write new music and practice, especially me,” he acknowledges. “When we released the first EP, I had no idea what I was doing. I didn’t practice at all. No vocal warm-ups, whatsoever. Nothing. Then I was like, ‘The guys in the band are so good, and I’m not that good.’ I had to practice before making the second EP [2022’s The Seed of Self-Destruction] and, if you listen closely, you can hear the small evolution there in my voice.”
Allt wanted the freedom to traverse whatever musical realm they wanted, but above all, they wanted to tell stories. Sci-fi literature and film continue to be deep wells of inspiration. “We have a running joke that in order for us to make a new album, Christopher Nolan has to release a new movie,” jokes Nordström, adding that they used to walk onstage to [Hans Zimmer’s score of] “Paul’s Dream” from Denis Villeneuve’s Dune. “Movies just ignite a spark and make me want to write music.”
That influence bleeds through not just in the conceptual nature of From the New World, but also in its sound. The chilling atmospherics and muffled monologue of the opener, “A Flash of Light,” create a distinctly cinematic feel. Allt also draw heavy inspiration from nature and sought to simulate the feeling of apocalyptic isolation while recording their debut full-length — by retreating to a remote location in the woods.
“Since the beginning, we’d talked about renting a cabin,” says Malmgren. “It was amazing — there was total silence. It was the middle of winter and there was snow everywhere. The only thing you could hear when you walked out was wolves or owls. It felt like we were the only people in the world. Sam was the only one driving into town to buy food, so we barely saw any other humans at all.”
Ultimately, Allt want to create something immersive. If their biggest dreams come true, Nordström imagines them playing massive shows with retina-burning production. “If you look at techno music, you see all these holograms and you see all these massive displays. I would, for sure, love to do something on that scale,” he says. “I just want to be able to put on a show that transports people and that leaves people in complete awe.”
Dystopian times call for dystopian music, and Allt are delivering that in spades. It might just be the perfect time for them to break through to the new world.