Nemhain

Nemhain is a United Kingdom hard rock and heavy metal group active since 2006. The band forms around Morrigan Hel on vocals, Adrian Erlandsson on drums, and a shifting line-up of guitarists and bass players, with Adrian Erlandsson the only member named in the supplied verified details.

Formation and early activity

The project begins in early 2006, when Adrian Erlandsson and Morrigan Hel start singing Leadbelly’s Where Did You Sleep Last Night together and decide to form a band. After rehearsals and writing sessions, the group plays a private show at the Dungeon, then makes its first public appearance at an all-day festival at Bar Monsta in Camden in August.

In October of the same year the band records in Eastbourne, resulting in the EP Blood Runs Free, a limited pressing of 1,000 copies. The EP is named after an unrecorded song written by Morrigan Hel. It goes on sale at a Bar Monsta performance and the band also films a promotional video for Ana. Later that year they play a New Year’s Eve show with King Lizard at the Purple Turtle in Camden.

Members and related work

The line-up includes Morrigan Hel on vocals, Lakis on guitar, Sam Astley on guitar, Lisa Witch on bass guitar and backing vocals, and Adrian “Swede” Erlandsson on drums. Earlier line-ups also include Cherry Forever on guitar and backing vocals, Liv Fast on lead guitar, Dick Limelight on guitar, Stevie Lee on guitar, and other short-term players during the band’s early period.

Morrigan Hel is also associated with Rockworld TV, stage performance with Motörhead, Cradle of Filth, and Godhead, and with work as a fetish model, television presenter, actress, and performer in Nature Morte. Her earlier musical projects include a teenage band called The Art of Falling Apart and later work with Obsidian, who record a version of Girls Like Honey that is later revived for Nemhain.

Cherry Forever starts out as a bassist with the all-girl group Desolation Angels, later adds guitar to her work, sings backing vocals for Franz Ferdinand on L.Wells, contributes to tracks on the Demented Scum Cats LP, and also appears in Nature Morte. Lisa Witch begins with the tenor horn at school, later experiments with comic songs at university, and also appears briefly in Nature Morte. Sam Astley can play many instruments and is one half of the independent film company The Cry & The Chainsaw, which makes music videos including Ana and short films, with Sam also contributing to soundtracks. Lakis is linked to Area 54 and Love & Bullets.

Adrian Erlandsson’s background

Adrian Erlandsson starts playing in bands in 1981, first forming Black Nuns and then Berits Polisonger, before moving through Penance. He becomes a founding member of At the Gates in 1990, later plays in Skitsystem and takes part in the bands Terror and Hyperhug, both with At the Gates connections. In 1996 he forms The Haunted with the Bjorler brothers, records a demo in 1997 and an album in 1998, then leaves in late 1998. He also drummers for Nifelheim and other bands before joining Cradle of Filth in 1999 after playing on one track of the Cradle to Enslave EP. He remains with Cradle of Filth until May 2006, appearing on many albums, singles and DVDs, then joins Needleye and plays on their album Ode To None and additional demos. He also works with Netherbird, Tenet and Brujeria, and later acts as session drummer with 12 Ton Method.

Recordings, shows and line-up changes

Nemhain records a cover of Die, Die My Darling for a Misfits tribute album and later records a new EP in Belgium. The band supports Rose Tattoo at the Scala in London, uses Robin Guy as a stand-in on drums when Adrian is touring with Brujeria, and plays the Electric Ballroom in Camden before its first mini-UK tour. It also performs in Holland, returns to Los Angeles for two shows, and enters a studio in Sweden to record its debut album.

The band’s line-up changes repeatedly in its early years. Sam Astley leaves, Dick Limelight replaces him, then both Dick and Rachel leave before a scheduled Prague festival appearance. Mick Priestley and then Stevie Lee help at later rehearsals and shows, before Lakis joins the band alongside Sam Astley’s eventual return, completing the line-up at that point.

Nemhain also secures a deal with Orange Amps and appears on a Devolution magazine CD with the track Dirty Weekend. The song is recorded at Fortress Studios and produced by Greg Brimson and Russ Russell.