| Kristian Wåhlin | |
| Alias: | Necrolord, Chris Steele |
| Birth Date: | 4 December 1971[1] |
| Birth Place: | Gothenburg, Västra Götaland County, Sweden |
| Instrument: | Guitar, vocals, drums (early) |
| Occupation: | Musician, graphic designer |
| Genre: | Death metal, melodic death metal, black metal, gothic metal, power metal, doom metal |
| Years Active: | 1988 - present |
Kristian Wåhlin (born 4 December 1971) is a Swedish musician, singer, graphic designer and album cover artist for many bands in the extreme metal scene worldwide. He is often credited under his pseudonym Necrolord.
Wåhlin's interest in art began while attending Schillerska Grammar School, a secondary educational institution in central Gothenburg. He has referenced Romantic and Renaissance painters like Caspar David Friedrich, Albrecht Dürer and Hieronymus Bosch as early influences. This interest also coincided with the time in which he studied music.
At the age of 17, Wåhlin formed Grotesque (as guitarist) with school friend Tomas Lindberg on vocals, Alf Svensson on guitar, and Tomas Eriksson on drums.[2] The 1990 break-up of Grotesque would lead to the formation of At the Gates, who would be credited as instigators of the "Gothenburg Melodic death metal sound". Wåhlin would collaborate with Lindberg and other At the Gates members a short time additionally in the death metal band Liers in Wait, and would go on to design the "Russian icon" cover-art of At the Gates' cornerstone release, Slaughter of the Soul.
Dissection, who shared practice quarters with At the Gates, would display illustrations by Wåhlin on the cover of The Somberlain and also Storm of the Light's Bane; the latter featuring the infamous scene of the "grim reaper horseman" in the middle of a snow-covered forest tundra. In the Nightside Eclipse, the debut of seminal Norwegian black metal band Emperor, would also be graced with his work on the cover. Wåhlin would continue as an album artist for several other bands in the European death, black, doom, power and gothic metal collective throughout the 2000s.
Liers in Wait and Decollation would feature musical contribution by Wåhlin before both groups folded in the mid-1990s. In 1995 he started gothic metal band Diabolique, where he was joined by some musicians from bands in which he had previously participated. Diabolique's latest release was The Green Goddess in 2001. They are currently writing material for an upcoming 2010 album. Wåhlin also collaborated with longtime friend Lindberg in the hardcore band The Great Deceiver.
His art studio is located in Höganäs municipality, Sweden.
| Artist | Year | Album | Credit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grotesque | 1996 | In the Embrace of Evil (Compilation) | Guitar |
| Liers in Wait | 1992 | Spiritually Uncontrolled Art (EP) | Guitar |
| Decollation | 1993 | Cursed Lands (EP) | Drums |
| Diabolique | 1996 | The Diabolique (EP) | Vocals and guitar |
| 1997 | Wedding the Grotesque | Vocals and guitar | |
| 1999 | The Black Flower | Vocals and guitar | |
| 2000 | Butterflies (EP) | Vocals and guitar | |
| 2001 | The Green Goddess | Vocals and guitar | |
| The Great Deceiver | 1999 | Cave In (EP) | Guitar |
| 2000 | Jet Black Art (2000) | Guitar | |
| 2002 | A Venom Well Designed | Guitar | |
| 2004 | Terra Incognito | Guitar | |
| 2007 | Life Is Wasted on the Living | Guitar |
| Artist | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| Ablaze My Sorrow | 1996 | If Emotions Still Burn |
| Aeon | 2012 | Aeons Black |
| Amorphis | 1996 | Elegy |
| 2010 | Magic & Mayhem – Tales from the Early Years | |
| Antestor | 2000 | Martyrium |
| 2004 | Det tapte liv (EP) | |
| 2005 | The Forsaken | |
| Apostasy | 2004 | Cell 666 |
| 1995 | Slaughter of the Soul | |
| Atheist | 1993 | Elements |
| Auberon | 1998 | The Tale of Black |
| Bathory | 1996 | Blood on Ice |
| 2002 | Nordland I | |
| 2003 | Nordland II | |
| 2006 | In Memory of Quorthon (Compilation) | |
| Becoming the Archetype | 2008 | Dichotomy |
| Benediction | 2001 | Organised Chaos |
| The Black Dahlia Murder | 2007 | Nocturnal |
| 2017 | Nightbringers | |
| Bloodwork | 2014 | World Without End |
| Blut aus Nord | 2014 | Memoria Vetusta III: Saturnian Poetry |
| Cemetary | 1992 | An Evil Shade of Grey |
| 1996 | Sundown | |
| 1997 | Last Confession | |
| 2000 | The Beast Divine (as Cemetary 1213) | |
| 2005 | Phantasma | |
| Crimson Midwinter | 1998 | Random Chaos |
| Crown of Thorns | 1995 | The Burning |
| 1997 | Eternal Death | |
| Crystal Age | 1995 | Far Beyond Divine Horizons |
| Crystal Eyes | 2000 | In Silence They March |
| 2003 | Vengeance Descending | |
| Dark Funeral | 1996 | The Secrets of the Black Arts |
| 2005 | In the Sign... (EP) (reissue of Dark Funeral) | |
| 2016 | Where Shadows Forever Reign | |
| Dark Tranquillity | 1995 | The Gallery |
| Decollation | 1992 | Cursed Lands (EP) |
| Desecrator | 1990 | Black Sermons (EP) |
| Desultory | 1994 | Bitterness |
| Diabolique | 1997 | Wedding the Grotesque |
| 1998 | The Diabolique (EP) | |
| 1999 | Black Flower | |
| 2000 | Butterflies (EP) | |
| 2001 | The Green Goddess | |
| Dismember | 1995 | Massive Killing Capacity |
| Dissection | 1991 | The Grief Prophecy (EP) |
| 1991 | Into Infinite Obscurity (EP) | |
| 1993 | The Somberlain | |
| 1995 | Storm of the Light's Bane | |
| 1996 | Where Dead Angels Lie (EP) | |
| 2003 | Live Legacy (Live album) | |
| 2004 | Maha Kali (Single) | |
| Dreams of Damnation | 2000 | Let the Violence Begin |
| Earth Flight | 2011 | Blue Hour Confessions |
| Ebony Tears | 1997 | Tortura Insomniae |
| Edge of Sanity | 1994 | Purgatory Afterglow |
| 2003 | Crimson II | |
| Emperor | 1994 | In the Nightside Eclipse |
| The End | 1996 | The End (EP) (logo) |
| Ensiferum | 2001 | Ensiferum |
| 2004 | Iron | |
| 2007 | Victory Songs | |
| 2009 | From Afar | |
| 2012 | Unsung Heroes | |
| Epitaph | 1993 | Seeming Salvation |
| 2016 | Sinner Waketh | |
| The Equinox ov the Gods | 1996 | Images of Forgotten Memories |
| 1997 | Fruits and Flowers of the Spectral Garden | |
| Evergrey | 1998 | The Dark Discovery (logo) |
| 1999 | Solitude, Dominance, Tragedy | |
| Evocation | 2007 | Tales from the Tomb (logo) |
| 2008 | Dead Calm Chaos (logo) | |
| 2010 | Apocalyptic (logo) | |
| 2012 | Illusions of Grandeur (logo) | |
| Excruciate | 1993 | Passage of Life |
| Exempt | 1992 | Ill Health (EP) |
| Extol | 1998 | Burial |
| 1999 | Mesmerized (EP) | |
| Firewind | 2002 | Between Heaven and Hell |
| The Generals | 2009 | Stand Up Straight |
| Godgory | 1999 | Resurrection |
| 2001 | Way Beyond | |
| Grand Magus | 2010 | Hammer of the North |
| Graveworm | 2003 | Engraved in Black |
| The Great Deceiver | 2000 | Jet Black Art (EP) |
| 2002 | A Venom Well Designed | |
| 2004 | Terra Incognito | |
| 2007 | Life Is Wasted on the Living (collaboration with Jacob Bannon of Converge) | |
| Grotesque | 1996 | In the Embrace of Evil (Compilation) |
| Heads or Tales | 1995 | Eternity Becomes a Lie |
| Heavenly | 2000 | Coming from the Sky |
| Hexen | 2012 | Being and Nothingness |
| Hexenhaus | 1997 | Dejavoodoo |
| Hollow | 1998 | Modern Cathedral |
| 1999 | Architect of the Mind | |
| Hypocrisy | 2009 | A Taste of Extreme Divinity |
| 2011 | Hell Over Sofia: 20 Years of Chaos and Confusion (Live DVD) | |
| I Am the Night | 2022 | While the Gods Are Sleeping |
| Impious | 1998 | Evilized |
| In Aeternum | 1999 | Forever Blasphemy |
| 2000 | The Pestilent Plague | |
| In Mourning | 2012 | The Weight of Oceans |
| 2016 | Afterglow | |
| 2019 | Garden of Storms | |
| Incrave | 2008 | Dead End |
| Incubus | 1996 | Serpent Temptation (re-recorded issue) |
| Infinity | 2013 | Non de Hac Terra |
| Iron Fire | 2000 | Thunderstorm |
| Jennie Tebler's Out of Oblivion | 2008 | Till Death Tear Us Part |
| Keen Hue | 1993 | Juicy Fruit Lucy |
| King Diamond | 1998 | Voodoo |
| Lake of Tears | 1994 | Greater Art |
| 1995 | Headstones | |
| 1997 | A Crimson Cosmos | |
| 2002 | The Neonai | |
| 2004 | Greatest Tears Vol I (Compilation) | |
| 2004 | Greatest Tears Vol II (Compilation) | |
| Laudamus | 2003 | Lost in Vain |
| Liers in Wait | 1996 | Spiritually Uncontrolled Art (EP) |
| Light This City | 2008 | Stormchaser |
| Luciferion | 1994 | Demonication (The Manifest) |
| The Man from the Moon | 2007 | Rocket Attack |
| Meduza | 2002 | Now and Forever |
| Memento Mori | 1996 | La Danse Macabre |
| 1997 | Songs for the Apocalypse Vol. IV | |
| Memory Garden | 1995 | Forever (EP) |
| 1999 | Verdict of Posterity | |
| 2000 | Mirage | |
| Merciless | 1994 | Unbound |
| Mercyful Fate | 1998 | Dead Again |
| The Moaning | 1997 | Blood From Stone |
| Morbid | 2000 | December Moon (EP, reissue) |
| Morgana Lefay | 1993 | Knowing Just as I |
| 1993 | The Secret Doctrine | |
| 1995 | Sanctified | |
| 1996 | Maleficium | |
| 1999 | The Seventh Seal (as Lefay) | |
| 2000 | ...---... (SOS) (as Lefay) | |
| 2005 | Grand Materia | |
| 2007 | Aberrations of the Mind | |
| Narnia | 1998 | Awakening |
| 1999 | Long Live the King | |
| 2001 | Desert Land | |
| Necrophobic | 1997 | Darkside |
| 2018 | Mark of the Necrogram | |
| Netherbird | 2010 | Monument Black Colossal |
| Nifelheim | 1995 | Nifelheim |
| 1998 | Devil's Force | |
| Nirvana 2002 | 2009 | Recordings 89-91 (Compilation) (logo) |
| Nokturnal Mortum | 2017 | Істина (Istyna, Verity) |
| Opprobrium | 2000 | Discerning Forces |
| Opus Irae | 2015 | The Burden of Man (EP) |
| Phlebotomized | 1993 | Preach Eternal Gospels (EP) |
| Protector | 2013 | Reanimated Homunculus |
| 2016 | Cursed and Coronated | |
| Raise Hell | 1998 | Holy Target |
| Rosicrucian | 1992 | Silence |
| 1994 | No Cause for Celebration | |
| Sacramentum | 1996 | Far Away from the Sun |
| Sacrilege | 1996 | Lost in the Beauty You Slay |
| 1997 | The Fifth Season | |
| Sathanas | 2007 | Crowned Infernal |
| Scum | 1995 | Purple Dreams and Magic Poems |
| Setherial | 2003 | Endtime Divine |
| Shattered | 2004 | Wrapped in Plastic |
| Sins of Omission | 1999 | The Creation |
| Soul Reaper | 2003 | Life Erazer |
| Stortregn | 2013 | Evocation of Light |
| Suicidal Angels | 2009 | Sanctify the Darkness |
| Tad Morose | 1993 | Leaving the Past Behind |
| 1995 | Sender of Thoughts | |
| 1995 | Paradigma (EP) | |
| Therion | 1992 | Beyond Sanctorum |
| 1993 | ||
| 1995 | Lepaca Kliffoth | |
| Thulcandra | 2010 | Fallen Angel's Dominion |
| 2011 | Under a Frozen Sun | |
| 2015 | Ascension Lost | |
| Thundersteel | 1994 | Thundersteel |
| Tiamat | 1990 | Sumerian Cry |
| 1990 | A Winter Shadow (Single) | |
| 1991 | The Astral Sleep | |
| 1992 | Clouds | |
| 1994 | The Sleeping Beauty: Live in Israel (Live EP) | |
| 1994 | Wildhoney | |
| Utumno | 1993 | Across the Horizon |
| Vicious Art | 2004 | Fire Falls and the Waiting Waters |
| Wintersun | 2004 | Wintersun |
| Wisdom Call | 2001 | Wisdom Call |
| Witchery | 1998 | Restless & Dead |
| 1999 | Witchburner (EP) | |
| 1999 | Dead, Hot & Ready | |
| 2001 | Symphony for the Devil | |
| Witherfall | 2017 | Nocturnes and Requiems |
| 2018 | A Prelude to Sorrow | |
| 2019 | Vintage | |
| 2021 | Curse of Autumn | |
| Woods of Infinity | 2011 | Förlåt |
| Wuthering Heights | 1999 | Within |
| Various Artists | 1996 | Beauty in Darkness |
| 1997 | Beauty in Darkness, Vol. 2 | |
| 1999 | Beauty in Darkness, Vol. 3 | |
| 2000 | Black Sun Records Catalog 2000 | |
| 2003 | Come Armageddon: Endtime Productions V Years | |
| 1994 | Death ... Is Just the Beginning III | |
| 1997 | Death ... Is Just the Beginning IV | |
| 1999 | Death ... Is Just the Beginning V | |
| 2000 | Death ... Is Just the Beginning VI | |
| 2002 | Death ... Is Just the Beginning Classics (DVD) | |
| 2006 | December Songs: A Tribute to Katatonia | |
| 2002 | King Diamond Tribute | |
| 2006 | Maximum Metal Vol. 100 (DVD) | |
| 2006 | Maximum Metal Vol. 104 (DVD) | |
| 2006 | Maximum Metal Vol. 111 (DVD) | |
| 2007 | Maximum Metal Vol. 114 (DVD) | |
| 2007 | Maximum Metal Vol. 117 (DVD) | |
| 2007 | Maximum Metal Vol. 120 (DVD) | |
| 2008 | Maximum Metal Vol. 123 (DVD) | |
| 2008 | Maximum Metal Vol. 126 (DVD) | |
| 2008 | Maximum Metal Vol. 129 (DVD) | |
| 2008 | Maximum Metal Vol. 132 (DVD) | |
| 2008 | Maximum Metal Vol. 135 (DVD) | |
| 2009 | Maximum Metal Vol. 138 (DVD) | |
| 1999 | Metal Dreams | |
| 2000 | Metal Dreams Vol. 2 | |
| 2001 | Metal Dreams Vol. 3 | |
| 2002 | Metal Dreams Vol. 4 | |
| 2003 | Metal Dreams Vol. 5 | |
| 2005 | Metal Message Vol. II | |
| 2005 | Monsters of Death (DVD) | |
| 2007 | Monsters of Death Vol. 2 (DVD) | |
| 2003 | Monsters of Metal - The Ultimate Metal Compilation (DVD) | |
| 2004 | Monsters of Metal - The Ultimate Metal Compilation Vol. 2 (DVD) | |
| 2004 | Monsters of Metal - The Ultimate Metal Compilation Vol. 3 (DVD) | |
| 2005 | Monsters of Metal - The Ultimate Metal Compilation Vol. 4 (DVD) | |
| 2006 | Monsters of Metal - The Ultimate Metal Compilation Vol. 5 (DVD) | |
| 2008 | Monsters of Metal - The Ultimate Metal Compilation Vol. 6 (DVD) | |
| 2009 | Monsters of Metal - The Ultimate Metal Compilation Vol. 7 (DVD) | |
| 1995 | Slatanic Slaughter: A Tribute to Slayer | |
| 1996 | Slatanic Slaughter II: A Tribute to Slayer | |
| 1998 | Sepulchral Feast: A Tribute to Sepultura (can also be found as "Sepultural Feast") | |
| 2002 | Tyrants of the Abyss: A Tribute to Morbid Angel |