Spiritual Beggars

Guitarist Michael Amott built his reputation through the grinding, groove-laden death metal of late-era Carcass and Arch Enemy, yet he channeled an entirely different impulse into Spiritual Beggars, whose classic-rock leanings made the band one of stoner metal’s most enduring under-the-radar acts. He launched the group in Halmstad, Sweden alongside bassist/vocalist Spice and drummer Ludwig Witt, the same musician who performed with ex-Carcass guitarist Bill Steer in the stoner outfit Firebird. Shortly after leaving Carcass, Amott unveiled the self-titled Spiritual Beggars debut in 1994. A subsequent contract with Music for Nations led to the band’s first release on that imprint, 1996’s Another Way to Shine. Keyboardist Per Wiberg joined as a guest on 1998’s Mantra III and was installed as a permanent member in time for 2000’s Ad Astra. Two years afterward the group delivered On Fire, still under the Music for Nations banner. The classic-rock momentum continued with 2005’s Demons, though touring proved limited because the members’ schedules were dominated by commitments elsewhere. A personnel shift occurred when vocalist Janne Christoffersson stepped away to concentrate on his other project, Grand Magus; Firewind frontman Apollo Papathanasio took his place in 2010, allowing the band to resume recording after a five-year hiatus. Later the same year they issued their seventh album, Return to Zero, via Inside Out Music. Extensive touring followed across Japan, Europe, and North America, and the Loud Park Festival appearance in Japan was captured on the live set Return to Live: Loud Park 2010. The group resumed its ’70s-style hard-rock trajectory with 2013’s Earth Blues and returned in 2016 with the expansive Sunrise to Sundown.