NASUM was formed during the latter part of 1992 by Anders Jakobson (guitar) and Rickard Alriksson (drums/vocals). Their idea was to create true, straight-forward grindcore in the old NAPALM DEATH tradition, with no gore/porno distractions. By the Spring of 1993, NASUM had an offer for a 7" EP from the German label Poserslaughter Records, which resulted in the now collectible Blind World NASUM/AGATHOCLES split platter. Added only weeks before this recording, second guitarist Mieszko Talarczyk would become an essential member over the next several months. In November 1993, NASUM were back in Dan Swano's Unisound Studios for the recording of tracks to submit to labels and for the touted Really Fast's ninth compilation. The nine tracks recorded during this session collectively clocked in at a whopping 3:30 and contained a much more grind/crust-inspired approach, thus signalling a new direction in the NASUM sound.

During September 1994, NASUM were back in Unisound recording sixteen new tracks, eight of which were released as the Smile When You're Dead split 7" EP with PSYCHO on Ax/ction Records. The remaining eight tracks were featured on the Grindworks 3" compilation CD (also featuring Japan's VIVISECTION, Sweden's RETALIATION and Japanese grind freaks CLOTTED SYMMETRIC SEXUAL ORGAN) released by Miesko's fledgling label, Grindwork Productions. NASUM kept getting heavier...

NasumAfter two and a half years of sharing records with others, Poserslaughter Records offered the band a mini-CD release. In February of 1995, NASUM returned to Unisound for the final time, recording twelve new tracks and six re-recordings of tracks from their November 1994 Domedagen demo. This session featured the first NASUM tracks with lyrics in the band's native Swedish. In conjunction with the release of the MCD, titled Industrislaven, NASUM made their live debut playing gigs in Astorp, Sweden, and Berlin, Germany. Unenthused with the prospect of performing live, Rickard announced that he was leaving the band. Several replacements were tested but nothing worked, leaving Anders to take the drum seat and Mieszko to handle all the strings.

In November of 1996, the "new" NASUM were ready to record again, laying down twenty-four songs on an eight track in their rehearsal studio. Despite the conditions, this was their most raw and brutal production ever, and the results were released as The Black Illusions split 7" EP with ABSTAIN on Yellow Dog Records and the World In Turmoil debut full-length 7" on Japan's Blurred Records. By June of 1997, Mieszko had his own studio (named Soundlab) which was comprised of most of the equipment once owned by Unisound. Sixteen tracks for an international grindcore/power violence compilation released by the Finnish label Tylyt Levyt and a cover of the DISCHARGE classic Vision of War (for a tribute CD released by Swedish Distortion Records) were recorded and featured NASUM's most devastating sound yet. A tape of these sessions made its way to Relapse who, upon hearing the material, immediately offered the band a full album deal. NASUM accepted and began composing more material. During December 1997 the two grindcore visionaries holed up in the Soundlab and recorded forty-two new songs in a mere two month period. Thirty-eight of these tracks became Inhale/Exhale, while the remaining four tracks, all covers, will be released by Relapse this summer.

Inhale/Exhale is an immediate grindcore classic! NASUM deliver crushing grindcore with shout-a-long choruses, blistering blast beats, ravenously crusty riffs and just a hint of "that Swedish sound". Extremely competent production accentuates the power of the band's musical activism. Social concern and political frustration form the basis of the band's lyrical attack, harkening back to such classic Swedish hardcore bands as MOB 47, CRUDE SS and ANTI-CIMEX, but with the added extremity of the late 80's/early 90's Swedish death metal bands like NIHILIST/ENTOMBED, CARNAGE and REGURGITATE. Inhale/Exhale wallops the listener with a lightning speed blitzkrieg of sonic violence harder and more varied than anything the band has ever created