Vildhjarta is a Swedish progressive metal band from Hudiksvall, formed in 2005. The band plays in a Meshuggah-influenced musical style employing heavily down-tuned guitars, as well as harmonic minor chord progressions, jarring staccato riffs, layers of reverberant guitars and atmospheres. The group released a two-track EP entitled Omnislash in 2009 before they proceeded to sign with Century Media Records in 2011, spawning their debut full-length album Måsstaden that same year. In 2013, they followed up with a second EP, Thousands of Evils released on an exclusive 1,000-copy vinyl record run. Their second full-length album Måsstaden under vatten was released in October of 2021. The word "vildhjärta" translates to "wildheart" in Swedish. The band's name was inspired by the name of an adventure module for the Swedish tabletop role-playing game Drakar och Demoner. History Vildhjarta was founded initially as an idea by Daniel Bergström, Jimmie Åkerström, and Johan Nyberg in 2005 in Hudiksvall, Sweden. The band's earliest days consisted of three members (all spread throughout different parts of Sweden). According to Vildhjarta guitarist Daniel Bergström, commitment to their fans and "the art of music itself", only allowed for three songs to be released in the four years before the release of their first full-length album. After acquiring additional members and years of trading e-mails with metal label giant Century Media they signed a worldwide record contract in the Spring of 2011. Their debut album, Måsstaden, is a concept-album that "tells the tale of a hidden and isolated town, narrated in a classic fable manner". Sources of inspiration for the album's story included The Jungle Book and Mumindalen. The album received a favourable review from Consequence of Sound, who called it "a harsh, fantastic, concept work." 2011 also saw a major line-up change in the band: Vilhelm Bladin replaced Robert Luciani who parted ways and formed the band Means End together with former Uneven Structure drummer Christian Schreil. On 20 April 2012 third guitarist Jimmie Åkerström left the band, which effectively reverted the lineup back to their initial two-guitarist setup. Fans were reassured that his resigning would not affect the group's writing or touring plans. In May they embarked on a European tour with Veil of Maya, Volumes, and Structures. In late 2012, the band announced that they were planning to release an EP of new material, entitled Thousands of Evils. 3 clips from the EP were released and a new song