Long songs with some intricate arrangements pushed Mayadome, a Swedish heavy metal group, into the eye of the public in October 1996 when Shrapnel Records released the group's debut album, Paranormal Activity. The group's music somewhat echoed the classic progressive metal sounds of Dream Theater, but went in a new direction. The strength of the group came from guitarist Fredrik Kjörling, who was superb on crunching the riffs; from Erik Grandin (bass), who excelled in enthusiasm; and from drummer Teddy Möller, considered by some to be one of the best in his field. Möller also played bass and some keyboards, and was formerly with the Hidden, G.A.M., and F.K.U. For their debut album, Mayadome included Jonas Hägg on keyboards and Björn Holmquist on vocals. Holmquist's vocals had a Swedish accent that was new to many fans, and the group as a whole created a solid melody with some great complexity held together with acoustics. For their sophomore album, Near Life Experience, released by Siegen Records in April of 2000, Sebastian Okupski replaced Hägg on keyboards and Bassel Elharbiti replaced Holmquist on vocals. This album carried Mayadome into the leading group of progressive metal, with their mood shifts and strong rhythmic foundation. By November 2001, trouble brewed for the group as differences, both personal and contractual, led to its disbanding. Three of the members, Kjörling, Grandin, and Möller, then joined with Alvaro Romero Torres (drums) and Niklas Kupper (guitar and bass) to form Loch Vostok. ~ Eleanor Ditzel