A side project for Napalm Death's Shane Embury (bass) and Jesse Pintado (guitar), Lock Up was essentially conceived as a booze-fueled return to the raw brutality of mid-'80s proto-death metal. Named after a death metal drumming technique in which the arms are stiffened to produce lightning-fast blastbeats, Lock Up was initially rounded out by Cradle of Filth drummer Nick Barker (later of Dimmu Borgir) and Hypocrisy vocalist/production mastermind Peter Tagtgren. Defusing possible supergroup-type expectations by emphasizing spontaneity and energy over, say, rehearsal, Lock Up recorded an album, Pleasures Pave Sewers, at Tagtgren's studio and released it in early 1999. On the subsequent tour, Tagtgren's place was taken by At the Gates vocalist Tomas Lindberg. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide
