Aleisterz

Aleisterz were a short-lived dansband from Kungsör, Sweden, formed in the early 1970s around singer Bengt "Benno" Ahlström.

At first, they appeared to be an ordinary regional dansband: light-blue stagewear, polished shoes, warm melodies and weekend bookings across Mälardalen. But beneath the polished surface, Ahlström had long been drawn to the writings of Aleister Crowley and other esoteric texts. The music remained bright and danceable, while the lyrics began to circle around moonlit forests, old words and magickal rites.

Their first and only album was pressed in 1974, but never officially released. It was only after hearing the finished songs that the record company realised what they had made. According to local rumour, the entire run was destroyed before release, with boxes of vinyl burned behind the label's storage building.

Only one recording survived: "Dansa i cirkeln", a cheerful dansband tune with a refrain that sounds innocent until it doesn't.