Originally conceived as 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 blast beats, Lock Up was initially rounded out by long time friend and Cradle of Filth drummer Nick Barker (later of Dimmu Borgir) and Hypocrisy vocalist/production mastermind Peter Tägtgren.
Defusing possible supergroup-type expectations by emphasizing spontaneity and energy over, say, rehearsal, Lock Up recorded their debut album, “Pleasures Pave Sewers”, which was recorded at Tägtgren's studio, and released it in early 1999 on Nuclear Blast Records. After unfortunately being forced to turn down two potential tour slots in the US, Peter Tägtgren's place was taken by At the Gates vocalist Tomas Lindberg for the band’s debut UK tour - with a very young Decapitated as main support - and also the band's first appearance at the famous Wacken festival where Mark “Barney” Greenway came onstage for the band’s cover of Terrorrizer’s “Dead Shall Rise” and Peter Tägtgren came onstage as well for a song from the first album!
