Behemoth is a Polish extreme metal band from Gdańsk, formed in 1991. They are considered to have played an important role in establishing the Polish extreme metal underground.
Meshuggah is a Swedish extreme metal band from Umeå, formed in 1987. Meshuggah's line-up consists of founding members vocalist Jens Kidman and lead guitarist Fredrik Thordendal, drummer Tomas Haake, who joined in 1990, rhythm guitarist Mårten Hagström, who joined in 1993 and bassist Dick Lövgren since 2004.
Blackwater Park is the fifth studio album by Swedish progressive metal band Opeth. It was released on March 12, 2001 in Europe and a day later in North America through Music for Nations and Koch Records. The album marks the first collaboration between Porcupine Tree frontman Steven Wilson and the band, as Wilson had been brought in to produce the album, which led to a considerable shift in Opeth's musical style.
Katatonia are a Swedish metal band formed in Stockholm in 1991 by Jonas Renkse and Anders Nyström. The band started as a studio-only project for the duo, as an outlet for the band's love of death metal. Increasing popularity lead them to add more band members for live performances, though outside of the band's founders, the lineup was constantly changing, revolving door of musicians throughout the 1990s, notably including Mikael Åkerfeldt of the band Opeth for a period. After two death/doom albums, Dance of December Souls (1993) and Brave Murder Day (1996), problems with Renkse's vocal cords coupled with new musical influences lead the band away from the screamed vocals of death metal to a more traditional, melodic form of heavy metal music. The band released two more albums, Discouraged Ones (1998) and Tonight's Decision (1999), before settling into a stable quintet lineup for all of 2000's. The band released four more albums with said lineup - Last Fair Deal Gone Down (2001), Viva Emptiness (2003), The Great Cold Distance (2006), and Night Is the New Day (2009), with the band slowly moving away from their metal sound while adding more progressive rock sounds to their work over time. While lineup changes started up again into the 2010s, Renkse and Nyström persisted, and the band continued on to release their ninth and tenth studio albums, Dead End Kings (2012) and The Fall of Hearts (2016). After touring in support of the album through 2017, the band entered a hiatus at the beginning of 2018. The band returned from their hiatus in February 2019.
Deathcore is an extreme metal fusion genre that combines musical elements of death metal and metalcore and sometimes hardcore punk. It makes use of death metal riffs and blast beats, as well as metalcore breakdowns. Deathcore gained most prominence within the southwestern United States, especially Arizona and inland southern California, which are home to many notable bands and various festivals.
Origin is an American technical death metal band from Topeka, Kansas, founded in 1997. They have been recognized by music critics and metal fans alike for combining a harsh sound with a high level of technical skill.
III: Over the Under is the third studio album by sludge metal band Down, released five years after their previous album, II: A Bustle in Your Hedgerow. It was released internationally on September 24, 2007, and in the United States on September 25, 2007.
F5 is a heavy metal band based out of Phoenix, Arizona which features Megadeth bassist Dave Ellefson and ex-Megadeth drummer Jimmy DeGrasso.
Beast is the fifth studio album by groove metal band DevilDriver. It was released on February 22, 2011 in the United States. It is also their last album to feature longtime bassist Jon Miller who left in 2011.
The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues is an extended play by the American progressive metal band Between the Buried and Me. It was released on April 12, 2011 and was the group's first release through Metal Blade Records after leaving Victory Records in 2010. The entire EP was made available for streaming two weeks before its release on March 31, 2011.
Leveler is the fourth studio album by American metalcore band August Burns Red, released on June 21, 2011 through Solid State Records.
Ruining It for Everybody is the second album by Iwrestledabearonce. It was released on July 26, 2011 through Century Media Records and is the first studio full-length since 2009's It's All Happening. This is the last album with original vocalist Krysta Cameron who departed the band in late 2012. Before preparing for their second record, the band released several remix editions of their songs featured on their debut; most notably, the 2010 remix EP It's All Dubstep.
Dark Covenant is a doom metal band from Canada. based in Quebec. They are signed to France's Emanes Metal Records. Their influences are mainly old-school doom the likes of Candlemass and Solitude Aeturnus.
A Place Where the Sun Is Silent is the fourth studio album by Alesana. It was released through Epitaph Records on October 18, 2011. The album was produced by Kris Crummett, who also worked on The Emptiness. Being the second concept album released by Alesana, A Place Where the Sun Is Silent was inspired by the epic poem The Inferno by Dante Alighieri.
Dead Throne is the fourth studio album by American metalcore band The Devil Wears Prada. It was released on September 13, 2011 through Ferret Music. Produced by Adam Dutkiewicz, the record was recorded in several studios across the United States from November 2010 – April 2011. The album is a follow up to The Devil Wears Prada's 2009 album, With Roots Above and Branches Below. Much like their previous efforts the album's lyrics were penned by lead vocalist Mike Hranica, whose lyrical direction focused on anti-idolatry concepts. The band's musical style changed after the success of the Zombie EP, this led to, what Hranica described as; fusing the melodic elements of their previous studio albums with the ferocity of Zombie.
Space Vampires vs Zombie Dinosaurs in 3D is the third studio album by comedy rock band Psychostick, released on August 16, 2011, through Rock Ridge Music. It is the band's first studio album with bass player Matty J "Poolmoose" Rzemyk.
Reports from the Threshold of Death is the second full-length studio album from American art rock band Junius. The record was released in CD (digipak), limited edition Vinyl, and digital download format through Prosthetic Records on October 25, 2011.
In Becoming a Ghost is the fourth studio album by The Faceless. It was released on December 1, 2017 through Sumerian Records. It is the only album with Abigail Williams' Ken Sorceron on vocals, The Zenith Passage's Justin McKinney on guitar and Chason Westmoreland, formerly of Hate Eternal, on drums. Westmoreland left the band shortly before the album was released. Soceron, McKinney, and drummer Bryce Butler would depart the band less than four months later. Michael Keene tracked the bass on the entire album by himself. This is also the first The Faceless LP to feature songs recorded with Drop A tuning using seven string guitars. It is their first full-length release in five years, the last being 2012's Autotheism.
Ultu Ulla is the fourth studio album by American Bay Area deathcore band Rings of Saturn. It was released on July 28, 2017 through Nuclear Blast. It is their first release through Nuclear Blast since their signing in May 2016. It is their only full-length release with drummer Aaron Stechauner and guitarist Miles Dimitri Baker. Mark Cooper of Mind Rape Art was responsible for the album artwork, as he was on the band's prior releases. The album was produced, mixed, and mastered by Brette Ciamarra at Studio 344 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,. Ciamarra had previously produced Lugal Ki En for the band. The album debuted at #76 on the Billboard 200 chart, making it the band's highest debut to date. According to Metal news site Metal Insider, the album sold 8,000 copies in its first week.
