Swedish death metal is a death metal music scene developed in Sweden. Many Swedish death metal bands are associated with the melodic death metal movement, thus giving Swedish death metal a different sound from other variations of death metal. Unlike American death metal groups, the first Swedish bands were rooted in hardcore punk. Gothenburg has a large melodic death metal scene while Stockholm is known for its more raw death metal scene.
Lunar Strain is the debut studio album by Swedish heavy metal band In Flames, released in April 1994. The album is known for its "folky elements", with the inclusion of violins and acoustic guitars along with influences from black metal.
Dark Tranquillity is a Swedish melodic death metal band from Gothenburg. They are considered one of the pioneering acts of the Gothenburg metal scene, which also includes bands such as In Flames and At the Gates - regarded as the Gothenburg fathers in the film entitled Out of Nothing: A DT Documentary released by Century Media, which was filmed in their home town in April 2009. After a nearly three-decade long collaboration of four founding members frequent lineup changes between 2016 and 2021 have left only vocalist Mikael Stanne as an original member, together with long-time keyboardist Martin Brändström.
In Flames is a Swedish heavy metal band, formed by guitarist Jesper Strömblad in Gothenburg in 1990 out of the Swedish death metal scene. Their lineup has changed several times, with vocalist Anders Fridén and guitarist Björn Gelotte being the only consistent members since 1995. In Flames helped pioneer melodic death metal along with fellow Swedish bands At the Gates and Dark Tranquillity. The band has sold over two million records worldwide.
Tiamat is a Swedish metal band that formed in Stockholm in 1987 and led by Johan Edlund. The band went through a number of stylistic changes in their earlier releases before settling on gothic metal.
Pär Anders Fridén is a Swedish vocalist, best known as the lead singer of the melodic death metal band In Flames. He was also the vocalist of Dark Tranquillity and side project Passenger.
Bengt Mikael Stanne is a Swedish musician, best known as the vocalist, primary lyricist and a former guitarist for the melodic death metal band Dark Tranquillity. Since the departure of original drummer Anders Jivarp in 2021, Stanne is the only remaining original member of the band. Stanne is also the vocalist for bands Grand Cadaver, the Halo Effect and Cemetery Skyline, which formed in 2020, 2021 and 2023, respectively. He was also an ex-vocalist for HammerFall and In Flames.
Clas Håkan Jesper Strömblad is a Swedish musician who is the guitarist of the bands The Halo Effect, Dimension Zero and Cyhra, and formerly of In Flames and The Resistance. He is best known as the founder and former guitarist/drummer/keyboardist of the pioneering melodic death metal band In Flames, guitarist of the band Sinergy, bassist of Ceremonial Oath and drummer of HammerFall. In 2013, he joined Nightrage as a session guitarist.
Peter Iwers is a Swedish musician and the current bass player of the melodic death metal band The Halo Effect. He was a member of the melodic death metal band In Flames from their 1999 album Colony up until their 2016 album Battles, originally replacing Johan Larsson who departed after 1997's Whoracle. He was also the bassist for the band Cyhra with former In Flames bandmate Jesper Strömblad from 2017 to 2018. Before he joined in Flames, Iwers played in a band called Chameleon.
Anders Björler is a Swedish musician. He is best known as the lead guitarist in the metal bands The Haunted and At the Gates, alongside his bass-playing twin brother Jonas Björler.
Niklas Sundin is a Swedish musician, best known as a founding member and former lead guitarist of the melodic death metal band Dark Tranquillity from 1989–2020. In 2019, he founded his own band called Mitochondrial Sun, which has released two full-length studio albums to date. He was also one of the guitarists in Laethora from 2005–2010.
Cemetary is a Swedish heavy metal band founded by Mathias Lodmalm in 1989.
Björn Gelotte is a Swedish guitarist and songwriter, best known as the guitarist for melodic death metal band In Flames. He originally joined the band as the drummer in 1995, and continued in this position during The Jester Race (1996) and Whoracle (1997). He switched to his current position on lead guitar after Glenn Ljungström left the band and played solely guitars since Colony (1999), sharing lead/rhythm guitar work with former In Flames guitarist Jesper Strömblad.
All Ends was a female-fronted duet alternative metal band from Gothenburg, Sweden. Founded in 2003, it started as a side project of the In Flames guitarists Björn Gelotte and Jesper Strömblad; alongside Tinna Karlsdotter, Joseph "Joey" Skansås, and Björn's sister Emma Gelotte. Currently, the band is on hiatus.
Fredrik Johansson was a Swedish guitarist.
Expulsion was a death metal band from Vallentuna, Sweden, that existed from 1988 to 1999. The band gained notability for being one of the earliest Swedish death metal bands, and that two of its members also played in the black metal band Treblinka.
Avatarium is a Swedish doom metal band from Stockholm, founded by Candlemass member Leif Edling in 2013.
Atoma is the eleventh studio album by Swedish melodic death metal band Dark Tranquillity. It was released on 4 November 2016 through Century Media Records. Atoma is the band's first studio album with bassist Anders Iwers, who replaced founding member Martin Henriksson, after Henriksson left the band in early 2016 due to loss of passion for playing music. Atoma is the last release to feature founding lead guitarist Niklas Sundin, who would depart from the band in March 2020.
Moment is the twelfth studio album by Swedish melodic death metal band Dark Tranquillity, being released on 20 November 2020 via Century Media Records. The album is the band's first to include guitarist Johan Reinholdz, the final with founding drummer Anders Jivarp and bassist Anders Iwers, who left the band in August 2021, and the only with guitarist Christopher Amott before his departure in July 2023. It is also the first release since We Are The Void (2010) to be recorded as a six-piece.
Endtime Signals is the thirteenth studio album by Swedish melodic death metal band Dark Tranquillity, released on 16 August 2024 by Century Media Records. The album is the band's first to feature bassist Christian Jansson and drummer Joakim Strandberg Nilsson, who replaced longtime members Anders Iwers and Anders Jivarp after the latter two left the band in August 2021. The album also marks the band's return to recording as a five-piece after the previous album, Moment, was recorded as a six-piece.
