Edge of Sanity was a Swedish death metal band that, alongside Opeth, is commonly regarded as being the first to fuse extreme metal styles like death and black metal with progressive rock. The group was founded by Dan Swanö in 1989 and ended in 2003.
Ancient is a Norwegian black metal band from Bergen, formed in 1992. The band released six full-length albums released by Metal Blade Records to date and a variety of mini-albums, EPs and special releases. Ancient used to have the classic raw black metal sound, similar to Darkthrone's works. Beginning with The Cainian Chronicle, they moved towards a more Nordic/atmospheric black metal sound, akin to Emperor and a cleaner production. After a period of turmoil concerning their line-up, they went on to add gothic-style instruments such as violins, a female vocalist, and synthesizers to their music.
Primordial are an Irish extreme metal band from Skerries, County Dublin. The band was formed in 1987 by Pól MacAmhlaigh (bass) and Ciarán MacUiliam (guitars). Their sound blends black metal and doom metal with Celtic music.
Bethlehem is a German extreme metal band from Grevenbroich, formed in 1991 by Jürgen Bartsch and Klaus Matton. Before starting Bethlehem, Bartsch and Matton used to play in a German thrash metal band Morbid Vision. Many of their lyrics revolve around sickness, morbidity, suicide, death and madness, and may to some extent be personal to the band.
Drudkh is a Ukrainian black metal band. It currently consists of Roman Saenko, Thurios, Krechet, and Vlad. All four also belonged to Blood of Kingu until it was disbanded. Their lyrics and artistic themes embrace Slavic mythology and Ukrainian nationalism. The band is associated with far-right politics, but rejects any explicit connection to a political ideology. Many of the band's lyrics are derived from the works of nineteenth- and twentieth-century Ukrainian poets and especially Taras Shevchenko.
Dødheimsgard is a Norwegian extreme metal band formed in 1994. Dødheimsgard originally played black metal, but 1999's 666 International saw them change their style into experimental and avant-garde/industrial metal. In 2000, they shortened their name to DHG.
Alf Peter Tägtgren is a Swedish musician, multi-instrumentalist, and producer. He is the founder, main songwriter, lead vocalist, and guitarist of death metal band Hypocrisy as well as the industrial metal band Pain in which he is the only member. He is also the owner of The Abyss recording studio and the co-founder of Lindemann, a music project between Tägtgren and Rammstein vocalist Till Lindemann. Tagtgren left Lindemann in 2020.
Hate Forest is a Ukrainian black metal band formed by Roman Saenko, the leading member of Drudkh, Dark Ages, and Blood of Kingu. Thurios joined the band in 1998 after the recording of Scythia. The music is mostly very fast, but occasionally slow, with low, distorted vocals, raw low fidelity quality production, programmed drums, and dark ambient elements. Musical influences are mostly from Scandinavian black metal to traditional death metal, especially Bolt Thrower. According to the band, its lyrics are about mythology, mainly Slavic, and inspired by H. P. Lovecraft's stories and Friedrich Nietzsche's philosophy. The band never gave interviews, never released photos, and held its distance from the black metal scene. After Hate Forest disbanded, Saenko focused on Blood of Kingu, a band similar in style but of different inspiration but had also ceased to exist in 2016.
Forgotten Legends is the first full-length album by Ukrainian black metal band Drudkh. The album's sound and atmosphere have often been compared favourably to those of Burzum. The lyrics to the album are a complete mystery, as they have never been released.
Autumn Aurora is the second album by Ukrainian black metal band Drudkh, released in 2004. It is the first Drudkh album to incorporate synthesizers and, as with its predecessor, its lyrics have never been released.
Dark Fortress is a melodic black metal band from Landshut, Germany, formed in 1994. They have released seven studio albums, a split album and a demo album.
Stormlord is an extreme metal band from Rome, Italy. They have released six full-length albums to date: Supreme Art of War (1999), At the Gates of Utopia (2001), The Gorgon Cult (2004), Mare Nostrum (2008), Hesperia (2013), and Far (2019). Their prominent use of keyboards compared to many other black metal bands gives their sound an epic feel, much like power metal.
Estrangement is the sixth album by Ukrainian black metal band Drudkh, released in August 2007. The album was previously known under the title River of Tears, but then had a name change. Its songs have a minimalistic influence and also features the band's first prominent use of blast beats since The Swan Road. All the lyrics of the album are based on the 1931–1932 works of the Ukrainian poet Oleh Olzhych. A spoken introduction in the first track is taken from the 1995 Ukrainian feature film Atentat about the life and assassination of Stepan Bandera, and says in Ukrainian, "We shall always be there".
Aeternus is a Norwegian blackened death metal band from Bergen, Norway. It was formed in 1993 as an idea of Ronny Hovland, calling himself Ares, and Erik Heggernes, a.k.a. Vrolok. Later in 1996 Nicola Trier, a.k.a. Morrigan, joined the duo as a bass player, forming the core trio that created the band's first two albums. Morrigan also created the logo picture of ravens and axes that still exists as one of the band's trademarks.
Apollyon is a black metal/thrash metal multi-instrumentalist, formerly associated with Dødheimsgard and Cadaver, now playing in Aura Noir and also Immortal after its reforming in 2006. He has done guest vocals on the Darkthrone albums Plaguewielder and Sardonic Wrath, and also on Audiopain's EP 1986 (2000). He was a live guitarist for Gorgoroth from 2003 to 2004, and performed at Gorgoroth's now infamous Kraków gig in February 2004. In 2004 Apollyon participated in a live tribute to Quorthon of Bathory at the Hole in the Sky festival in Bergen, Norway. Apollyon played bass on all songs, and also did the vocals on the song Equimanthorn. In addition to Apollyon, the line-up of this tribute band consisted of Bård Faust (ex-Emperor) on drums and Ivar Bjørnson (Enslaved) and Samoth (Emperor) on guitars, as well as guest vocalists Gaahl (Gorgoroth), Abbath (Immortal), Grutle Kjellson (Enslaved), Nocturno Culto (Darkthrone) and Satyr (Satyricon).
Blood of Kingu were an extreme metal band from Ukraine formed in 2005 by Roman Saenko, the main member of Drudkh, Dark Ages and Hate Forest.
Handful of Stars is the eighth full-length album by Ukrainian black metal band Drudkh, released in 2010 on Season of Mist's Underground Activists label.
Khors is a Ukrainian black metal and pagan metal band formed in 2004 in Kharkiv by Khorus, the former bass guitarist of Astrofaes. Stylistically Khors blends a few of metal’s sub-genres together, and also is characterized as heathen dark metal. The band recorded six full-length albums: The Flame of Eternity’s Decline (2005), Cold (2006), Mysticism (2008), Return To Abandoned (2010), Wisdom of Centuries (2012), and Night Falls Onto the Front of Ours (2015). The group keeps an active touring and performed with groups like Enslaved, Samael, Moonspell, Behemoth, Gorgoroth, Cynic, Obtest and many others. Khors has participated in a number of European festivals such as Motocultor Festival, Kilkim Žaibu, Ragnard Rock, OST, Dark Troll, Gothoom, Aurora Infernalis, Hell Fast Attack, Metal Head's Mission, Oskorei, and Carpathian Alliance.
Eternal Turn of the Wheel is the ninth studio album by Ukrainian black metal band Drudkh, released on February 24, 2012, through Season of Mist's Underground Activists label.
Astriaal are an Australian black metal band that formed in 1998, and are one of Australia's highest-profile black metal bands. The band have so far released 2 full-length albums and 3 EPs, and have supported well-known international acts such as Mayhem, Arcturus, Suffocation, Nile, Deeds of Flesh, Opeth and Pungent Stench. Astriaal's lyrics deal with Abyssal Theology, Nature and Misanthropy.
