Manowar is an American heavy metal band from Auburn, New York. Formed in 1980, the group is known for lyrics based on fantasy and mythology, as well as numerous songs celebrating the genre and its core audience. The band is also known for a loud and emphatic sound. In an interview for MTV in February 2007, bassist Joey DeMaio lamented that "these days, there's a real lack of big, epic metal that is drenched with crushing guitars and choirs and orchestras... so it's nice to be one of the few bands that's actually doing that". In 1984, the band was included in the Guinness Book of World Records for delivering the loudest performance, a record which they have since broken on two occasions. They also hold the world record for the longest heavy metal concert after playing for five hours and 1 minute in Bulgaria in 2008. They also have been known for their slogan "Death to false metal".
Amon Amarth are a Swedish melodic death metal band from Tumba, formed in 1992. The band take its name from the Sindarin name of Mount Doom, a volcano in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth. Their lyrics mostly deal with Viking mythology and history, and so they have been sometimes erroneously labeled "Viking metal", although the band prefers the term melodic death metal.
Leaves' Eyes is a symphonic metal band from Germany and Norway. Formed in 2003 by Liv Kristine, formerly the lead singer of Theatre of Tragedy, along with the entire line-up of Atrocity, the band has since released eight studio albums, a single, six EPs, one live album, and a DVD.
Týr is a Faroese folk metal band. They have been characterised as one of "the islands' two most successful metal bands". Their subject matter revolves almost entirely around Viking lore, mythology, and history, taking their name from Týr, the god of war in Norse religion.
The Norse mythology, preserved ancient Icelandic texts such as the Poetic Edda, the Prose Edda, and other lays and sagas, was little known outside Scandinavia until the 19th century. With the widespread publication of Norse myths and legends at this time, references to the Norse gods and heroes spread into European literary culture, especially in Scandinavia, Germany, and Britain. In the later 20th century, references to Norse mythology became common in science fiction and fantasy literature, role-playing games, and eventually other cultural products such as Japanese animation. Storytelling was an important aspect of Norse mythology and centuries later, with the rediscovery of the myth, Norse mythology once again relies on the impacts of storytelling to spread its agenda.
Sabaton is a Swedish power metal band from Falun. The band was formed in 1999 by lead singer Joakim Brodén, bassist Pär Sundström, guitarists Oskar Montelius and Rikard Sundén, and drummer Richard Larsson, but has gone through multiple lineup changes with Brodén and Sundström remaining the only consistent members. The vast majority of their songs are about historical events, mainly wars and significant battles. Sabaton is considered one of the "big four" power metal bands along with Blind Guardian, DragonForce and Helloween, though the band describe their music as a form of heavy metal.
Alestorm are a Scottish heavy metal band formed in Perth, Scotland in 2004. Their music is characterised by a pirate theme, and as a result, they have been dubbed a "pirate metal" band by many critics and their fanbase. The group currently consists of lead vocalist/keytarist Christopher Bowes, bassist Gareth Murdock, drummer Peter Alcorn, keyboardist/harsh vocalist Elliot Vernon and guitarist Máté "Bobo" Bodor.
Whitechapel is an American deathcore band from Knoxville, Tennessee. The band is named after the Whitechapel district in East London, England, where Jack the Ripper committed a series of murders. The group comprises vocalist Phil Bozeman, guitarists Ben Savage, Alex Wade, and Zach Householder, bassist Gabe Crisp and drummer Brandon Zackey. Their core lineup, with the exception of the drummer, has remained consistent since Householder replaced original guitarist Brandon Cagle in 2007. Founded in 2006 by Bozeman and Savage, the band has released eight studio albums and fourteen music videos, and it's currently signed to Metal Blade Records. Whitechapel's 2010 album A New Era of Corruption, sold around 10,600 copies in the United States in its first week of release and debuted at position No. 43 on the Billboard 200 chart. The band's self-titled fourth album was released in 2012 and debuted at No. 47 on the Billboard 200, selling roughly 9,200 copies in its first week. In 2014 the band released their fifth full-length album, Our Endless War to generally positive reviews. The album sold roughly 16,000 copies in its first week and debuted at No. 10 on the Billboard 200. They released their sixth full-length album Mark of the Blade in 2016 to greater critical acclaim, selling roughly 8,000 copies in the first week of its release. In 2019, Whitechapel released their seventh album, The Valley, which debuted at No. 143 on the Billboard 200 also to critical acclaim. Their newest album, Kin, was released on October 29, 2021.
Orden Ogan is a German power metal band with folk metal elements. The band was formed in 1996 by Sebastian Grütling (drums) and Sebastian Levermann. They currently have three demos and seven studio albums and are currently signed with Reigning Phoenix Music. Prior to 2024, the band was signed with AFM Records.
Arise: From Ginnungagap to Ragnarök – The History of the Vikings Volume III is a concept album by German heavy metal band Rebellion and the last part of the Viking History trilogy. This album tells the history of the Norse Gods and Norse religion.
Wardruna is a Norwegian music group formed in 2003 by Einar Selvik along with Gaahl and Lindy-Fay Hella. They are dedicated to creating musical renditions of Norse cultural and esoteric traditions, and make significant use of Nordic historical and traditional instruments including deer-hide frame drums, flutes, kraviklyra, tagelharpe, mouth harp, goat horn, and lur. Non-traditional instruments and other sources of sound like trees, rocks, water, and torches are also used.
Thomas Laszlo Winkler is a Swiss singer. He is known for being the vocalist of power metal band Angus McSix and former vocalist of power metal band Gloryhammer from 2011 to 2021, playing the roles of "Angus McFife, Prince of the Land of Fife" and his descendant "Angus McFife XIII" in the band's internal story.
Gloryhammer is a British power metal band founded by keyboardist Christopher Bowes, lead vocalist of the band Alestorm. Each member of the band represents a character in the story concept. Band members appears on stage in armour and costumes to represent their respective characters.
Starkill is an American melodic death metal band from the northwest suburbs of Chicago, Illinois.
Allegaeon is an American death metal band from Fort Collins, Colorado, formed in 2008. They have released one EP and six studio albums and are currently signed to Metal Blade Records.
Nanowar of Steel is an Italian comedy heavy metal band. Their name is a pun on the metal bands Manowar and Rhapsody of Fire, and represents their tendency to satirize "true metal", the primary focus of their music. Their work mainly aims to make humorous references to and jokes about the genre, often parodying the way in which power metal bands are perceived to take themselves very seriously.
Twilight Force is a Swedish symphonic power metal band known for their highly fantastical lyrics and LARP-style outfits which the band performs onstage in. The band's main lyrical themes are based on the lore of a fictional world known as The Twilight Kingdoms, created by keyboardist Daniel Beckman. The band has released four studio albums to date.
Enemy Inside is a German metal band formed in Aschaffenburg in 2017.
Nytt Land are a two piece Nordic folk rock and ambient rock band, from Kalachinsk in Siberia, Russia. Started by husband and wife Anatoly and Natalya Pakhalenko in 2013, the band released their third album Fimbulvinter on Cold Spring Records in 2017.
No Sign of Life is the 14th studio album by the Swedish death metal band Unleashed. It was released by the music label Napalm Records on 12 October 2021.
