Bathory were a Swedish black metal band formed in Vällingby in March 1983. Named after Hungarian countess Elizabeth Báthory, they are considered pioneers of black metal and Viking metal. Lords of Chaos described Bathory's first four albums as "the blueprint for Scandinavian black metal." Acts influenced by their early records include Mayhem, Burzum, Darkthrone, Gorgoroth, Satyricon, Emperor, Dark Funeral, Enslaved, Marduk, Moonsorrow and Dimmu Borgir.
Virgin Black is an Australian symphonic gothic and doom metal band. The band was signed to The End Records and Germany's Massacre Records, through which it released 4 albums and 1 EP. A fifth album, originally planned for release in 2006, was released independently in 2018. As of 2021, they are signed to Australian record label, Dark Escapes Music. Formed in 1995 in Adelaide, they have achieved international acclaim during their career, receiving praise from such magazines as Orkus, Metal Hammer, Legacy and The Village Voice.
Storm of the Light's Bane is the second full-length album by Swedish black metal band Dissection. It was released on 17 November 1995 by Nuclear Blast. This would be the band's last full-length album before Nödtveidt's 1997 incarceration for the felony murder of Josef ben Meddour. It would not be until 2006 that they would release their third and final album Reinkaos, which was followed by the breakup of the band and Jon Nödtveidt's suicide shortly after. As with the band's debut album, Kristian 'Necrolord' Wåhlin created the artwork. The album is widely considered a masterpiece and one of the best black metal albums ever written. It has had significant influence on the development of extreme metal, inspiring many bands such as Watain, whose frontman played bass live with the band during their final shows.
The Return…… is the second studio album by Swedish extreme metal band Bathory. It was released on vinyl on 27 May 1985, through Combat Records in the US. The Return…… had a significant influence on developing the black metal and death metal genres.
Nifelheim is a Swedish black metal band. The band was formed in 1990 by the twin brothers Erik and Per Gustavsson, under the stage names Tyrant and Hellbutcher and is known for their "old school" style of black metal.
Abruptum is a Swedish black metal and dark ambient solo side-project band. It is run by Evil of Marduk, but the band was formed in 1989 by IT. All, Ext and Evil joined the band later. IT was one of the leaders of the True Satanist Horde, part of the Swedish Black metal scene. Euronymous, co-founder of Mayhem and founder of Deathlike Silence Productions, described Abruptum as "the audial essence of pure black evil".
Von is an American black metal band formed in 1987 in O'ahu, Hawaii; although they later relocated to San Francisco, California. They are thought to be the first American black metal band, and strongly influenced the second wave of black metal.
Watain is a Swedish black metal band from Uppsala, formed in 1998. The band's name is taken from an early recording by the American black metal group Von. The band have become famous for their Theistic Satanist views and for their live shows which involve pyrotechnics, candles, Satanic rituals, animal carcasses, and blood. At a now-notorious live performance in Brooklyn in 2014, they doused audience members in animal blood, allegedly causing some members of the audience to vomit. This was picked up and publicised by TMZ, generating controversy around the incident. To date they have released six full-length albums, as well as three live albums and a number of demos and EPs. Their most recent album Trident Wolf Eclipse was released on 5 January 2018 through Century Media Records. The band's core lineup has remained stable since their formation, consisting of Erik Danielsson, Pelle Forsberg, and Håkan Jonsson, though as of 2015 Jonsson no longer performs live, Emil Svensson of fellow Uppsala Death metal band Degial was recruited as live drummer.
Sworn to the Dark is the third studio album by Watain and was released on 19 February 2007 on Season of Mist. The album received very positive reviews from music critics and has been described as the band's "breakthrough" album. The song 'Legions of the Black Light' is dedicated to Dissection's vocalist Jon Nödtveidt who committed suicide in 2006.
The Essence of Black Purity is the third release by the black metal band Watain. It was released in 1999 on EP format on Grim Rune Records and was limited to 300 copies. Grim Rune website mentions that the EP "got a generally good response in the underground circuits." Similarly, Eduardo Rivadavia of Allmusic wrote that Watain "quickly gain[ed] underground credibility" with this "uncompromising 7" release".
Rabid Death's Curse is the first studio album by the black metal band Watain. It was released in 2000 on Drakkar Productions. It is notable as being the first and only album for which the band had two guitarists; from Rabid Death's Curse onwards, the band would be a trio. The song "Rabid Death's Curse" contains an audio sample from the film Friday the 13th. The album is considered a classic and was featured on German Rock Hard magazine's list 250 Black-Metal-Alben, die man kennen sollte.
Armagedda is a Swedish black metal band that was founded in 1999.
Lawless Darkness is the fourth studio album by Swedish black metal band Watain, released through Season of Mist, on 7 June 2010. The cover art was made by Zbigniew M. Bielak, who also painted The Wild Hunt cover art. The album sold around 1,000 copies in the United States in the first week of its release, reaching no. 42 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart. The single "Reaping Death" was distributed in their home country of Sweden in the Sweden Rock magazine, and was certified gold in the band's home country on April 21 by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry for sales in excess of 10,000 copies. The album received very positive reviews from music critics, and in 2011 the band were awarded the Swedish Grammi for 'Best Hard Rock' album for Lawless Darkness.
"Reaping Death" is a single by Swedish black metal band Watain from the album Lawless Darkness. "Reaping Death" was released as a CD single on 6 April 2010 and a 7-inch picture disc on 30 April.
Envoy of Lucifer is the fourth full-length studio album from Swedish black metal band Nifelheim. Released in 2007, it is their first album for Regain Records after they switched from Black Sun following the release of Servants of Darkness in 2000.
Ofermod is a Swedish black/death metal band, formed in Sweden in 1996 by Michayah Belfagor.
Malign is a Swedish black metal band from Stockholm, formed in 1994.
Paramount Evil was the fourth studio album by Impiety released on October 18, 2004. Pete Helkamp of Angelcorpse contributed vocals on the track Carbonized. Four pressing formats of the album were available; regular jewel case, digipak edition with a cover of Sepultura’s Morbid Visions and sticker that was limited to 2000 copies, regular vinyl to 500 copies and 100 on picture disc. The album was licensed to Paragon Records for release in North America without the song Morbid Visions. The artwork for digipak version was painted by Erik Danielsson of Swedish black metal band Watain.
The Wild Hunt is the fifth studio album by Swedish black metal band Watain. It was released through Century Media on 19 August 2013 in Europe and 20 August 2013 in USA. The cover art was painted "in oil and mixed materials" by Zbigniew M. Bielak, who was also responsible for the artwork of Lawless Darkness. The album sold around 2,700 copies in the United States in its first week of release, and was the best-selling album in their home country of Sweden on the week of its release, making it the band's highest sales and chart debut to date. Stylistically the album represents a development of Watain's established black metal sound, incorporating influences from heavy metal, doom metal, and progressive metal. It is also the first Watain album to feature vocalist Erik Danielsson performing clean vocals.
Trident Wolf Eclipse is the sixth full-length studio album by the Swedish black metal band Watain. The album was released on January 5, 2018 through Century Media Records. The album marks a significant shift away from the progressive style of Watain's previous album, The Wild Hunt, and a return to their earlier more traditional and aggressive black metal sound. According to frontman Erik Danielsson, the album title should be read as three separate words which were chosen to represent symbolic concepts which the band consider central to their music. Trident Wolf Eclipse received generally favourable reviews from music critics upon release.
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