Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, a shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, raw (lo-fi) recording, unconventional song structures, and an emphasis on atmosphere. Artists often appear in corpse paint and adopt pseudonyms.
Darkthrone is a Norwegian extreme metal band from Kolbotn, Akershus. Formed in 1986 as a death metal band named Black Death, in 1991 Darkthrone embraced a black metal style influenced by Bathory and Celtic Frost and became one of the leading bands in the Norwegian black metal scene.
The Cult are an English rock band formed in 1983 in Bradford, West Yorkshire. Before settling on their current name in January 1984, the band performed under the name Death Cult, which was an evolution of the name of lead singer Ian Astbury's previous band Southern Death Cult. They gained a dedicated following in the United Kingdom in the mid-1980s as a post-punk/gothic rock band, with singles such as "She Sells Sanctuary", before breaking into the mainstream in the United States in the late 1980s establishing themselves as a hard rock band with singles such as "Love Removal Machine". Since its initial formation in 1983, the band have had various line-ups; the longest-serving members are Astbury and guitarist Billy Duffy, who are also the band's two songwriters.
Static-X is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1994. The line-up has fluctuated over the years, but was long-held constant with band founder, frontman, vocalist, and guitarist Wayne Static until his death in 2014.
Type O Negative was an American gothic metal band formed in Brooklyn, New York City in 1989 by Peter Steele, Kenny Hickey, Josh Silver, and Sal Abruscato, who was later replaced by Johnny Kelly. Their lyrical emphasis on themes of romance, depression, and death resulted in the nickname "the Drab Four". The band went platinum with 1993's Bloody Kisses, and gold with 1996's October Rust, and gained a fanbase through seven studio albums, two best-of compilations, and concert DVDs.
DragonForce are a British power metal band from London, England. The band was formed in 1999 by guitarists Herman Li and Sam Totman, and are known for their long and fast guitar solos, fantasy-themed lyrics and retro video game-influenced sound. DragonForce's current lineup comprises Li, Totman, vocalist Marc Hudson, drummer Gee Anzalone and bassist Alicia Vigil. The band have been through a number of lineup changes throughout their career; longtime members in vocalist ZP Theart, keyboardist Vadim Pruzhanov, drummer Dave Mackintosh and bassist Frédéric Leclercq are among the former members of the band.
Lamb of God is an American heavy metal band from Richmond, Virginia. Formed in 1994 as Burn the Priest, the group consists of bassist John Campbell, vocalist Randy Blythe, guitarists Mark Morton and Willie Adler, and drummer Art Cruz. The band is considered a significant member of the new wave of American heavy metal movement.
Valley of the Damned is the debut studio album by British power metal band DragonForce. In 2000, while the band was still known as DragonHeart, a demo of the same name was recorded and sent to Noise Records, subsequently gaining the band a deal with the label. It was then re-recorded in late 2002 and released as a full-length studio album on 25 February 2003, following the band's obtainance of the deal with Noise and change in name to DragonForce. The album was set to be remastered and released with a bonus DVD on 24 September 2007, but was subsequently delayed and eventually released on 22 February 2010, along with the re-release of the band's second album, Sonic Firestorm.
Rotting Christ is a Greek black metal band formed in 1987. They are noted for being one of the first black metal bands within this region, as well as a premier act within the European underground metal scene. They are also responsible for creating the signature Greek black metal sound prevalent in the early 1990s.
Orange Goblin is a heavy metal band from London, England. Formed in 1995, the band's lineup currently consists of singer Ben Ward, guitarist Joe Hoare, and drummer Chris Turner.
Cult of Luna is a Swedish heavy metal band from Umeå founded in 1998. They are known for post-metal music similar to the contemporary bands Neurosis and Isis. The band was signed to Earache Records in the early 2000s and released five albums, including the commercially successful albums Salvation (2004) and Somewhere Along the Highway (2006). After an extended period of inactivity, Cult of Luna returned with its Indie Recordings debut Vertikal (2013) and companion EP Vertikal II (2013), both drawing inspiration from Fritz Lang's 1927 film, Metropolis. In 2016 the band released their space-themed seventh album, Mariner, featuring American vocalist Julie Christmas.
Dead Men Walking are a British based rock supergroup with a multi national line-up, who have toured the UK, Ireland and the United States. From 2001 to 2006 they were led by Mike Peters of the Alarm and Kirk Brandon, of Spear of Destiny, with a varying cast of musicians. Since 2015, they split into two bands, one led by Peters called the Jack Tars, and another led by Brandon keeping the Dead Men Walking name.
Andy Classen is a German record producer, sound engineer and musician.
Witchery is a Swedish extreme metal band, formed by former members of Satanic Slaughter in 1997. The current lineup consists of guitarists Patrik Jensen and Rickard "Rille" Rimfält, bassist Sharlee D'Angelo, vocalist Angus Norder, and drummer Chris Barkensjö.
Robert Caggiano is an American guitarist and record producer. As of 2013, Caggiano is the lead guitarist of rock band Volbeat. He had formerly been guitarist of thrash metal band Anthrax and nu metal band Boiler Room.
Watain is a Swedish black metal band, 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 The Agony & Ecstasy of Watain was released on 29 April 2022 through Nuclear Blast. 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.
Legion of the Damned is a Dutch thrash metal/death metal band. The band was formed in 1992 as 'Occult', but changed their name in 2006 to 'Legion of the Damned'. Lyrically the band tend to focus on horror motifs, dark occult and religious themes and apocalyptic events. They have recorded their albums Malevolent Rapture and Sons of the Jackal in the well known Stage One Studio with producer Andy Classen. The special edition of their 2008 release Cult of the Dead comes with an item unique in metal merchandising, being a cheese block emblazoned with their logo. This is a nod to their Dutch origins.
Feel the Blade is a 2008 album by thrash metal/death metal band Legion of the Damned. It is actually a re-release of Elegy for the Weak, originally released under the name of Occult, the prior incarnation of Legion of the Damned under singer Rachel Heyzer, and contains an altered track list. Lyrical topics on the album include horror motifs, the devastation of nuclear war and violent occult themes. Serial murder plays a more prominent role in this album than in later writings, with "Nocturnal Predator" about Richard Ramirez actually quoting the killer in the lyrics. The final bonus track is a cover of a Pestilence song.
Sacred Steel is a German metal band.
This is a timeline documenting the events of heavy metal in the year 2011.
