Swans are an American experimental rock band formed in 1981 by singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Michael Gira. One of the few acts to emerge from the New York City-based no wave scene and stay intact into the next decade, Swans have become recognized for an ever-changing sound, exploring genres such as noise rock, post-punk, industrial and post-rock. Initially, their music was known for its sonic brutality and misanthropic lyrics. Following the addition of singer, songwriter and keyboardist Jarboe in 1986, Swans began to incorporate melody and intricacy into their music. Jarboe remained the band's only constant member except Gira and semi-constant guitarist Norman Westberg until their dissolution in 1997.
A number of heavy metal genres have developed since the emergence of heavy metal during the late 1960s and early 1970s. At times, heavy metal genres may overlap or are difficult to distinguish, but they can be identified by a number of traits. They may differ in terms of instrumentation, tempo, song structure, vocal style, lyrics, guitar playing style, drumming style, and so on.
Megaherz is a German Neue Deutsche Härte band formed in Eichenau in 1993.
Melodic death metal is a subgenre of death metal that employs highly melodic guitar riffs, often borrowing from traditional heavy metal. The genre features the heaviness of death metal but with highly melodic or harmonized guitar riffs and solos, and often features high-pitched shrieked vocals alongside the low-pitched growls commonly featured in traditional death metal. Pioneered by the English heavy metal band Carcass with their 1993 album Heartwork, melodic death metal developed further in Sweden in the mid-1990s. The Swedish death metal scene did much to popularise the style, soon centering in the "Gothenburg metal" scene. At the Gates' Slaughter of the Soul, Dark Tranquillity's The Gallery, and In Flames' The Jester Race, all released in the mid-1990s, were highly influential albums in melodic death metal, with At the Gates and In Flames being the two most common influences on North American 2000s heavy metal bands. Many American heavy metal bands emulated At the Gates' sound, resulting in the usage of the phrase "At the Gates worship".
Metalcore is a broadly defined fusion genre combining elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk, that originated in the late 1980s. Metalcore is noted for its use of breakdowns, which are slow, intense passages conducive to moshing, while other defining instrumentation includes heavy and percussive pedal point guitar riffs and double bass drumming. Vocalists in the genre typically perform screaming; more popular bands often combine this with the use of standard singing, usually during the bridge or chorus of a song. However, the death growl is also a popular technique within the genre.
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. Since the departure of Strömblad in 2010, no original members remain with the band. 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.
Symphonic metal is a cross-generic style designation for the symphonic subsets of heavy metal music subgenres. It is used to denote any metal band that makes use of symphonic or orchestral elements. The style features the heavy drums and guitars of metal with different elements of orchestral classical music, such as symphonic instruments, choirs and sometimes a full orchestra, or just keyboard orchestration.
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.
Storm of the Light's Bane is the second full-length studio album by Swedish black metal band Dissection, released on 17 November 1995 by Nuclear Blast Records.
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.
Trivium is an American heavy metal band from Orlando, Florida, formed in 1999. The band comprises vocalist and guitarist Matt Heafy, guitarist Corey Beaulieu, bassist Paolo Gregoletto, and drummer Alex Bent.
Sacramentum is a melodic black metal band from Falköping, Sweden, formed by Nisse Karlén (vocals/guitar) in the summer of 1990 under the name of Tumulus. The band released three full-length studio albums and two demos. They are best known for their debut album Far Away from the Sun, which is often considered one of the best early melodic black metal releases.
Deus Ex Machina is a Singaporean death metal/thrash metal band, and is one of the few extreme metal acts from Southeast Asia that has gained a following in Europe and the United States. They represent a rarity in the Southeast Asian Metal scenes in favouring a more melodic musical approach and concept-based poetic lyrics in contrast to the more aggressive and brutal stylings of the region. They are also a highly internationalized band, with a background of having band members from different parts of the world.
Amaranthe is a Swedish heavy metal band originally known as Avalanche. The band is notable for their blend of various metal genres and having three lead vocalists.
Temperance is an Italian modern melodic power metal band.
Beyond the Black is a German symphonic metal band formed in 2014 in Mannheim. Their debut album Songs of Love and Death became popular immediately after the release, and entered the German and Austrian national music charts.
Vimic is an American heavy metal band consisting of Jed Simon, Kyle Konkiel, Matthew Tarach, Kalen Chase, and Steve Marshall.
Enemy Inside is a German metal band formed in Aschaffenburg in 2017.
Nachtblut is a German gothic/melodic black metal band formed in Osnabrück in 2005. They signed a deal with Napalm Records for their third album. In 2013 they performed during Wacken Open Air and Summer Breeze Open Air. In 2014, 2017, and 2022 Nachtblut lined up Wave-Gotik-Treffen festival in Leipzig. To date, Nachtblut has released six studio albums. In October 2020 Nachtblut released their sixth album called Vanitas. Vanitas had 500 special edition wooden boxes with playing Cards, leather wrist band, a Satanic certificate in addition to the album itself.
Make Me Real is the fifth album by German metal band Cypecore, released on 26 April 2024. It is the band's first album without founding bassist Chris Heckel, after his death in 2018. The band chose not to replace Heckel out of respect for his memory. Music videos were released for the singles "I'll Be Back" on 25 August 2023 and the title track on 16 March 2024. The band toured in support of the album in Germany with League of Distortion in April and May 2024.
