Soulfly is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1997. Soulfly is led by former Sepultura frontman Max Cavalera, who formed the band after he left the Brazilian group in 1996. To date the band has released eleven studio albums, one tour EP, twenty-three singles, one video album, and twelve music videos. Their debut album, Soulfly, was released on April 21, 1998, while their most recent album, Ritual, was released on October 19, 2018.
Lacuna Coil is an Italian gothic metal band from Milan. Since their formation in 1994, the group has had two name changes, being previously known as Sleep of Right and Ethereal, and they have recorded nine studio albums, two extended plays, two live albums, two compilation albums, one video album, and sixteen singles and music videos.
Iced Earth is an American heavy metal band formed in Tampa, Florida and currently based out of Columbus, Indiana. They were formed in 1984 under the name The Rose, then Purgatory, by guitarist and main songwriter Jon Schaffer and original drummer Greg Seymour. Iced Earth released their debut album in 1990 and have since released twelve studio albums, four EPs, three compilations, three box sets, three live albums and eleven music videos.
Paradise Lost are an English gothic metal band that formed in 1988 in Halifax, and are considered by some to be the pioneers of the death-doom genre, and regarded as the main influence for the later gothic metal movement. Bands that have cited Paradise Lost as an influence, or have covered them, include My Dying Bride, Anathema, The Gathering, Amorphis, Cradle of Filth, Katatonia, Moonspell, Lacuna Coil, HIM, Nightwish and many others. As of 2005, Paradise Lost have sold over two million albums worldwide.
Vader is a Polish death metal band from Olsztyn. Formed in 1983, the group was founded by then-bassist Piotr "Peter" Wiwczarek and guitarist Zbigniew "Vika" Wróblewski. Vader went through several lineup changes over the years, with Wiwczarek as the only constant member. Since 2011, the band has comprised Wiwczarek on guitars and vocals, guitarist Marek "Spider" Pająk, bassist Tomasz "Hal" Halicki, and British drummer James Stewart.
1349 is a Norwegian black metal band from Oslo, Norway, formed in 1997. The band's name is a reference to the year the Black Death reached Norway.
George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher is an American death metal vocalist who is the lead singer for the American death metal band Cannibal Corpse, the melodic death metal band Paths of Possession, and the extreme metal supergroup Serpentine Dominion. He recorded two albums with Florida's Monstrosity before leaving and joining Cannibal Corpse in late 1995, replacing vocalist Chris Barnes, who is now the vocalist for Six Feet Under.
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.
Gothic metal is a fusion genre combining the heaviness of heavy metal with the dark atmospheres of gothic rock. The music of gothic metal is diverse with bands known to adopt the gothic approach to different styles of heavy metal music. The genre originated during the early 1990s in the United Kingdom originally as an outgrowth of death-doom, a fusion of death metal and doom metal. Lyrics are generally dark and introspective with inspiration from gothic fiction as well as personal experiences.
Slechtvalk is a Christian black metal band from the Netherlands, formed in 1999. Previously signed to Fear Dark Records and currently to Whirlwind Records, the group has released five albums, a split-CD with Kekal, a single and a DVD. The second album, The War That Plagues the Lands, reached No. 2 at Lowland's Top 50 Metal Charts. The third album, At the Dawn of War, coincided with the release of a live-DVD, Upon the Fields of Battle, a maxi single for "Thunder of War", and was named one of HM Magazine's "100 best Christian metal albums of all time". The band's fifth album, Where Wandering Shadows and Mists Collide, was released on December 20, 2016.
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. This project officially came to an end in 2016, but in 2020 released a new album.
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.
Peste Noire are a French black metal band from La Chaise-Dieu, France. The band was formed by "La sale Famine de Valfunde", also known simply as "Famine", in 2000. Their music uses standard black metal elements mixed with traditional Gallic instrumentation, and influences from genres like punk and electronic music. The band is sometimes referred to as P.N. or K.P.N. Critics say that the band is part of the French National Socialist black metal (NSBM) scene despite Famine repeatedly characterizing himself and his project's ideology as French national anarchist, and espouses a preference for Italian Fascism as opposed to Nazism.
A Chronicle of the Plague is the second studio album by dark ambient band Dark Ages, recorded in July and September 2006. Its lyrical themes are that of the Black Plague.
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.
Savage Messiah are an English heavy metal band formed in May 2007 in London. The band was formed by guitarist and lead vocalist Dave Silver and also consists of guitarist Joff Bailey, bassist Míra Sláma, keyboardist Carlos Alcalde De Lema and drummer Charly Carretón.
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.
Slavonic Chronicles is an EP released by Ukrainian black metal band Drudkh on September 20, 2010, on the French label Season of Mist. It was released in two formats: as a 10" LP and as a mini CD. The last one is available only as a part of a deluxe leather book edition of Drudkh's 2010 full-length album, Handful of Stars, strictly limited to 600 copies.
Betraying the Martyrs are a French metalcore band from Paris.
Arthur Cruz is an American drummer and songwriter who is currently playing with heavy metal band Lamb of God. He is also the former drummer of Winds of Plague, Prong and Klogr.
