History
Darkend was founded in 2006 by guitarist Imajes and drummer Valentz. Later that year Antarktica joined as keyboardist and the band gave their first live performances. The first album Damned Woman and A Carcass was recorded in the same year, with Valentz as temporary vocalist.
In April 2007 an important turn in the band's history occurred when Animæ joined as vocalist. In the same year Nekromantik Records released Damned Woman and a Carcass, which was later remastered by Deadsun Records for distribution in Europe and North America.
In 2008 Darkend performed in their homeland Italy, with bands such as Marduk, Impaled Nazarene and Stormlord.
In 2009 the line-up changed again with the admission of two new members: Specter as bass player and Ashes as guitarist. 2010 saw the release of their second album Assassine under the label Crash & Burn Records, now with Animæ in charge of the vocals for the first time.
In May 2011 Darkend did their first European tour with Rotting Christ. In September they supported Samael, Melechesh and Keep of Kalessin on Lux Mundi World Tour. In October, Nothingness replaced Imajes on guitar and the band thus assumed their current configuration.
At the end of February 2012 Grand Guignol - Book I was released in special limited edition with the support of the Arcane Witchcraft Coven esoteric order, which decided to finance the release in exchange for exclusive ritualistic music by Darkend. In November Darkend participated in the Creatures From the Black Abyss Tour in Europe with Cradle of Filth, Rotting Christ and God Seed.
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".
Arch Enemy is a Swedish melodic death metal band, originally a supergroup from Halmstad, formed in 1995. Its members were in bands such as Carcass, Armageddon, Carnage, Mercyful Fate, Spiritual Beggars, The Agonist, Nevermore, and Eucharist. It was founded by Carcass guitarist Michael Amott along with Johan Liiva, who were both originally from the death metal band Carnage. The band has released eleven studio albums, three live albums, three video albums and four EPs. The band was originally fronted by Johan Liiva, who was replaced by German vocalist Angela Gossow in 2000. Gossow left the band in March 2014 to become the group's manager and was replaced by Canadian vocalist Alissa White-Gluz.
Ancient is a Norwegian black metal band from Bergen, formed in 1992. The band released six full-length albums released by Metal Blade Records to date and a variety of mini-albums, EPs and special releases. Ancient used to have the classic raw black metal sound, similar to Darkthrone's works. Beginning with The Cainian Chronicle, they moved towards a more Nordic/atmospheric black metal sound, akin to Emperor and a cleaner production. After a period of turmoil concerning their line-up, they went on to add gothic-style instruments such as violins, a female vocalist, and synthesizers to their music.
Samael is a Swiss metal band formed in Sion in 1987. Their current lineup includes founding members and brothers Vorphalack (Vorph) and Xytraguptor (Xy), guitarist Drop and bassist Ales. A few other members have been part of the band throughout the years: Rodolph H., Kaos, Mas and Makro.
Michael Amott is a Swedish guitarist, founding member of the metal bands Arch Enemy, Spiritual Beggars and Carnage, as well as a former member of Carcass. He is the older brother of Christopher Amott.
The Black Dahlia Murder is an American melodic death metal band from Waterford, Michigan, formed in 2001. Their name is derived from the 1947 unsolved murder of Elizabeth Short, often referred to as Black Dahlia. Currently, the band consists of lead vocalist Brian Eschbach, bassist Max Lavelle, drummer Alan Cassidy, and guitarists Brandon Ellis and Ryan Knight. The Black Dahlia Murder has undergone various lineup changes, with Trevor Strnad and Eschbach remaining the only constant members, until the former's death in 2022, which then saw Eschbach take over lead vocals and Knight replacing him on rhythm guitar.
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.
Atreyu is an American metalcore band from Yorba Linda, California, formed in 1998. The band currently consists of lead vocalist Brandon Saller, guitarists Dan Jacobs and Travis Miguel, bassist and unclean vocalist Marc "Porter" McKnight, and drummer Kyle Rosa.
William Geoffrey Steer is a British guitarist and co-founder of the extreme metal band Carcass. He is considered a pioneer and an essential contributor to grindcore and death metal due to his involvement in Napalm Death and Carcass, two of the most important bands of those genres. Presently he plays with Gentlemans Pistols, the reactivated Carcass and appeared as a live second guitarist for Angel Witch from 2011 to 2015.
Krisiun is a Brazilian death metal band, founded by brothers Alex Camargo, Moyses Kolesne (guitars) and Max Kolesne (drums). Since its formation in 1990, the group recorded two demos, Evil Age in 1991 and Curse of the Evil One in 1992, and self-released an extended play (EP) titled Unmerciful Order in 1993. After signing with Dynamo Records, Krisiun released the debut full-length Black Force Domain in 1995, followed by Apocalyptic Revelation, in 1998. They signed with major label Century Media in 1999, releasing a further ten studio albums.
Scar Symmetry is a Swedish heavy metal band from Avesta, formed in 2004. The band has released seven albums, with seven released singles. They are signed to Nuclear Blast Records.
Nightfall is a Greek extreme metal band from Athens. Formed by vocalist/bassist/keyboardist Efthimis Karadimas in 1991, the group is currently signed to Season of Mist. They are widely considered the forerunners to a "mediterranean way to black metal" together with Inchiuvatu and Moonspell.
All Shall Perish is an American deathcore band from Oakland, California, formed in 2002. The band was signed to Nuclear Blast and have released four full-length albums through the label. Their final album, This Is Where It Ends, was released on July 26, 2011.
Church of Misery is a Japanese doom metal band from Tokyo, formed in 1995. Church of Misery's musical style melds early Black Sabbath-style doom with psychedelic rock; most of the band's songs are about serial killers and mass murderers.
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 seven 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.
Warlord is an American heavy metal band, formed in 1980 and based in Los Angeles, California. Since its formation the band was led by guitarist William J Tsamis and drummer Mark Zonder.
English Dogs were a British hardcore punk band that began life in the early eighties. Two versions of the band exist, the punk and metal crossover band featuring original drummer Andrew "Pinch" Pinching and second-era members Graham "Gizz" Butt and Adie Bailey and a punk-based one featuring original vocalist Pete "Wakey" Wakefield.
The Faceless are an American technical death metal band from the Encino neighborhood of Los Angeles. They released their debut album, Akeldama, in November 2006, and a follow-up, Planetary Duality, in November 2008. The band's third album, Autotheism, was released on August 14, 2012. On December 1, 2017, the band released their fourth album, In Becoming a Ghost.
Mantic Ritual is an American thrash metal band from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They released their only album, Executioner, in 2009.
Black Crown Initiate is an American extreme metal band from Reading, Pennsylvania, United States, currently signed to Century Media. The band formed in 2012 and self-released their first EP Song of the Crippled Bull, which was met with positive reviews. They began touring in early 2014 with fellow extreme metal bands such as Goatwhore, Behemoth, and 1349; this led to them being signed by eOne Music in June 2014. With eOne, they released both The Wreckage of Stars, released on September 30, 2014, and Selves We Cannot Forgive, released on July 22, 2016. Their third studio album, Violent Portraits of Doomed Escape, was released with Century Media on August 7, 2020.
