Napalm Death are an English grindcore band formed in Meriden, West Midlands in 1981. None of the band's original members have been in the group since 1986, but since Utopia Banished (1992), the lineup of bassist Shane Embury, guitarist Mitch Harris, drummer Danny Herrera and lead vocalist Mark "Barney" Greenway has remained consistent through most of the band's career. From 1989 to 2004, Napalm Death were a five-piece band after they added Jesse Pintado as the replacement of one-time guitarist Bill Steer. Following Pintado's departure, the band reverted to a four-piece.
The Flower Kings are a Swedish progressive rock band formed in 1994 by guitarist and singer-songwriter Roine Stolt. The group began as Stolt's touring band to support his third solo album The Flower King. They continued performing after the tour and have gone on to become one of the most prolific studio recording units in progressive rock, having released over twenty hours of music spread across fifteen studio albums. Their music is similar to early symphonic progressive rock groups such as Yes, marked by sharp dynamic changes, polyrhythms, heavy bass, vocal harmonies, abstract and occasionally nonsensical lyrics, and extended song lengths.
Moonspell is a Portuguese gothic metal band formed in 1992. The group released their first EP, Under the Moonspell, in 1994 and followed up with their debut album, Wolfheart, a year later. They quickly became the most recognizable metal band from Portugal and a key figure in gothic metal. Fernando Ribeiro is co-founder, singer and songwriter of the band.
Tristania was a Norwegian gothic metal band formed in 1996 by Morten Veland, Einar Moen and Kenneth Olsson. Tristania's music is usually classified as Gothic metal with death influences, due to its strong tie and legacy within the gothic metal history. Their songs largely dealt with dark and sentimental topics, including depression, sadness, suicide, love, absence, and anger.
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.
Megaherz is a German Neue Deutsche Härte band formed in Eichenau in 1993.
Masterplan is a German power metal band founded by guitarist Roland Grapow and drummer Uli Kusch upon leaving Helloween in 2001.
Battlelore are a Finnish heavy metal band from Lappeenranta, founded in 1999 by guitarist Jyri Vahvanen and bassist Miika Kokkola. The name derives from the union of the words 'battle' and 'folklore'. Many of Battlelore's lyrics concern J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth sagas and their stage costumes and live shows are largely inspired by the themes and characters of fantasy literature. The band had many changes of personnel during their twelve years of activity and had a long hiatus after the completion of the tour supporting their latest release Doombound in 2011. In January 2016 they announced that they would be performing at Metal Female Voices Fest XIII in October 2016.
Lacrimas Profundere is a gothic metal band from Germany. Their name means "to shed tears" in Latin. Their stylistic aesthetic has changed over time; originally a gothic death-doom band, they have simplified their style to a more mainstream gothic rock/metal style with more influences from bands such as HIM, The 69 Eyes, before returning to their heavier gothic doom roots on their 2019 album Bleeding the Stars.
Agathodaimon are a gothic/symphonic black metal band from Mainz, Germany. Their early material can be categorized as Symphonic Black Metal and their later musical pieces can be categorized as Gothic/Black Metal.
The Berzerker are an Australian/British industrial death metal band from Melbourne formed in 1995. The band's music, heavily influenced by older death metal and grindcore bands such as Carcass, Obituary, and Napalm Death, can be characterised as a fusion of these with speedcore, and gabber. The band's founding member Luke Kenny described the band's style as industrial death metal.
The Meads of Asphodel are an English black metal band with pronounced medieval, Arab, punk, and progressive metal influences from Hertfordshire, England.
Defenestration were a UK nu metal band from 1999 to 2004, based in the Northamptonshire town of Kettering.
Vesania is a Polish extreme metal band formed in 1997 by Orion, Daray and Heinrich. Later members were Annahvahr and Hatrah, who left the band in 1999 and was replaced by Siegmar.
Goblin is an Italian progressive rock band known for their film scores. They frequently collaborate with Dario Argento, most notably creating the scores for Profondo Rosso in 1975 and Suspiria in 1977. Because their collaborator Dario Argento specializes in creating horror, suspense and slasher/giallo genre movies, scores made by Goblin in these movies often had eerie and ominous tones. CD re-releases of their scores have performed well, especially in Germany and Japan. Goblin returned with a series of live concerts in Europe in 2009 and in North America in 2013.
Gary Wallis is a British drummer, percussionist, drum programmer, producer and musical director. He has worked with a wide range of artists and bands, including Nik Kershaw, Pink Floyd, 10cc, Il Divo, Westlife, Girls Aloud, Atomic Kitten, Paul Carrack, Dusty Springfield, Bonnie Tyler, Mike Rutherford, Mike + The Mechanics, Spice Girls, All Saints, Tom Jones, Jean-Michel Jarre, Helene Fischer and Schiller.
Radar Bros. are an American indie rock band from Los Angeles, California, United States, formed in 1993 by Jim Putnam, Senon Williams (bass) and Steve Goodfriend (drums). They released their self-titled EP in 1995 on Fingerpaint Records. In 1996, they signed to Restless releasing a self-titled full-length record Radar Bros. the following spring.
Arkona is a Russian folk metal band. Their lyrics are heavily influenced by Russian folklore and Slavic mythology, and their music incorporates several traditional Russian musical instruments. The name of the band "Arkona" refers to the last Pre-Christianized Slavic city-castle.
Enthroned is a Belgian black metal band formed in Charleroi. It is one of the premier acts of the Belgian black metal scene.
Siegfried is a heavy metal band from Austria that was founded in 1998 by Bruder Cle, aka Hagen, who was later joined by Daniel Bachmaier, a.k.a. Ortwin, and former Dreams of Sanity singer Sandra Schleret. In 2000 they released a demo CD called Fafnir. Later in 2000 they were signed to Napalm Records, releasing their first album, Drachenherz, in 2001. Their second album, Eisenwinter, was released in 2003. The lyrics of Siegfried are based on and inspired by the Nibelung Saga.
