Deicide is an American death metal band from Tampa, Florida. Formed in 1987 by drummer/composer Steve Asheim and guitarist brothers Eric and Brian Hoffman as "Carnage", then hiring bassist/vocalist/lyricist Glen Benton and becoming "Amon". They changed the band name to Deicide in 1989. The band rose to mainstream success in 1992 with their second album Legion, and is credited as the second-best-selling death metal band of the Soundscan Era, after Cannibal Corpse.
Bathory was a Swedish heavy metal band formed in Vällingby in March 1983. Named after Hungarian countess Elizabeth Báthory, they are considered pioneers of black metal and Viking metal. The book Lords of Chaos described Bathory's first four albums as "the blueprint for Scandinavian black metal."
Entombed is a Swedish death metal band formed in 1987 under the name of Nihilist. Entombed began their career as an early pioneer of Scandinavian death metal which initially differed from its American counterpart by its distinct "buzzsaw" guitar tone. However, by the early 1990s their sound had broadened to include garage rock and other influences. This new style would eventually be described as death 'n' roll. Entombed's main influences include bands such as Obituary, Napalm Death, GBH, Suicidal Tendencies, the Stupids, Atheist, Executioner, Dirty Rotten Imbeciles, Slayer, Celtic Frost, Repulsion, and Autopsy. Along with Dismember, Grave and Unleashed, Entombed has been referred to as one of the "big four" of Swedish death metal.
Swedish death metal is a death metal music scene developed in Sweden. Many Swedish death metal bands are associated with the melodic death metal movement, thus giving Swedish death metal a different sound from other variations of death metal. Unlike American death metal groups, the first Swedish bands were rooted in hardcore punk. Gothenburg has a large melodic death metal scene while Stockholm is known for its more raw death metal scene.
Cryptopsy is a Canadian death metal band from Montreal, formed in 1988.
Amorphis is a Finnish heavy metal band founded by Jan Rechberger, Tomi Koivusaari, and Esa Holopainen in 1990. Initially, the band was a death metal act, but on later albums they evolved into playing other genres, including progressive metal and folk metal. They frequently use the Kalevala, the epic poem of Finland, as a source for their lyrics.
Possessed is an American death metal band, originally formed in 1982 in the San Francisco Bay Area.
At the Gates is a Swedish death metal band from Gothenburg, formed in 1990. The band was a major progenitor of Gothenburg-style melodic death metal alongside In Flames and Dark Tranquillity. Prior to their first disbandment in 1996, At the Gates released four albums, ending with and including Slaughter of the Soul (1995), which has been seen as a landmark in the mid-1990s Swedish death metal scene as well as being a major inspiration for many metalcore bands. After reuniting for a one-off tour in 2008, the band reformed once again in 2011, and they have since released three more albums: At War with Reality (2014), To Drink from the Night Itself (2018) and The Nightmare of Being (2021).
Autopsy is an American death metal band formed in Contra Costa County, California, in 1987 by Chris Reifert and Eric Cutler. The group disbanded in 1995 and reunited in 2009. The band's hometown is in Concord, California.
Grave is a Swedish death metal band that was formed in 1988 by vocalist and guitarist Ola Lindgren who is their only constant member. The band had particular success in the early 1990s, and their first four albums, Into the Grave, You'll Never See..., Soulless and Hating Life, cemented their reputation as one of Sweden's foremost death metal bands. Grave went on hiatus in 1997, but got back together two years later. Since then, they have released seven more albums, making a total of eleven studio albums. Along with Dismember, Entombed and Unleashed, Grave is considered one of the "big four" of Swedish death metal.
Immolation is an American death metal band from Yonkers, New York. They are considered one of the leaders of the New York death metal scene along with Incantation, Mortician and Suffocation.
The Crown is a Swedish death metal/thrash metal band from Trollhättan, active from 1990 to 2004 and again since 2009.
Carnage was a Swedish death metal band formed in 1988 by Michael Amott and Johan Liiva. The members of the group would later form Dismember and Arch Enemy. They released only one album before disbanding in 1991.
Fred Estby is a Swedish drummer. He is best known as the drummer and main songwriter of the Swedish death metal band Dismember. Before he played drums in the band Carnage. Estby appeared in various other projects including The A-Bombs (drums), The Clint Eastwood Experience (drums), Daemon (vocals), and Shubniggurat (vocals), Dismemberizer (drums), Parodi (guitar), Death Breath (vocals). He has contributed vocals to the band Centinex of the album Subconscious Lobotomy. Estby also appeared as a guest singer of Entombed in 1997 during a show in Stockholm and sang "Left Hand Path".
Exhorder is an American heavy metal band from New Orleans, Louisiana. They are considered progenitors of the groove-oriented thrash sound later made famous by bands such as Pantera and Machine Head, and their music has been regarded as a large influence on the New Orleans metal scene. Initially active from 1985 to 1994 and reformed from 2008 to 2011, Exhorder has since reformed in 2017. To date, the band has released four studio albums: Slaughter in the Vatican (1990), The Law (1992), Mourn the Southern Skies (2019) and Defectum Omnium (2024).
Grotesque was a Swedish death metal/black metal band.
Death Metal is the fourth album by Swedish death metal band, Dismember. It was released on 8 August 1997. The fourth track, "Let The Napalm Rain", opens with a sample from the movie Apocalypse Now.
Dark Recollections is the only studio album by Swedish death metal band Carnage, released in 1990 by Earache Records. It was originally released as a split CD with Cadaver's debut album Hallucinating Anxiety by Earache Records sublabel Necrosis. Some of the songs were later re-recorded by Dismember. Dark Recollections is the only album released by Carnage; the band had broken up by the time the album hit the streets. It was later reissued by Earache Records with eight additional tracks, taken from the demos for The Day Man Lost and Infestation of Evil.
Macabre Eternal is the fifth album by the American death metal band Autopsy, released on May 16, 2011, on the label Peaceville Records. It is the first studio album Autopsy have released after their 1995 disbandment and 2009 reunion. The first album to feature bassist Joe Trevisano. It is also the first album since 1989's Severed Survival not to feature any short tracks.
Repugnant was a Swedish death metal band from Stockholm active from 1998 to 2004. The band has been cited as one of the first revivalists of the Swedish death metal movement, along with Kaamos. They recorded their only studio album Epitome of Darkness in 2002, but it was left unreleased when the band broke up in 2004, only being published in 2006. Vocalist and guitarist Mary Goore recruited a new lineup of Repugnant to perform at the Hell's Pleasure festival in 2010, as well as several other shows, ending at the Maryland Deathfest in the United States on 29 May 2011. Following the break up of Repugnant, Forge went on to form and front the Swedish rock band Ghost, where he achieved a higher level of success and fame.
