Doomination was a touring metal music festival with performances by many doom metal and death metal groups. It was organized by the members of the now defunct American band Morgion, the Irish doom metal band Mourning Beloveth and the Yorkshire progressive doom metal band The Prophecy. The tour was intended to bring together the best of the underground doom metal and doom/death metal acts to create a traveling doom metal showcase, helping to bring new life into the scene and spurring on many bands to be more adventurous when considering when, where and how to tour. The original tour and the tours which followed were well received by the metal press with articles and reviews being published in Metal Hammer , Terrorizer , Loud, Feedback and Abode for Forlorn Souls, the latter publishing full interviews with each of the three Doomination bands as well as excerpts from Christian Moore-Wainwright's (ex The Prophecy guitarist) tour diary.
The first Doomination tour started on 7 February 2003 at Eamon Dorans in Dublin with another ten dates in the UK, France, Spain, Portugal, Belgium and The Netherlands. The core acts of the tour were Morgion, Mourning Beloveth and The Prophecy. [1] Among the acts participating in the tour were Ataraxie, Autumnal, Desire, Despond, Karseron, Panthiest and Process of Guilt.
The Doomination of Europe was followed in August 2003 by The Doomination of America. [2] Organised by members of Morgion, this tour had Mourning Beloveth, The Prophecy and Orodruin. Morgion had to pull out of the tour due to a car accident involving the guitarist Gary Griffiths. The tour had a host of supporting acts including Vex, The Gates Of Slumber, Asunder and Negative Reaction.
The last leg of the Doomination Tour was scheduled over three weeks across September and October 2004. This tour had The Prophecy and the Australian doom band The Eternal. [3] The tour widened its coverage, visiting Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Spain, Portugal and the UK. The tour followed the ideals of the previous Doomination tours by inviting the best of the underground to play in support of the tour.
An attempt to organise The Doomination of Europe III was made in 2007 with Keen of The Crow (with former Morgion Members). However, because of costs, the tour did not go ahead.
Slayer was an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California, formed in 1981 by guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style made them one of the "big four" bands of thrash metal, alongside Metallica, Megadeth, and Anthrax. Slayer's final lineup consisted of King, Araya, drummer Paul Bostaph and guitarist Gary Holt, who initially joined as a touring member in 2011 before joining the band permanently after Hanneman's death in 2013. Drummer Jon Dette was also a member of the band.
Sepultura is a Brazilian heavy metal band from Belo Horizonte. Formed in 1984 by brothers Max and Igor Cavalera, the band was a major force in the groove metal, thrash metal and death metal genres during the late 1980s and early 1990s, with their later experiments drawing influence from alternative metal, world music, nu metal, hardcore punk, and industrial metal. Sepultura has also been credited as one of the second wave of thrash metal acts from the late 1980s to early-to-mid-1990s.
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.
Black Label Society is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1998 by guitarist/singer Zakk Wylde. To date, the band has released eleven studio albums, two live albums, two compilation albums, one EP, and three video albums.
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.
Paradise Lost are an English gothic metal band that formed in 1988 in Halifax, considered to be among 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.
Gorgoroth is a Norwegian black metal band based in Bergen. It was formed in 1992 by guitarist Infernus, who is the sole original member remaining, and has released nine studio albums. Gorgoroth are a Satanic band and have drawn controversy due to some of their concerts, which have featured impaled sheep heads and mock crucifixions. The band is named after the dead plateau of darkness in the land of Mordor from J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings.
Soilwork is a Swedish melodic death metal band from Helsingborg. They are signed to Nuclear Blast. Formed in late 1995 by Björn Strid and Peter Wichers, originally under the name Inferior Breed, the band changed their name in late 1996 to Soilwork.
Forbidden is an American thrash metal band from the San Francisco Bay Area, California. Formed in 1985 as Forbidden Evil, but would change their name in 1987. Since their formation, Forbidden have broken up and reformed twice with numerous line-up changes. After breaking up for the first time in 1997, Forbidden reunited once again in 2007, went into an indefinite hiatus in 2012, but reformed in 2023. The current line-up of the band is Norman Skinner (vocals), Craig Locicero (guitar), Matt Camacho (bass), Steve Smyth (guitar) and Chris Kontos (drums).
Vio-lence is an American thrash metal band formed in 1985 in the San Francisco Bay Area. Throughout its existence, they released demo tapes, one EP and three studio albums. Vio-lence is best-known for their association with the 1980s Bay Area thrash metal scene, and often credited as one of the leading lights of the second wave of the genre, along with Pantera, Sepultura, Sacred Reich, Dark Angel, Annihilator and Flotsam and Jetsam as well as their Bay Area counterparts Testament, Death Angel and Forbidden. The band has also been referred to as one of the so-called "Big Six of Bay Area thrash metal", alongside Exodus, Testament, Death Angel, Lȧȧz Rockit and Forbidden.
Psycroptic are an Australian technical death metal band formed in Hobart, Australia in 1999. Mainstay members are Dave Haley on drums and his brother Joe Haley on guitar. Their lead vocalist, Jason Peppiatt, joined in 2004. In 2008 they signed to Nuclear Blast. As of August 2022, the band have released eight studio albums. They have undertaken Australian national tours supporting international acts, Incantation, Decapitated, Origin and Misery Index. Psycroptic have also toured Europe with Nile and with Deicide. In February 2019, the band started a co-headlining tour alongside Aversions Crown and support bands Within Destruction, Hadal Maw and Hollow World across Europe. They also headlined a 2019 tour in the United States in support of their album As the Kingdom Drowns.
Hate Eternal is an American death metal band from St. Petersburg, Florida. The band currently consists of founding guitarist/vocalist Erik Rutan and bassist J. J. Hrubovcak. To date, Hate Eternal has released seven studio albums: Conquering the Throne (1999), King of All Kings (2002), I, Monarch (2005), Fury & Flames (2008), Phoenix Amongst the Ashes (2011), Infernus (2015), and Upon Desolate Sands (2018). All albums were produced by Rutan.
Novembers Doom is an American death-doom band from Chicago, currently signed to Prophecy Productions. Along with Evoken and Rigor Sardonicous, Novembers Doom is one of the earliest American death-doom bands still active today.
The Prophecy is an English progressive doom metal band from Yorkshire, England.
Job for a Cowboy is an American death metal band from Glendale, Arizona. Formed in 2003, the band's debut album Genesis was released in 2007, peaking at No. 54 on the US Billboard 200 and selling 13,000 copies in its first week of release. The second album, 2009's Ruination, sold 10,600 copies in the United States in its first week to debut at position No. 42 on the Billboard 200 chart. The band comprises vocalist Jonny Davy, guitarists Tony Sannicandro and Al Glassman and bassist Nick Schendzielos. Davy is the only remaining founding member.
Enthroned is a Belgian black metal band formed in Charleroi. It is one of the premier acts of the Belgian black metal scene.
Orodruin is an American doom metal band from Rochester, New York, who play traditional doom as part of the style's early-2000s revival, playing alongside bands like Reverend Bizarre, While Heaven Wept, and Penance. Their sophomore release Ruins of Eternity came out on Cruz Del Sur Records on October 25, 2019.
Aborted is a Belgian death metal band formed in 1995 in Waregem. The group currently consists of vocalist, founder and only constant member Sven de Caluwé, guitarist Ian Jekelis, guitarist Dan Konradsson and drummer Ken Bedene. Although the band originally had an entire lineup of members living in Belgium, Aborted's current lineup now features members from Belgium, The Netherlands, Iceland and the United States. The band has released eleven studio albums, six EPs and one live DVD.
Decapitated is a Polish death metal band formed in Krosno in 1996. The group comprises guitarist, founder and composer Wacław "Vogg" Kiełtyka, vocalist Rafał Piotrowski, bassist Paweł Pasek and drummer James Stewart. Decapitated have gained recognition as one of the genre's most widely respected bands and one of the finest exponents of technical death metal. The band earned an international fan base in the underground music community and became an innovating act in the modern death metal genre.
Mar de Grises was a Chilean death/doom metal band created in 2000. "Mar de Grises" could be translated into English as "Sea of Grief," or equivalently, as grey is the Spanish color of sorrows as blue is in English, "Sea of Greys".