Doom metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other heavy metal genres. Both the music and the lyrics are intended to evoke a sense of despair, dread, and impending doom. The genre is strongly influenced by the early work of Black Sabbath, who formed a prototype for doom metal. During the first half of the 1980s, a number of bands such as Witchfinder General and Pagan Altar from England, American bands Pentagram, Saint Vitus, the Obsessed, Trouble, and Cirith Ungol, and Swedish band Candlemass defined doom metal as a distinct genre.
Cradle of Filth are an English extreme metal band formed in Suffolk in 1991. The band's musical style evolved originally from black metal to a cleaner and more "produced" amalgam of gothic metal, symphonic metal and other metal genres. Their lyrical themes and imagery are heavily influenced by Gothic literature, poetry, mythology and horror films. The band consists of its founding member, vocalist Dani Filth, drummer Martin 'Marthus' Škaroupka, bassist Daniel Firth, guitarists Marek 'Ashok' Šmerda and Donny Burbage, and keyboardist Zoe Marie Federoff.
Brave New World is the twelfth studio album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released on 29 May 2000. It was their first studio release since the return of longtime lead singer Bruce Dickinson and guitarist Adrian Smith in 1999, as well as the band's first studio recording as a six-piece, as Janick Gers, who replaced Smith in 1990, remained with the band.
Metal Blade Records is an American independent record label founded by Brian Slagel in 1982. The US office for Metal Blade is located in Agoura Hills, California. It also has offices in Germany, Japan, Canada, and the UK. The label is distributed in the US by RED Distribution, and in Canada by Sony Music Entertainment. It was distributed by Warner Bros. Records in the United States from 1988 to 1993.
Primal Fear is a German power metal band formed in 1997 by Ralf Scheepers and Mat Sinner. Sinner and Scheepers formed the band after Scheepers was not hired as Rob Halford's replacement in Judas Priest.
Cirith Ungol is an American heavy metal band formed in late 1971 in Ventura, California. This early doom and power metal group is known for lyrics based on fantasy. The band took their name from the mountain pass Cirith Ungol in J. R. R. Tolkien's epic fantasy novel, The Lord of the Rings.
Frost and Fire is the debut album by the American heavy metal band Cirith Ungol. Its music is generally faster and more simplistic than that of King of the Dead, which saw the band begin to adopt a doom metal style influenced heavily by power metal.
Paradise Lost is the fourth studio album by American heavy metal band Cirith Ungol. It was released on August 23, 1991 by Restless Records in the United States, Canada and Greece, and re-released as a bootleg several times. The band broke up in 1992 over unresolved issues with their new record label. It was finally officially re-released in 2007/08 on Noble Rot.
King of the Dead is the second album by the American heavy metal band Cirith Ungol. It was self-produced by the band and released in July 1984 on Enigma Records. It was re-released in September 1999 on Metal Blade Records.
One Foot in Hell is the third studio album by the American heavy metal band Cirith Ungol. The original LP was produced by Brian Slagel and Cirith Ungol. It was released in August 1986 on Metal Blade Records and re-released in March 1999 by Metal Blade Records on CD. Greg Lindstrom said in an interview:
It's an excellent album although I thought the songs overall were not as strong as King of the Dead, and Flint's bass seems to have gotten lost in the mix.
Metal Massacre is a series of compilation albums released through Metal Blade Records. It is famous for "shedding light" on bands such as The Obsessed, Trouble, Overkill, Metal Church, Metallica, Slayer, Virgin Steele, Hellhammer, Voivod, Armored Saint, Lizzy Borden, Possessed and more.
Kobra and the Lotus (also initialized as KATL) is a Canadian heavy metal band formed in 2009 by lead vocalist and songwriter Kobra Paige.
The Son of Odin is the debut album of British heavy metal band Elixir, released in 1986 on 12" vinyl. Cult Metal Classics re-released the album on CD in 2001. The album also included 3 bonus tracks. The album was also released on CD by TPL records in 2004, Majestic Rock in 2006 and CTR in 2011 as a 25th Anniversary Edition. In issue 137 of Terrorizer magazine, the album was included in the top 20 power metal albums of all time, alongside Judas Priest's Painkiller, Helloween's Keeper of the Seven Keys Part II and Cirith Ungol's King of the Dead. In 2019, Metal Hammer ranked it as the 21st best power metal album of all time.
Falcon is a California heavy metal band formed in 2002 by guitarist/vocalist Perry Grayson. Though active in the 2000s, Falcon's sound is throwback to the late 1960s and early 1970s, and they take their cue from luminaries like Blue Cheer, Black Sabbath, Trapeze, Budgie, Thin Lizzy, Pentagram, Mountain, Free, Bang, Captain Beyond and Buffalo.
Code Orange is an American hardcore punk band that formed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 2008, while the members of the band were still in high school.
13 is the nineteenth and final studio album by English heavy metal band Black Sabbath. It was released on 7 June 2013 through Vertigo Records, acting as their first studio album in 18 years following Forbidden (1995). It was the band's first studio recording with original singer Ozzy Osbourne and bassist Geezer Butler since the live album Reunion (1998), which contained two new studio tracks. It was also the first studio album with Osbourne since Never Say Die! (1978), and with Butler since Cross Purposes (1994).
The Book of Souls is the sixteenth studio album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released in 4 September 2015. It is the band's first studio double album, and also their longest to date, with a total length of 92 minutes and 11 seconds. Its launch and supporting tour were delayed to allow vocalist Bruce Dickinson time to recover from the removal of a cancerous tumour in early 2015. It is also their first album to be released on Parlophone, since the end of their 30-year relationship with EMI Records.
"Hold On to 18" is a song by American glam metal band Black 'n Blue from their eponymous debut album, Black 'n Blue. After being released as a promo in Japan, the song was released as the band's second single. The song was written by Jaime St. James and Tommy Thayer, and was the band's only single to chart, reaching number 50 on the Billboard Top Rock Tracks chart.
Servants of Chaos is a compilation album by American heavy metal band Cirith Ungol, released under Metal Blade Records on September 5, 2001.
Night Demon is an American heavy metal band from Ventura, California. Performing as a power trio, the band is among several bands participating in the resurgence of traditional, old-school heavy metal in the 2010s. Night Demon has released two studio albums on independent record labels plus a live concert album and regularly performs at heavy metal festivals worldwide.
