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.
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. Out of the nine studio albums they have released to date, the last eight have charted on the U.S. Billboard 200, with their fifth album Ritual peaking at No. 31 in 2011, marking them as one of the most popular contemporary American extreme metal bands. Their ninth and latest album Verminous was released on April 17, 2020.
Arsis is an American heavy metal band from Virginia Beach, Virginia, formed in 2000. The band is currently signed to Nuclear Blast.
Anaal Nathrakh are a British extreme metal band formed in 1999 in Birmingham, England by multi-instrumentalist Mick Kenney and vocalist Dave Hunt. They are currently signed to Metal Blade Records. The band's name is Irish for snake's breath and was taken from Merlin's Charm of Making in John Boorman's 1981 film Excalibur. The band recorded two demos in 1999, which were later released as an album.
Disillusion is a German progressive metal band from Leipzig.
Keep of Kalessin is an extreme metal band from Trondheim, Norway formed in 1993. The group's early lineup consisted of Ghash on vocals, Obsidian C. on guitars and keyboards, Warach on bass, and Vyl on drums. They released two albums under this lineup: Through Times of War in 1997, and Agnen: A Journey Through the Dark in 1999, before splitting up. Obsidian C. then toured with Satyricon, but revived the Keep of Kalessin name for a 2003 EP, Reclaim. In 2006, he reconstituted the group with a new lineup and released a third full-length, Armada. They toured with Behemoth and Dimmu Borgir early in 2008. Their fourth album Kolossus was released on June 6, 2008. They take their name from Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea series of books, where Kalessin is the name of the arch-dragon who is the bearer of the Earthsea world. Keep of Kalessin was nominated for a Spellemannprisen in the metal category in 2008.
Iron Fire is a Danish power and speed metal band which was formed in 1995 under the name Misery. The name was soon changed to Decades of Darkness and finally to Iron Fire. They have released nine albums with their debut Thunderstorm coming out in 2000.
Horna is a Finnish Black Metal band that formed in 1993. The band has appeared on over thirty releases including splits, demos, EPs and albums since 1995, which have been released through numerous record labels.
Tristwood are an Industrial black metal band from Innsbruck, Tyrol in Austria. The band was founded in 1996 by Deimon and Neru who were the first two for forming under the name December. Their early MCD demo, Torment that was recorded in January 1997 managed to get great sales under their original genre of black metal however after recording they disbanded for several years until 2001 when Neru and Jegger decided to reform the band under the name Tristwood. Deimon came back to the band and together in 2003 they began recording the MCD entitled Fragments Of The Mechanical Unbecoming. The MCD contained far more technical advancements using additional programming and synthesizers causing the band's output to be categorised under the Industrial side of music.
Dies Irae was a Polish death metal band founded in 1992. Their early recordings were heavily inspired and influenced by Vader and Morbid Angel.
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.
Enthroned is a Belgian black metal band formed in Charleroi. It is one of the premier acts of the Belgian black metal scene.
Bloodred Tales-Chapter I – The Crimson Season is an EP by the German melodic death metal band, Fragments of Unbecoming released by the band's own label in May, 2002. The limited release edition is sold with an extra cardboard-box, three postcards and the promotion flyer. The entire booklet and inlay are a 5-colour-print/iso-scale plus additional silver.
Sterling Black Icon - Chapter III - Black But Shining is the third full-length album by the German melodic death metal band, Fragments of Unbecoming. The European release edition for Sterling Black Icon comes with an "extra noble" cardboard-box.
Mortem is a death metal band formed in 1986 in Lima, Peru. They are the first Peruvian metal band to have toured Europe and the United States. Mortem’s musical style is firmly rooted in the death metal, black metal and thrash metal of the 1980s. Mortem's characteristic heavy sound is defined through slow death metal alternated with fast and aggressive counterparts. Tremolo picking in the style of early Possessed and Death built on rhythmic percussion topped with wailing atonal and melodic guitar solos. Vocals are forged from guttural rasps and often develop into high shrieks while lyrics deal mainly with the occult and anti-Christianity.
In Battle is an extreme metal band from Sundsvall, Sweden. The main lyrical themes of the band focus on Norse mythology and war.
Defeated Sanity is a German technical death metal band from Dachsbach, Bavaria that was conceived in 1993 by guitarist Wolfgang Teske and his son, drummer Lille Gruber. The group's lineup currently consists of Gruber (drums), Josh Welshman (vocals), and Jacob Schmidt. The band is known for their very brutal, abrasive and intricate style of death metal, while at the same time maintaining almost jazz fusion style influences. Defeated Sanity's genre has also sometimes been categorized as progressive death metal.
Skywards – A Sylphe's Ascension is the second album by the German melodic death metal band, Fragments of Unbecoming. Skywards was the first album released under their new label Metal Blade Records on February 10, 2004. The album artwork is dedicated to Anna-Lena. The European release is sold with an extra cardboard-box and the booklet and inlay are a five-color-print.
Tombs is an American heavy metal band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2007. Thus far, the group has released five full-length records, Winter Hours, Path of Totality, Savage Gold, The Grand Annihilation, and Under Sullen Skies.
Der Weg einer Freiheit is a German extreme metal band from Würzburg, formed in 2009 by Tobias Jaschinsky as vocalist and Nikita Kamprad as guitarist and principal songwriter. After the release of two studio albums – Der Weg einer Freiheit (2009) and Unstille (2012) – Jaschinsky left the band in 2012 and Kamprad took over vocals. He now performs alongside guitarist Nico Rausch, bassist Nico Ziska and drummer Tobias Schuler. They have released three more studio albums – Stellar (2015), Finisterre (2017) and Noktvrn (2021) – through Season of Mist.
