Therion is a Swedish symphonic metal band founded by Christofer Johnsson in 1987. Its name was inspired by the Celtic Frost album To Mega Therion. "To Mega Therion" is Greek for "The Great Beast" and was a title used by occultist Aleister Crowley. Originally a death metal band, Therion adjusted its musical style by adding orchestral elements, including choirs, classical musicians, and even a full orchestra at their concert performances. As a result, they are considered pioneers of the symphonic metal genre.
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.
Kataklysm is a Canadian death metal band. They have released fourteen studio albums, one EP and two DVDs as of 2020. Kataklysm won their first Juno Award for best album of the year in the "heavy metal" category for their 2015 album Of Ghosts and Gods.
Darkwell is a gothic metal band from Innsbruck, Austria. Formed in 1999 by bassist Roland Wurzer and guitarist Roman Wienicke; Wurzer is the sole founding member still active with the group. Soon after formation, they signed with Napalm Records and released their first album, Suspiria, in 2000. Before the release of Conflict of Interest in 2002 they toured across Europe with Tristania, The Sins of Thy Beloved, Graveworm, and Vintersorg. Supporting their second full-length album, Metatron, they again toured across Europe, with Atrocity, Leaves' Eyes, and Battlelore.
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).
Lost Soul is a Polish technical death metal band established in 1990 in Wrocław. Lost Soul has released five studio albums, which have been highly acclaimed by both fans and journalists. The band's 2009 album, Immerse in Infinity, was promoted with the first video ever recorded by the band for the song "...If The Dead Can Speak".
Engraved in Black is the fourth studio album by the symphonic black metal band Graveworm, released in 2003 through Nuclear Blast. This is the first Graveworm album to feature guitarist Eric Righi, who also played bass on this recording.
Ancient Rites is a Belgian black metal band formed in 1988. Initially, the lineup consisted of guitar players Johan and Phillip, drummer Stefan, and Gunther Theys on bass and vocals. In 1990 the Dark Ritual demo was released in the underground scene, getting worldwide attention just as black metal was gaining importance in the metal scene. Soon after the release of this demo Phillip died in a car crash and not long after, Stefan committed suicide. However painful this episode was to the band, they decided to continue and Stefan's position was taken by his drum roadie Walter van Cortenberg.
Scourge of Malice is the third studio album by the symphonic black metal band Graveworm, released in 2001 through Last Episode.
As the Angels Reach the Beauty is the second studio album by the symphonic black metal band Graveworm, released on 26 September 1999 through Serenades Records. This is one of Graveworm's more symphonic albums, with strong symphonic metal influences and three symphonic interludes. It was recorded and mixed at Newport Studios, St. Lorenzen, Italy and mastered at Newport Mastering Studios.
When Daylight's Gone is the debut studio album by the symphonic black metal band Graveworm, released originally in 1997 through Serenades Records but was later re-released in 2001 through Last Episode with bonus tracks taken from the entirety of Underneath the Crescent Moon, the cover of which is the covers of the albums faded together in the middle.
Chryst is an Austrian avant-garde/extreme metal one-man band formed in 1990, initially under the name Korova, then changing its name to Korovakill and finally to Chryst.
Gothic Kabbalah is the thirteenth studio album by Swedish symphonic metal band Therion. It was released in Europe on 12 January 2007. The album was mixed by Stefan Glaumann, who also contributed to bands such as Rammstein, Evergrey, Europe and Def Leppard. The main line-up has been slightly changed since previous studio albums : Petter Karlsson returned to play drums, having already played with the band during Lemuria / Sirius B tour during the period of 2004–2006. Since Christofer Johnsson announced in 2006 he is retiring from singing, vocals on Gothic Kabbalah were performed by Mats Levén, as well as Snowy Shaw and three female singers: Katarina Lilja, Anna Nyhlin and Hannah Holgersson.
Collateral Defect is the sixth studio album by the symphonic black metal band Graveworm, released in 2007. It was produced by Andy Classen.
Demonoid is a Swedish extreme metal band founded in 2003 that derives its influences from traditional death metal, thrash metal and black metal.
Diabolical Figures is the seventh studio album by the symphonic black metal band Graveworm. It was released on 16 June 2009 through Massacre Records. The album was recorded at Stage One studios in Borgentreich, Germany with producer Andy Classen, and features a guest appearance by Karsten "Jagger" Jäger from Disbelief.
Blackguard is a Canadian melodic death metal band from Montréal, Québec, previously known as Profugus Mortis.
Demonic Resurrection is a symphonic death metal band from Mumbai, India, formed in 2000. Its current line-up consists of Sahil "The Demonstealer" Makhija on vocals and rhythm guitar and Virendra "Viru" Kaith on drums. Since its formation, the band has released five studio albums and one EP. The band's fourth album, The Demon King, was released on 13 July 2014 in India, 14 July in Europe and 15 July in the US by Candlelight Records and distributed in India by Universal Music.
Christian Vidal is an Argentine guitarist, member of the symphonic metal band Therion. He has so far released two solo albums.
Devilment are a British gothic metal/groove metal band originally formed in late 2011 by guitarist Daniel Finch. The band experienced problems finding a stable vocalist until Dani Filth from the extreme metal band Cradle of Filth joined. They released their first studio album, The Great and Secret Show, in November 2014.
