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. 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).
Gorgoroth is a Norwegian black metal band based in Bergen. It was formed in 1992 by guitarist Infernus, who is also the only original member remaining, and the band have since 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.
Fleshcrawl is a German death metal band formed in Illertissen, Bavaria, in 1987. Their most recent album, Into the Catacombs of Flesh, was released in 2019 under Apostasy Records.
In Flames is a Swedish heavy metal band, formed by guitarist Jesper Strömblad in Gothenburg in 1990. Alongside At the Gates and Dark Tranquillity, In Flames pioneered the genres known as Swedish death metal and melodic death metal.
Dissection was a Swedish extreme metal band from Strömstad, formed in 1989 by guitarist, vocalist and main songwriter Jon Nödtveidt and bassist Peter Palmdahl. Despite a number of lineup changes, Dissection released The Somberlain in 1993 and Storm of the Light's Bane in 1995, before splitting up in 1997 due to Nödtveidt's imprisonment for complicity in the murder of Josef Meddour.
Dark Funeral are a Swedish black metal band from Stockholm, founded by guitarists Blackmoon and Lord Ahriman in 1993. They emerged during the second wave of black metal.
Carcass are an English extreme metal band from Liverpool, formed in 1985. The band have gone through several line-up changes, leaving guitarist Bill Steer and bassist-vocalist Jeff Walker as the only constant members. They broke up in 1996, but reformed in 2007 without one of their original members, drummer Ken Owen, due to health reasons. To date, the band have released seven studio albums, two compilation albums, four EPs, two demo albums, one video album, and six music videos.
Sabbat were an English thrash metal band from Nottingham consisting of Martin Walkyier (vocals), Andy Sneap (guitars), Simon Jones (guitars), Frazer Craske (bass) and Simon Negus (drums). They are considered one of the "big four" of British thrash metal along with Acid Reign, Onslaught, and Xentrix, who were all responsible for developing and popularizing the country's thrash metal scene in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Over their initial six-year run Sabbat released three studio albums, four demos, two split singles/compilation albums, two singles and a live VHS. In 1988 the band released their debut album History of a Time to Come which earned them further recognition. Their next album, Dreamweaver (1989), was also critically acclaimed. Shortly after the release of Mourning Has Broken (1991), tensions with the band began to surface, most of them revolved around money and Sabbat disbanded as a result. After an attempted reunion in 2001 which was blocked by Sneap, the original Sabbat lineup reunited in 2006. In December of that year they performed together for the first time in sixteen years at five different venues in England. One was a warm-up gig in Nottingham, the other four in support of Cradle of Filth. The band has continued to perform live around the world but has not released any new material. In a January 2014 interview with Decibel magazine Andy Sneap confirmed that Sabbat had once again split-up.
Unleashed is a Swedish death metal band that was formed in 1989 by Johnny Hedlund in Stockholm. Common lyrical themes found in the band's music include Viking culture, recollection of a pre-Christian world, and Norse folklore. A number of their recent songs also contain references to J. R. R. Tolkien. Unleashed is considered one of the "big four" of Swedish death metal.
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.
Belphegor is an Austrian blackened death metal band from Salzburg. They originally formed in 1991 under the name Betrayer before changing their name in 1993, deriving their current name from the demon Belphegor.
Sonic Syndicate is a Swedish metalcore band from Falkenberg. They were formerly influenced by Swedish melodic death metal bands such as In Flames and Soilwork and American metalcore bands like Killswitch Engage and All That Remains.
Pyogenesis is a German metal band based in Stuttgart that played different genres of music such as death metal, alternative metal, punk rock, and gothic metal, which they were credited for their part in originating the latter genre in the early 1990s.
Bloodstock Open Air is a British heavy metal festival held annually at Catton Hall in Walton-on-Trent, Derbyshire, since 2005.
Sylosis is a British extreme metal band from Reading, Berkshire, England. Signed to Nuclear Blast Records, the band has released five studio albums, a live album, two EPs and twelve music videos. Their fifth album Cycle of Suffering was released on 7 February 2020.
Suicidal Angels is a Greek thrash metal band formed in 2001 in Athens, Greece, by guitarist/vocalist and main songwriter Nick Melissourgos. Since its inception, the band has released seven studio albums, and has gone through several line-up changes leaving Melissourgos as the only constant member.
Human Remains is the first studio album by the UK heavy metal band Hell, released on Friday 13 May 2011 by Nuclear Blast Records.
Andy Sneap is an English guitarist, record producer and composer with over 100 albums to his name, most of which have been produced at his Backstage Recording studios in rural Derbyshire. Some of the most critically acclaimed production work on albums include Deliverance by Opeth and Disarm the Descent by Killswitch Engage; for which he earned a Swedish Grammis and a US Grammy nomination, respectively. As a performer, he first built his reputation as one of the guitarists in the British thrash metal band Sabbat, and played with them up until their disbanding. He is currently one of the co-guitarists of the British heavy metal band Hell. In 2018 he joined Judas Priest as a touring guitarist, following long-time lead guitarist Glenn Tipton's diagnosis of Parkinson's disease which conflicts with his touring abilities.
Bill Hudson is a Brazilian-American heavy metal guitarist, currently serving as the main composer, lead guitarist and founder for power metal supergroup NorthTale. He worked with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra as well German heavy metal bands U.D.O. and Dirkschneider, both fronted by former Accept vocalist Udo Dirkschneider and American death metal band I Am Morbid, featuring former Morbid Angel frontman David Vincent and drummer Tim Yeung. As of 2021, he is the guitarist for German heavy metal legend Doro Pesch, after acting as a fill in guitarist since 2017.
Race Against Time were an English heavy metal band from Derbyshire, formed in 1978 along with Paralex and Radium, who referred to themselves as the 'East Midlands Bands Cooperative'. These bands shared equipment and organised concerts, helping Nottingham to become a hotbed of activity during the new wave of British heavy metal.
