Dark Tranquillity is a Swedish melodic death metal band from Gothenburg. They are considered one of the pioneering acts of the Gothenburg metal scene, which also includes bands such as In Flames and At the Gates - regarded as the Gothenburg fathers in the film entitled Out of Nothing: A DT Documentary released by Century Media, which was filmed in their home town in April 2009. After a nearly three-decade long collaboration of four founding members frequent lineup changes between 2016 and 2021 have left only vocalist Mikael Stanne as an original member, together with long-time keyboardist Martin Brändström.
Skyfire is a Swedish melodic death metal band from Höör, Skåne County. Formed in 1995, its initial lineup comprised Andreas Edlund (guitar), Martin Hanner, Jonas Sjögren (guitar) and Tobias Björk (drums). The band's lineup has significantly changed since its inception.
In Flames is a Swedish heavy metal band, formed by guitarist Jesper Strömblad in Gothenburg in 1990 out of the Swedish death metal scene. Their lineup has changed several times, with vocalist Anders Fridén and guitarist Björn Gelotte being the only consistent members since 1995. In Flames helped pioneer melodic death metal along with fellow Swedish bands At the Gates and Dark Tranquillity. The band has sold over two million records worldwide.
Sentenced was a Finnish gothic metal band that played melodic death metal in their early years. The band formed in 1989 in the town of Muhos and broke up in 2005.
Ensiferum is a Finnish folk metal band from Helsinki. The members of the band label themselves as "melodic folk metal".
Character is the seventh studio album by Swedish melodic death metal band Dark Tranquillity. The album was first released on 24 January 2005 through Century Media Records. The corresponding single, "Lost to Apathy", was previously featured on the Lost to Apathy EP, their first EP released in nearly ten years. The album title appears in the song "Am I 1?".
Anders Björler is a Swedish musician. He is best known as the lead guitarist in the metal bands The Haunted and At the Gates, alongside his bass-playing twin brother Jonas Björler.
Skydancer is the debut studio album by Swedish melodic death metal band Dark Tranquillity. This release was the last recorded output to feature vocalist Anders Fridén, later of In Flames, who was fired and replaced by guitarist Mikael Stanne. Incidentally, Mikael Stanne was the lead vocalist on the first In Flames studio album, Lunar Strain.
Of Chaos and Eternal Night is the second EP by Swedish melodic death metal band Dark Tranquillity. It is the first studio recording by the band featuring Mikael Stanne as the lead vocalist, who switched from playing rhythm guitar to singing after the firing of original vocalist Anders Friden. Consequently, it is also the band’s first studio recording to feature Fredrik Johansson on rhythm guitar. The EP would be Dark Tranquillity’s final release with Spinefarm Records, whose contract with the band expired after its release. The album is made up of three newly-written songs, as well as a new version of the song “Alone” from their debut album Skydancer with re-recorded vocals by Stanne.
Christopher Amott is a Swedish guitarist, younger brother of Michael Amott and founding member of the metal bands Arch Enemy and Armageddon. He is most recently the former guitarist for Dark Tranquillity.
Niklas Sundin is a Swedish musician, best known as a founding member and former lead guitarist of the melodic death metal band Dark Tranquillity from 1989–2020. In 2019, he founded his own band called Mitochondrial Sun, which has released two full-length studio albums to date. He was also one of the guitarists in Laethora from 2005–2010.
Timeless Departure is the debut full-length studio album by the Swedish melodic death metal band Skyfire, released on 12 March 2001 by Hammerheart Records. Common themes on the album include death, mysticism, and armageddon.
Johan Patrik Mattias Liiva is a Swedish extreme metal vocalist, most widely recognized as the founding vocalist of melodic death metal band Arch Enemy, as well as a former member of Carnage, Furbowl and NonExist. He is currently working as vocalist with Hearse.
Simen Hestnæs, better known by his stage name ICS Vortex or simply Vortex, is a Norwegian musician. He is the vocalist of the similarly named band ICS Vortex, the avant-garde metal band Arcturus and the doom metal band Lamented Souls. He is also a vocalist and the bass guitarist to the heavy metal band Borknagar, and the former bass guitarist and clean vocalist for the symphonic black metal band Dimmu Borgir.
Fiction is the eighth studio album by Swedish melodic death metal band Dark Tranquillity. It was released by Napalm Records on 19 April 2007, and by Century Media in the UK on 23 April, and in the US on 24 April.
Pivotal Rockordings is a record label that was founded in 2004 by Leevan Macomeau and Alexi Front.
Nonexist is a Swedish melodic death/thrash metal group formed by former Arch Enemy vocalist, Johan Liiva. Liiva, guitarist/bassist Johan Reinholdz and drummer Matte Modin. They began playing together as Nonexist in 2000. In May 2002, they released their debut album, Deus Deceptor, on New Hawen Records in Europe and Century Media in North America. The group attempted to put together a touring lineup in 2002, but this never occurred, in part due to the group members' commitment to other projects. In 2003 Liiva and Modin split from the group, leaving Reinholdz the primary member. In 2004 Liiva confirmed the group's demise.
Andromeda is a progressive metal band from Sweden formed in 1999. They are currently signed to Massacre Records, Replica Records and Avalon/Marquee. The style emphasizes on strong keyboards and technical drumming. The band is also well known for the vocals of David Fremberg.
Esoteric is the fourth studio album by Swedish metal band Skyfire. It was released on 14 September in the United Kingdom, 18 September for the rest of Europe and October 13, 2009 in North America, through Pivotal Rockordings. The cover artwork was made by Pär Olofsson who also created the artwork for other acts such as The Faceless, Psycroptic and Spawn of Possession along with the layout by Erik Olofsson of Cult of Luna. Martin Hanner revealed that the album is a concept album and that "The cover is basically a guy who is being initiated by a cult," he further responded with:
"You can choose to interpret the guy in pain as he is being burned alive by the cultists just so he can join, or you can interpret the guy as having achieved the power he sought, and he is screaming out of bliss and not pain. It relates to the title because a lot of us would think that what he is doing is kind of ridiculous — why would anyone want to join a cult? But people do strange things and they have their own subjective, esoteric sense of understanding that to the rest of us, is strange or crazy. I think we ALL in some shape or form have esoteric practices that a lot of other people don't 'get,' whether it's believing in something or even listening to metal music."
Moment is the twelfth studio album by Swedish melodic death metal band Dark Tranquillity, being released on 20 November 2020 via Century Media Records. The album is the band's first to include guitarist Johan Reinholdz, the final with founding drummer Anders Jivarp and bassist Anders Iwers, who left the band in August 2021, and the only with guitarist Christopher Amott before his departure in July 2023. It is also the first release since We Are The Void (2010) to be recorded as a six-piece.
