Swans are an American experimental rock band formed in 1982 by singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Michael Gira. One of the few acts to emerge from the New York City-based no wave scene and stay intact into the next decade, Swans have become recognized for an ever-changing sound, exploring genres such as noise rock, post-punk, industrial and post-rock. Initially, their music was known for its sonic brutality and misanthropic lyrics. Following the addition of singer, songwriter and keyboardist Jarboe in 1986, Swans began to incorporate melody and intricacy into their music. Jarboe remained the band's only constant member except Gira and semi-constant guitarist Norman Westberg until their dissolution in 1997.
Bathory was a Swedish black metal band formed in Vällingby in March 1983. Named after Hungarian countess Elizabeth Báthory, they are considered pioneers of black metal and Viking metal. The book Lords of Chaos described Bathory's first four albums as "the blueprint for Scandinavian black metal." Acts influenced by their early records include Mayhem, Burzum, Darkthrone, Gorgoroth, Satyricon, Emperor, Dark Funeral, Enslaved, Immortal, Marduk, Moonsorrow and Dimmu Borgir.
Veni Vidi Vicious is the second studio album by Swedish rock band the Hives. The album was released on 10 April 2000 through Burning Heart and Epitaph. It was later re-released on 30 April 2002 through Sire and Gearhead. The Japanese release included several extra tracks and other bonus features. The album's title is a play on words which refers to the sentence written by Julius Caesar after conquering Asia Minor in 47 B.C.: "Veni, vidi, vici." The album received universal acclaim from music critics, earning an average critic score of 84/100 on Metacritic.
Brujeria is an American extreme metal band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1989. The band has Spanish lyrics with topics such as Satanism, anti-Christianity, sex, immigration, narcotics smuggling, and politics. Brujeria portrays Mexican imagery, with several members being Hispanic and Latino Americans, while the band's name stands for brujería.
Marduk is a Swedish black metal band formed in Norrköping in 1990. The band released their debut full-length album, Dark Endless, in 1992 on No Fashion Records. Their name is derived from the Ancient Babylonian deity, Marduk.
Alf Peter Tägtgren is a Swedish musician and record producer. He is the founder, main songwriter, lead vocalist, and guitarist of death metal band Hypocrisy as well as the industrial metal band Pain in which he is the only member. He is also the owner of The Abyss recording studio and the co-founder of Lindemann, a music project between Tägtgren and Rammstein vocalist Till Lindemann. Tägtgren left Lindemann in 2020.
Master's Hammer are a Czech black metal band formed in Prague in 1983. They were active, with several lineup changes, until 1995, and again from 2009 onward. As of 2024, they have released eight studio albums, five demos, one EP, two split albums, one live album, and several compilations.
Funeral Mist is a Swedish black metal band formed in Stockholm in 1993. To date, the band have released four full-length albums, three EPs and a compilation boxset. Since 2003, the band's sole permanent member has been Arioch, also known for his work as the frontman of the black metal band Marduk.
The Blinded is a melodic death metal band from Karlshamn, Sweden, formerly known as both Stigmata and Blinded Colony. They are currently unsigned and recording the pre-preproduction of their third studio album. They released an EP in 2010 containing six new tracks.
Obscura is a German technical death metal band from Landshut, founded by guitarist and vocalist Steffen Kummerer in 2002. The band have released six studio albums, a compilation album and twelve music videos since its formation. Their latest album A Valediction was released on 19 November 2021 via Nuclear Blast.
Daniel Hans Johan Rostén is a Swedish black metal vocalist, guitarist, and bassist, known as the frontman for Funeral Mist and singer/guitarist of Triumphator under the stage name Arioch, and for having been the vocalist for renowned Swedish black metal band Marduk since 2004 under the stage name Mortuus. He is also a professional graphic designer.
Hannes Grossmann is a German drummer who plays for the German progressive band Alkaloid. He was also the drummer during Necrophagist's Epitaph era and played with Obscura.
Hacavitz is a Mexican extreme metal band formed in 2003 by Antimo Buonnano and Oscar García. The band took their name from the Mayan god Jacawitz. The lyrical themes include death, darkness, and pre-Hispanic mythology. Since its formation, the band has released six studio albums, two EPs, five split albums, and two compilation albums.
Linus Klausenitzer is a German bass player, best known for being a former bassist for the German progressive death metal band Obscura. He also plays bass in a German/Dutch progressive death metal band Noneuclid, as well as progressive death metal project Alkaloid along with current and former members of both Obscura and Noneuclid.
Illegimitation is a compilation album released by German Technical Death Metal band Obscura. It was independently released by the band via crowdfunding.
Beyond the Wall of Sleep is the second solo album by guitarist Christian Muenzner. The album was released as a digital download and CD on May 26, 2014.
Beyond the Black is a German symphonic metal band formed in 2014 in Mannheim. Their debut album Songs of Love and Death became popular immediately after the release, and entered the German and Austrian national music charts.
Frontschwein is the thirteenth studio album by Swedish black metal band Marduk. It was released on 19 January 2015 through Century Media Records. It is the band's first album to feature drummer Fredrik Widigs.
Akróasis is the fourth album by German technical death metal band Obscura. It was released on February 5, 2016 through Relapse Records. A music video was released for the album's title track on November 19, 2015. A second music video for the song "Ten Sepiroth" was released through VEVO, MTV & VH-1 on June 20, 2016.
Diluvium is the fifth studio album by German technical death metal band Obscura, released on 13 July 2018 via Relapse. Diluvium is also marked as the last album of the band's four-album concept series, along with Cosmogenesis (2009), Omnivium (2011) and Akróasis (2016).
