Kreator is a German thrash metal band from Essen, formed in 1982. Their current lineup consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Miland "Mille" Petrozza, drummer Jürgen "Ventor" Reil, lead guitarist Sami Yli-Sirniö, and bassist Frédéric Leclercq. The band's lineup has changed multiple times throughout its 42-year career, most noticeably with their bassists and lead guitarists. Petrozza and Reil are the only two original members left in Kreator, although the latter took a break from the band from 1994 to 1996. Yli-Sirniö has been the lead guitarist of Kreator since 2001, while Leclercq joined in 2019 as the replacement of Christian "Speesy" Giesler, who had been a member of the band since 1994.
Mercyful Fate is a Danish heavy metal band from Copenhagen, formed in 1981 by vocalist King Diamond and guitarist Hank Shermann. Influenced by progressive rock and hard rock, and with lyrics dealing with LaVeyan Satanism and the occult, Mercyful Fate was part of the first wave of black metal in the early to mid-1980s, along with Venom and Bathory. The band is also cited as a formative influence on many then-up-and-coming subgenres of heavy metal, including thrash metal and death metal, as well as the Norwegian black metal scene.
Kim Bendix Petersen, better known by his stage name King Diamond, is a Danish rock musician. As a vocalist, he is known for his powerful and wide-ranging countertenor singing voice, in particular his far-reaching falsetto screams. He is the lead vocalist and lyricist for both Mercyful Fate and the eponymous King Diamond. He also plays keyboards and guitars on studio recordings but uses live shows to focus solely on his vocal performance. Diamond is renowned for his dark lyrical content and his story concepts. He is also known for his distinctive shock stage persona. He has been an influence for other rock and metal artists, including Metallica, Slayer and Cradle of Filth.
HammerFall is a Swedish power metal band from Gothenburg. The band was formed in 1993 by ex-Ceremonial Oath guitarist Oscar Dronjak.
Voodoo is the eighth studio album by Danish heavy metal band King Diamond, released on 24 February 1998. It is the first album to feature drummer John Luke Hébert and the last one to feature guitarist Herb Simonsen and bassist Chris Estes. The album cover was drawn by Kristian Wåhlin.
Sinergy was a Finnish/Swedish heavy metal band started in 1997 by American musician Kimberly Goss. The idea for a "balls-out female-fronted metal band" was first formed when Kimberly Goss of Dimmu Borgir met Jesper Strömblad of In Flames whilst on tour in 1997.
Tiamat is a Swedish metal band that formed in Stockholm in 1987 and led by Johan Edlund. The band went through a number of stylistic changes in their earlier releases before settling on gothic metal.
Andy LaRocque is a Swedish guitarist, songwriter and record producer, best known as a member of the heavy metal band King Diamond since 1985.
King Diamond is a Danish heavy metal band formed in 1985 by vocalist King Diamond, guitarists Andy LaRocque and Michael Denner, bassist Timi Hansen and drummer Mikkey Dee. King, Denner and Hansen had recently disbanded their previous group Mercyful Fate, and decided to form a new band under the King Diamond moniker, as it was already known from the initial Mercyful Fate era. Since the band's inception, there have been over fifteen musicians in and out of King Diamond, with the only two mainstays being Diamond and LaRocque. Their current lineup consists of Diamond, LaRocque, guitarist Mike Wead, drummer Matt Thompson, and bassist Pontus Egberg.
Snowy Shaw is a Swedish heavy metal musician based in the port city of Gothenburg in the west coast of Sweden. He has played with many heavy metal bands, like King Diamond, Dream Evil, Mercyful Fate, IllWill, and Memento Mori.
American thrash metal band Megadeth has released sixteen studio albums, six live albums, seven compilation albums, one EP, fifty-nine singles, ten video albums, and fifty music videos. After he was fired from Metallica in 1983, guitarist and vocalist Dave Mustaine formed Megadeth along with bassist Dave Ellefson, guitarist Greg Handevidt, and drummer Richard Girod. After some initial lineup changes during 1984, Megadeth's lineup was cemented, consisting of guitarist Dave Mustaine, bassist Dave Ellefson, guitarist Chris Poland, and drummer Gar Samuelson. The band toured and gained a following, signing with the independent label Combat Records in late 1984. Megadeth's debut album Killing Is My Business... and Business Is Good! (1985), sold very well for an independent release, and the group attracted the attention of major record labels. By the end of the year, the group signed with Capitol Records. Megadeth's first major-label album, Peace Sells... but Who's Buying?, was released in 1986.
The American heavy metal band Slipknot has released seven studio albums, three live albums, two compilation albums, one demo album, one EP, twenty-eight singles, five video albums and thirty-three music videos. Formed in Des Moines, Iowa in 1995, Slipknot originally featured vocalist and percussionist Anders Colsefni, guitarists Donnie Steele and Josh "Gnar" Brainard, bassist Paul Gray, drummer Joey Jordison, and percussionist and backing vocalist Shawn "Clown" Crahan. The original lineup released its first album Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat. in 1996, before undergoing a number of lineup changes over the next few years.
The discography of Mercyful Fate, a Danish heavy metal band, consists of seven studio releases, three compilations, three singles, and six music videos. Mercyful Fate was formed in 1981 by vocalist King Diamond and guitarist Hank Shermann. After several line-up changes and self-made demos, Mercyful Fate released their self-titled EP in 1982, with the line-up of King Diamond (vocals), Hank Shermann (guitar), Michael Denner (guitar), Timi Hansen (bass) and Kim Ruzz (drums). With this line-up, the group released their debut album, Melissa, on 30 October 1983 through Roadrunner Records. The following year, Mercyful Fate recorded their second album Don't Break the Oath. Released on 7 September 1984, the album debuted at number 33 on the Swedish Sverigetopplistan charts. Despite winning a cult following around the world, with sales in the thousands, Mercyful Fate broke up in April 1985, due to musical differences.
Finnish gothic rock band HIM has released eight studio albums, one live album, eight compilation albums, one EP, twenty-eight singles, three video albums, and twenty-nine music videos. Formed in 1991 by vocalist Ville Valo and bassist Mikko "Mige" Paananen under the name His Infernal Majesty, the band broke up in 1993, but was reformed in 1995 by Valo and guitarist Mikko "Linde" Lindström. After being rejoined by Mige, as well new additions keyboardist Antto Melasniemi, rhythm guitarist Oki and drummer Juhana "Pätkä" Rantala, the band, now called HIM, signed to BMG, and released the EP 666 Ways to Love: Prologue in 1996. The EP charted at number nine on the Finnish Singles Chart, and in 1997, the band, sans Oki, released their debut album Greatest Lovesongs Vol. 666, which was certified gold and later platinum in Finland. In 2000, now with drummer Mika "Gas Lipstick" Karppinen and keyboardist Juska Salminen, the band released the album Razorblade Romance, which was certified double platinum in Finland, triple gold in Germany and gold in Austria. Its first single, "Join Me in Death", also charted at number-one in Finland and Germany, eventually going platinum in their home country and gold in Germany and Austria. Following the addition of Janne "Burton" Puurtinen on keyboards, HIM released Deep Shadows and Brilliant Highlights and Love Metal in 2001 and 2003 respectively. Both were certified platinum in Finland, as well as gold in Austria and Germany respectively.
Give Me Your Soul...Please is the twelfth studio album by Danish heavy metal band King Diamond, released on 26 June 2007. The album's concept and cover art are both based on a painting titled "My Mother's Eyes". The black cat featured in the album is based on King's own cat, Magic. This was the last album to feature bassist Hal Patino, who was fired from the band in 2014.
The discography of Opeth, a Stockholm, Sweden-based progressive metal band, consists of thirteen studio albums, four live albums, three box sets, three video albums and seventeen singles.
Danish rock band Volbeat has released eight studio albums, three live albums, three video albums, twenty-seven singles and twenty-three music videos.
Avatar is a Swedish heavy metal band, formed in Mölndal, Gothenburg in 2001. The band has released nine studio albums, the most recent being Dance Devil Dance in 2023. The band has had some success on US rock radio, notably with their song "New Land", which peaked at number 20 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs chart in May 2017 and "The Dirt I'm Buried In" peaking at number 1 of the same chart in August 2023, making it the song with the longest journey to number 1 in the last 20 years.
Feeding the Machine is the eighth studio album by Swedish heavy metal band Wolf, released on 13 March 2020 via Century Media Records. It is the first album featuring band's new members, Johan Koleberg on drums and Pontus Egberg on bass guitar. The album is being produced by Wolf's Simon Johansson at SolnaSound Production and mixed and mastered by Fredrik Nordström of Studio Fredman.
