Blind Guardian is a German power metal band formed in 1984 in Krefeld, West Germany. They are often credited as one of the seminal and most influential bands in the power metal and speed metal subgenres. Nine musicians have been part of the band's lineup throughout its history, which currently includes singer Hansi Kürsch, guitarists André Olbrich and Marcus Siepen, and, since 2005, drummer Frederik Ehmke.
Death was an American death metal band formed in Altamonte Springs, Florida, in 1983 by guitarist Chuck Schuldiner, drummer/vocalist Kam Lee and guitarist Rick Rozz. Formed out of what would become the Florida death metal scene, Death is considered to be among the most influential bands in heavy metal music and a pioneering force in death metal. The band's 1987 debut album, Scream Bloody Gore, has been widely regarded as one of the first death metal records, alongside the first records from Possessed and Necrophagia.
Steve Di Giorgio is an American bass guitarist. He is known for his work with numerous heavy metal bands such as Sadus, Death, Testament, Megadeth, Sebastian Bach, Iced Earth, Autopsy, Obituary, Control Denied, Dragonlord and Charred Walls of the Damned, and he has performed on over 50 albums as a guest, session or full-time band musician.
Voivod is a Canadian heavy metal band from Jonquière Quebec. The original line-up consisted of vocalist Denis "Snake" Bélanger, guitarist Denis "Piggy" D'Amour, drummer Michel "Away" Langevin and bassist Jean-Yves "Blacky" Thériault. The band has had numerous members changes throughout its 42-year career, with Langevin as the only consistent member. Their current line-up includes Langevin, Bélanger, Daniel "Chewy" Mongrain (guitar) and Dominic "Rocky" Laroche (bass).
Necrophagist was a German technical death metal band founded and fronted by guitarist and vocalist Muhammed Suiçmez. The band used baroque music-influenced compositions paired with extreme metal drumming.
Into Eternity is a Canadian progressive death metal band from Regina, Saskatchewan, formed in 1997 by Tim Roth, Scott Krall and Jim Austin.
Epitaph is the second and final studio album by German death metal band Necrophagist released by Relapse Records on August 3, 2004. Unlike on Onset of Putrefaction, guitarist and vocalist Muhammed Suiçmez recorded the album alongside a full band instead of recording it by himself. Though most uncredited, guitarist Christian Münzner, who later departed from the band and joined Obscura, confirmed he wrote at least half of the lead guitar parts as well as several basslines on the album. The track "Only Ash Remains" incorporates the melody of the "Montagues and Capulets" segment of the ballet Romeo and Juliet by Sergei Prokofiev.
Hate Eternal is a Florida death metal band from St. Petersburg, Florida. The band currently consists of founding guitarist/vocalist Erik Rutan and bassist J. J. Hrubovcak. To date, Hate Eternal has released seven studio albums: Conquering the Throne (1999), King of All Kings (2002), I, Monarch (2005), Fury & Flames (2008), Phoenix Amongst the Ashes (2011), Infernus (2015), and Upon Desolate Sands (2018). All albums were produced by Rutan.
Jeroen Paul Thesseling is a Dutch fretless bass player, most famous for his work in the German progressive death metal band Obscura and the Dutch progressive death metal band Pestilence.
Christian Münzner is a German guitarist who played for the bands Obscura and Alkaloid. He is also known for playing for the technical death metal band Necrophagist from 2002 until 2006, appearing on their 2004 release Epitaph. As well as Necrophagist, Münzner played in Defeated Sanity from 1999 to 2002 and Obscura from 2008 to 2014, after which he left to co-found the extreme progressive metal supergroup Alkaloid. He rejoined Obscura in 2020 and left again in 2024.
Blotted Science is an instrumental progressive metal supergroup headed by Ron Jarzombek, bassist Alex Webster and drummer Hannes Grossmann. They formed under the name Machinations of Dementia, but later changed their name to Blotted Science.
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.
Cosmogenesis is the second studio album by German death metal band Obscura. It was released on 17 February 2009 by Relapse Records. The album debuted at No. 71 on the Top Heatseekers chart.
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.
Steffen Kummerer is a German guitarist and vocalist. He is the leader, main songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist of the death metal band Obscura, as well as the black metal band Thulcandra. Since 2012, he has been a member of the official tribute band Death to All. Kummerer's Ran custom guitar shape have become a signature shape unique to him and his band Obscura.
Illegimitation is a compilation album released by German Technical Death Metal band Obscura. It was independently released by the band via crowdfunding.
Florian Magnus Maier, known professionally as Morean, is a German classical composer, guitarist, producer, and vocalist of the bands Alkaloid, Dark Fortress, and Noneuclid. His primary occupation being a composer and guitar player within both the contemporary classical and heavy metal communities. Maier is also a vocalist and guitarist for progressive metal outfits Alkaloid and Noneuclid. Being a classical composer, Maier has also collaborated with Devin Townsend and Paradise Lost on orchestrations.
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.
Beyond Creation is a Canadian technical death metal band from Montreal, Quebec. They are currently signed to Season of Mist records. The group has released three studio albums to date: The Aura (2011), Earthborn Evolution (2014), and Algorythm (2018). They have toured extensively in Europe, the United States and Japan, supporting bands such as Obscura and Dying Fetus, while headlining tours alongside acts such as Revocation, Psycroptic and Virvum. The band's 2018 release Algorythm received a 2019 Juno Awards nomination for "Metal/Hard Music Album of the Year."
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).
