Opeth is a Swedish progressive metal/rock band from Stockholm, formed in 1989. Opeth were formed by keyboardist, lead vocalist, guitarist and songwriter Mikael Åkerfeldt. The group has been through several personnel changes, including the replacement of every single original member; notably lead vocalist David Isberg in 1992. Opeth has consistently incorporated progressive, folk, blues, classical, and jazz influences into its usually lengthy compositions, as well as strong influences from death metal, especially in their early works. Many songs include acoustic guitar passages and strong dynamic shifts, as well as death growls. Opeth is also well known for their incorporation of Mellotrons in their work. The band rarely made live appearances supporting their first four albums, but since conducting their first world tour after the 2001 release of Blackwater Park, they have led several major world tours.
Sepultura is a Brazilian heavy metal band from Belo Horizonte. Formed in 1984 by brothers Max and Igor Cavalera, the band was a major force in the groove metal, thrash metal and death metal genres during the late 1980s and early 1990s, with their later experiments drawing influence from alternative metal, world music, nu metal, hardcore punk, and industrial metal. Sepultura has also been credited as one of the second wave of thrash metal acts from the late 1980s to early-to-mid-1990s, along with bands like Pantera, Testament, Sacred Reich, Dark Angel, Vio-lence, Forbidden, Death Angel, and Machine Head.
Entombed is a Swedish death metal band formed in 1987 under the name of Nihilist. Entombed began their career as an early pioneer of Scandinavian death metal which initially differed from its American counterpart by its distinct "buzzsaw" guitar tone. However, by the early 1990s their sound had broadened to include garage rock and other influences. This new style would eventually be described as death 'n' roll. Entombed has been influenced by bands such as Slayer, Exodus, Black Sabbath, Celtic Frost, Autopsy, Repulsion, Kiss, The Misfits, Motörhead, Discharge, Death and Testament. Along with Dismember, Grave and Unleashed, Entombed has been referred to as one of the "big four" of Swedish death metal.
Swedish death metal is a death metal music scene developed in Sweden. Many Swedish death metal bands are associated with the melodic death metal movement, thus giving Swedish death metal a different sound from other variations of death metal. Unlike American death metal groups, the first Swedish bands were rooted in hardcore punk. Gothenburg has a large melodic death metal scene while Stockholm is known for its more raw death metal scene.
Dan-Erland Swanö, also known as Dan "The Man" Swanö, is a Swedish musician and record producer who is currently the vocalist, guitarist, ex-bassist and ex-drummer for the band Nightingale, lately vocalist, keyboardist and drummer for the band Witherscape, as well as the owner of Unisound, but he achieved fame as the vocalist and songwriter of progressive death metal band Edge of Sanity.
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.
My Arms, Your Hearse is the third full-length studio album by Swedish progressive metal band Opeth, released in August 1998. It was the band's first album to be released simultaneously in Europe, through Candlelight Records, and in the United States, through Century Black.
Amon Amarth is a Swedish melodic death metal band from Tumba, formed in 1992. The band takes its name from the Sindarin name of Mount Doom, a volcano in J. R. R. Tolkien′s Middle-earth. Their lyrics mostly deal with Viking mythology and history, and so they have been sometimes erroneously labeled “Viking metal,” although the band insists they play melodic death metal.
Grave is a Swedish death metal band that was formed in 1986 by vocalist and guitarist Ola Lindgren who is their only constant member. The band had particular success in the early 1990s, and their first four albums, Into the Grave, You'll Never See..., Soulless and Hating Life, cemented their reputation as one of Sweden's foremost death metal bands. Grave went on hiatus in 1997, but got back together two years later. Since then, they have released seven more albums, making a total of eleven studio albums. Along with Dismember, Entombed and Unleashed, Grave is considered one of the "big four" of Swedish death metal.
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.
Martín López is a Swedish-Uruguayan drummer, currently a member and co-founder of progressive metal supergroup Soen, but is best known as the ex-drummer of Swedish progressive death metal band Opeth and melodic death metal band Amon Amarth.
Adrian Erlandsson is a Swedish–British heavy metal drummer, who plays in At the Gates, the Haunted, and Nemhain (2006–).
Johan Patrik Mattias Liiva is a Swedish extreme metal vocalist, most widely recognized as the founding vocalist of popular 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.
Hearse is a Swedish melodic death metal band, founded by vocalist Johan Liiva and drummer Max Thornell in 2001. The band have released five albums to date.
Zonaria is a melodic death metal band from Umeå, Sweden, formerly known as Seal Precious. The band is currently signed to Century Media Records.
Aeon is a death metal band that formed in Östersund, Sweden, in 1999. The band comprises vocalist Tommy Dahlström, guitarists Sebastian Nilsson and Daniel Dlimi, bassist Tony Östman and drummer Timo Häkkinen. The band released its debut album, Bleeding the False, in 2005; and the second album Rise to Dominate in 2007, after signing a record deal with Metal Blade Records. The band's third album, Path of Fire, was released in 2010 and Aeons Black in 2012.
Karl Johan Schuster, known professionally as Shellback, is a Swedish record producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. Shellback was listed as the No. 1 producer of 2012 on Billboard magazine's year end chart, and he also topped the list of their "Top 10 Songwriters Airplay Chart" the same year; he has won four Grammy Awards.
Bobby Blood, born Bobby Ponte is an American musician, filmmaker, former drummer of the NYHC band Merauder and current drummer of Los Angeles rap metal band Downset.. Blood is also the writer-director of the movies Hell Nurse, The Death Valley Meth Lab, Hearse Hotel and Terror 66. Born in the 1970s to a Portuguese Father and a Mexican Mother, he grew up in Southern California where he began music as the drummer in a hardcore metal band called Revenge at age 16. He served eight years in the US Army, earning National Defense Service Medals for service in both the Middle East and South Korea. Blood has served time in a California prison for gang related weapons and assault charges against a police officer. Blood plays guitar in and is the founder of the hardcore beatdown band Cold Existence. Bobby Blood is heavily tattooed. He supports animal rights, and is a PETA spokesperson. Blood is a lifelong advocate of a straight edge lifestyle and a longtime vegan who regularly speaks on behalf of animal rights during interviews.
A hearse is a type of funerary vehicle.
