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Minotauri | |
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| Origin | Äänekoski, Finland |
| Genres | Doom metal |
| Years active | 1995–2007 |
| Labels | Black Widow, Spinefarm |
| Past members | Tommi Pakarinen Viljami Kinnunen Ari Honkonen |
Minotauri was a doom metal band from Finland. Alongside Reverend Bizarre and Spiritus Mortis they were one of the most important bands in the Finnish true doom metal movement. The band was formed in 1995 and disbanded in 2007.
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Doom metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other heavy metal genres. Both the music and the lyrics are intended to evoke a sense of despair, dread, and impending doom. The genre is strongly influenced by the early work of Black Sabbath, who formed a prototype for doom metal. During the first half of the 1980s, a number of bands such as Witchfinder General and Pagan Altar from England, American bands Pentagram, Saint Vitus, the Obsessed, Trouble, and Cirith Ungol, and Swedish band Candlemass defined doom metal as a distinct genre. Pentagram, Saint Vitus, Trouble and Candlemass have been referred to as "the Big Four of Doom Metal".
HIM was a Finnish gothic rock band from Helsinki. First formed in 1991 by vocalist Ville Valo and bassist Mikko "Mige" Paananen under the name His Infernal Majesty, the band broke up after only a few years, only to be reformed in 1995 by Valo and guitarist Mikko "Linde" Lindström. After being rejoined by Mige, as well as keyboardist Antto Melasniemi and drummer Juhana "Pätkä" Rantala, the band, now called HIM, released its debut album Greatest Lovesongs Vol. 666 in 1997. In 2000, now with drummer Mika "Gas Lipstick" Karppinen and keyboardist Juska Salminen, the band released Razorblade Romance, which reached the number one spot in Finland, Austria and Germany. The first single "Join Me in Death" also charted at number one in Finland and Germany, eventually going platinum and gold, respectively. Following the addition of Janne "Burton" Puurtinen on keyboards, HIM released Deep Shadows and Brilliant Highlights (2001) and Love Metal (2003). Both cracked the top ten in several countries and allowed the band to tour in the United Kingdom and the United States for the first time.
Reverend Bizarre was a doom metal band from Finland. Formed in 1995, they played slow and heavy traditional doom with dramatic vocals, following in the footsteps of bands such as Saint Vitus, Pentagram and Black Sabbath. The band was one of the biggest names in 2000s traditional doom metal.
Sunn O))) is an American drone metal band formed in 1998 in Seattle, Washington. The band is known for their distinctive visual style and slow, heavy sound, which blends diverse genres including doom metal, drone, black metal, dark ambient, and noise rock, as well as for their extremely loud live performances.
Season of Mist is an independent record label and record distributor with subsidiaries in France and the United States. The record label was founded in 1996 by Michael S. Berberian in Marseille, France. From the start releasing black metal, pagan metal, and death metal records, the label moved on to releasing albums of avant-garde metal, gothic metal and punk bands as well. The label has two offices, one in Marseille, France and one in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Lee Robert Dorrian is an English singer, best known as a former member of grindcore band Napalm Death and later frontman of doom metal band Cathedral.
Gothic metal is a fusion genre combining the aggression of heavy metal with the dark atmospheres of gothic rock. The music of gothic metal is diverse with bands known to adopt the gothic approach to different styles of heavy metal music. The genre originated during the early 1990s in the United Kingdom originally as an outgrowth of death-doom, a fusion of death metal and doom metal. Lyrics are generally dark and introspective with inspiration from gothic fiction as well as personal experiences.
Pentagram is an American heavy metal band from Alexandria, Virginia, most famous as one of the pioneers of heavy metal, and the sub-genre of doom metal in particular. As such, they are considered one of the "big four of doom metal," alongside Candlemass, Saint Vitus and Trouble. The band was prolific in the underground scene of the 1970s, producing many demos and rehearsal tapes, but did not release a full-length album until re-forming in the early 1980s with an almost completely new line-up. Throughout the band's history, the only constant member has been vocalist Bobby Liebling. The revolving line-up of Pentagram has featured many well-respected musicians in the local doom metal scene, with members spending time in other acts such as the Obsessed, Place of Skulls, Internal Void, Spirit Caravan, among many others. The band's current line-up consists of Liebling (vocals), Matt Goldsborough (guitar), Greg Turley (bass), and "Minnesota" Pete Campbell (drums).
In the Rectory of the Bizarre Reverend is the debut album by Finnish doom metal band Reverend Bizarre. It was originally released in 2002 and was re-released with a bonus CD titled Return to the Rectory in 2004. The album was released on vinyl by Finnish label Svart Records.
Horna is a Finnish black metal band formed in 1994. The band has appeared on over thirty releases including splits, demos, EPs and albums since 1995, which have been released through numerous record labels. The name "Horna" is Finnish for "abyss" or "hell". It was chosen because, to Shatraug, it sounded harsh and powerful.
Fall of the Idols is a doom metal band from Tornio, Finland, established in 2000. The band's first full-length album, entitled The Womb of the Earth, was released in July 2006 on I Hate Records. The second album The Séance was released in April 2008. Both albums artwork has been designed by Albert Witchfinder of Reverend Bizarre.
Church of Misery is a Japanese doom metal band from Tokyo, formed in 1995. Church of Misery's musical style melds early Black Sabbath-style doom with psychedelic rock; most of the band's songs are about serial killers and mass murderers.
Orodruin is an American doom metal band from Rochester, New York, who play traditional doom as part of the style's early-2000s revival, playing alongside bands like Reverend Bizarre, While Heaven Wept, and Penance. Their sophomore release Ruins of Eternity came out on Cruz Del Sur Records on October 25, 2019.
Martin Popoff is a Canadian music journalist, critic and author. He is mainly known for writing about heavy metal music. The senior editor and co-founder of Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles, he has written over twenty books that both critically evaluate heavy metal and document its history. He has been called "heavy metal's most widely recognized journalist" by his publisher.
Jayson Andrew Sherlock is a Christian metal musician from Australia. He began his career in the Australian death metal band Mortification, which was considered to be a major pioneer in the genre. Sherlock was the founder of the one-man project unblack metal band Horde, in which he played every instrument. He has also been in other bands such as Paramaecium, inExordium, Altera Enigma, and Soundscape. During 2012, he was the drummer for Deliverance. He is currently the drummer for the death metal band Revulsed.
Sanctifica was a Swedish unblack metal band, formed in 1996, and disbanded in 2003. After releasing their EP, In the Bleak Midwinter, in 1997, they were considered to be one of the leading modern Christian black metal bands in the early 2000s with their album Spirit of Purity. Signed to Swedish Rivel Records and Finnish Little Rose Productions, the band played progressive death metal on their second and last album Negative B. They did a tour through Scandinavia to support that album, performing at some of the best known rock clubs in big cities. Hubertus Liljegren went to join Crimson Moonlight, while the rest formed a rock group called As a Reminder.
Electric Wizard/Reverend Bizarre is a split EP released by the English stoner/doom metal band Electric Wizard and the Finnish doom band Reverend Bizarre. It was released in 2008 through Rise Above Records. The Reverend Bizarre song is a cover of Finnish black metal band Beherit. The Electric Wizard track is exclusive to this release and takes its name from the novel by weird fiction author William Hope Hodgson.
Bölzer is a Swiss extreme metal duo that formed in Zürich in 2008. They have said that the meaning behind the name is "a powerful force or blow or strike that has no regard for the consequences or the repercussions. And in that sense it's not directed either, it's just a chaotic strike of energy…. a force of chaos, and a force of life and death and anything." To date, they have released three EPs, and their debut studio full-length album Hero was released on 25 November 2016 on Iron Bonehead Productions.
Alex Poole is an American multi-instrumentalist musician from Nashville, Tennessee. Poole has prolifically contributed to the black metal genre, having led or contributed to a number of bands, including Chaos Moon, Manetheren, Krieg, Skaphe, Martrod, and Gardsghastr. He has also played live with a number of bands to fill in for missing guitarists or bassists over the years.
