After Forever is a Dutch symphonic metal band with strong progressive metal influences. The band relied on the use of both soprano vocals and death growls.
Lacrimas Profundere is a gothic metal band from Germany. Their name means "to shed tears" in Latin. Their stylistic aesthetic has changed over time; originally a gothic death-doom band, they have simplified their style to a more mainstream gothic rock/metal style with more influences from bands such as HIM, The 69 Eyes, before returning to their heavier gothic doom roots on their 2019 album Bleeding the Stars.
Virgin Black is an Australian symphonic gothic and doom metal band. The band was signed to The End Records and Germany's Massacre Records, through which it released four albums and one EP. A fifth album, originally planned for release in 2006, was released independently in 2018. As of 2021, they are signed to Australian record label, Dark Escapes Music. Formed in 1995 in Adelaide, they have achieved international acclaim during their career, receiving praise from such magazines as Orkus, Metal Hammer, Legacy and The Village Voice.
Symphonic metal is a cross-generic style designation for the symphonic subsets of heavy metal music subgenres. It is used to denote any metal band that makes use of symphonic or orchestral elements. The style features the heavy drums and guitars of metal with different elements of orchestral classical music, such as symphonic instruments, choirs and sometimes a full orchestra, or just keyboard orchestration.
Funeral are a Norwegian funeral doom band formed in 1991 by Thomas Angell and Anders Eek; soon afterward, Einar Frederiksen joined as bassist and songwriter and Christian Loos joined as guitarist. They are known as one of the pioneers of the funeral doom genre.
Rage is a German heavy metal band formed in 1984 by Peter "Peavy" Wagner. They were part of the German heavy/speed/power metal scene that emerged in the early to mid-1980s and have been referred to as one of the country's so-called "big four" of power metal, alongside Grave Digger, Helloween, and Running Wild.
Visions of Atlantis is an Austrian symphonic metal band from Styria, founded in 2000. Inspiration came both from successful Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish and from the myth of Atlantis, as well as a pirate theme in recent albums.
Liv Kristine Espenæs is a Norwegian singer who has performed and composed songs mostly for various subgenres of heavy metal music. She started her career in the music industry as a vocalist for the gothic metal band Theatre of Tragedy, and is the former lead vocalist for the symphonic metal band Leaves' Eyes. She is known for her work in close association with her then-husband and leader of the German band Atrocity, Alexander Krull. Currently she is a singer of a German band Midnattsol alongside her younger sister Carmen Elise Espenæs. She also released a number of solo albums in various genres.
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.
Novembers Doom is an American death-doom band from Chicago, currently signed to Prophecy Productions. Along with Evoken and Rigor Sardonicous, Novembers Doom is one of the earliest American death-doom bands still active today.
The Eternal are an Australian gothic/doom metal band formed in 2003 by Mark Kelson on guitar, lead vocals and keyboards. They are known for playing dark, melodic, doom metal with eastern and gothic influences.
Amanda Somerville is an American singer-songwriter and vocal coach who resides in Wolfsburg, Germany. She is known primarily for her work with many European symphonic metal bands.
Immortal Souls is a melodic death metal band from Kokkola, Finland, formed in 1991. They released a split album and their debut on Little Rose Productions in the late 1990s and early 2000s. In 2002, Immortal Souls signed with Dutch label Fear Dark which released their second and third album as well as a compilation. They have performed at Tuska Open Air Metal Festival. Their musical style is characterized by their use of melodic guitar riffs and singing which shifts between growls and shouting. Their music has been called winter metal since Immortal Souls utilizes frosty metaphors in their lyrics and usually creates a cold, wintry atmosphere. The album Wintereich was released in 2007 in Europe on Dark Balance and in the USA through Facedown Records.
Cadaveria, real name Raffaella Rivarolo, is an Italian musician famous for being one of the first women to enter the extreme metal scene in the early 1990s, as former vocalist and keyboard player of the symphonic black metal band Opera IX.
Alessandro Nunziati, better known by his stage name Lord Vampyr, is an Italian musician, record producer and writer, famous for being the former vocalist of the gothic metal band Theatres des Vampires, as well as one of its founding members.
Eternal Oath is a Swedish symphonic/melodic death metal band, formed in 1991 in Stockholm, Sweden. In their 15-year existence, they released three albums, one demo, one EP and one compilation album. The group had been in the process of recording a fourth album, but ultimately disbanded in January 2007. In 2011, the band reunited and released a new album in 2013.
Ancestral Legacy is a Norwegian gothic metal-band, started in 1995 as Permafrost.
Pallbearer is an American doom metal band from Little Rock, Arkansas, formed in 2008.
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.
