Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, featuring double kick and blast beat techniques; minor keys or atonality; abrupt tempo, key, and time signature changes; and chromatic chord progressions. The lyrical themes of death metal may include slasher film-style violence, political conflict, religion, nature, philosophy, true crime and science fiction.
Darkthrone is a Norwegian extreme metal band from Kolbotn, Akershus. Formed in 1986 as a death metal band named Black Death, in 1991 Darkthrone embraced a black metal style influenced by Bathory and Celtic Frost and became one of the leading bands in the Norwegian black metal scene.
Manowar is an American heavy metal band from Auburn, New York. Formed in 1980, the group is known for lyrics based on fantasy and mythology, as well as numerous songs celebrating the genre and its core audience. The band is also known for a loud and emphatic sound. In an interview for MTV in February 2007, bassist Joey DeMaio lamented that "these days, there's a real lack of big, epic metal that is drenched with crushing guitars and choirs and orchestras... so it's nice to be one of the few bands that's actually doing that". In 1984, the band was included in the Guinness Book of World Records for delivering the loudest performance, a record which they have since broken on two occasions. They also hold the world record for the longest heavy metal concert after playing for five hours and 1 minute in Bulgaria in 2008. They also have been known for their slogan "Death to false metal". The band maintains a strong cult following.
Immortal is a Norwegian black metal band from Bergen. The group was founded in 1991 by frontman and guitarist Abbath Doom Occulta and guitarist Demonaz Doom Occulta. The pair worked with various drummers, and were later joined by former drummer Horgh in 1996.
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.
My Dying Bride are an English doom metal band formed in Bradford. Since their inception in 1990, they have released 13 studio albums, three EPs, one demo, one box set, four compilation albums, one live album, and one live CD/DVD release.
Misery Index is an American death metal band formed in 2001 in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, by Jason Netherton, Mike Harrison, and Kevin Talley (drums). In 2003, the band opened for Dying Fetus and Skinless on their North American tour. From 2006–2010, its line-up consisted of Jason Netherton on bass and vocals, John Voyles on lead guitar, Mark Kloeppel on rhythm guitar and vocals, and Adam Jarvis on drums. In 2010, Voyles left the band and was replaced by Darin Morris.
Officium Triste is a death-doom band from Rotterdam, The Netherlands. They refer to their style often as "Rotterdoom". It is largely inspired by bands like My Dying Bride and early Anathema, but the last album is slower and more melodic. The vocals are mostly intelligible death grunts but with occasional clean vocals. Their home-venue is Baroeg in Rotterdam.
Immolation is an American death metal band from Yonkers, New York. They are considered one of the leaders of the New York death metal scene along with Incantation, Mortician and Suffocation.
Theatres des Vampires is an Italian gothic metal band, mostly noted for the predominant theme of vampirism within their lyrics. The band's early material was credited as melodic black metal or symphonic black metal, but the group completely abandoned all black metal influence by the mid-2000s. Theatres des Vampires have released eleven full-length albums.
Blasphemy are a Canadian black metal band based in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Stream from the Heavens is the only studio album by Finnish doom metal band Thergothon. It was recorded in late 1992 and released after many delays on June 15, 1994 through the Italian record label Avantgarde Music. The band had eventually disbanded a year before the release of the album. Stream from the Heavens continues the funeral doom subgenre that Thergothon pioneered with their 1991 demo Fhtagn nagh Yog-Sothoth. The album was re-issued on CD in 1999 and also in 2004 by Belgian label Painiac as a 12" LP, limited to 500 copies.
Stabat Mater is a one-man funeral doom band from Finland. The band was formed in 2001 by Mikko Aspa of Deathspell Omega and Clandestine Blaze fame. Stabat Mater received underground acclaim following a 2002 split album with Worship. For this release, Stabat Mater contributed a track titled "Give Them Pain". Stabat Mater's first full-length album was released on July 10, 2009, by Northern Heritage records.
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.
Inquisition is an American black metal band that formed in Cali, Colombia in 1988 and later relocated to Seattle, Washington. The band possessed a thrash metal sound on its earliest recordings, but began incorporating more black metal influences in 1996 with its first extended play Incense of Rest.
Lethian Dreams is a French doom metal band, founded in 2002 by Carline Van Roos and Matthieu Sachs, also known for their work in the bands Aythis and Remembrance. Starting as an atmospheric doom metal band, Lethian Dreams evolved later to a more ethereal sound, adding elements from different musical styles. The band self-describes its music as "ethereal doom metal" but elements from black metal, shoegaze or post-metal can also be found in their music.
Epitome of Illusions is the third studio album by the Norwegian symphonic black metal band Limbonic Art released in 1998 on Nocturnal Art Productions. The album itself is composed of rerecorded material from the band's pre-label demos, so it can be considered both as a studio and a compilation album, although Morfeus said in an interview that it is not a full release.
Hellgods is a black metal band from Bandung, Indonesia. They were one of the earliest bands to play black metal in the country.
Tears from a Grieving Heart is the debut studio album by the Australian doom metal band Mournful Congregation. It is regarded as a pioneering release in the funeral doom subgenre. It was originally recorded as a demo but was re-released as a CD in September 2012 by American record label 20 Buck Spin, with a slightly altered track listing and a bonus track. The band has stated in interviews that it is their first full-length album. It is also the final Mournful Congregation release to be recorded as a duo and the first to feature drummer Adrian Bickle, after the departure of band co-founder Ben Petch the previous year following the An Epic Dream of Desire demo, although he has writing credits on this record.
Downfall of Gaia are a German extreme metal band formed in 2008 by Dominik Goncalves dos Reis and Anton Lisovoj. Their current lineup is completed by drummer Michael Kadnar and guitarist Marco Mazzola. Transforming their initial crust punk sound through the incorporation of black metal, doom metal, and post-rock influences, they have released five studio albums. The last four albums came out on Metal Blade Records.
