Tristania was a Norwegian gothic metal band formed in 1996 by Morten Veland, Einar Moen and Kenneth Olsson. Tristania's music is usually classified as Gothic metal with death influences, due to its strong tie and legacy within the gothic metal history. Their songs largely dealt with dark and sentimental topics, including depression, sadness, suicide, love, absence, and anger.
Theatre of Tragedy was a Norwegian band from Stavanger, active between 1993 and 2010. They are best known for their earlier albums, which influenced the gothic metal genre.
Dark Tranquillity is a Swedish melodic death metal band from Gothenburg. They are considered one of the pioneering acts of the Gothenburg metal scene, which also includes bands such as In Flames and At the Gates - regarded as the Gothenburg fathers in the film entitled Out of Nothing: A DT Documentary released by Century Media, which was filmed in their home town in April 2009. After a nearly three-decade long collaboration of four founding members frequent lineup changes between 2016 and 2021 have left only vocalist Mikael Stanne as an original member, together with long-time keyboardist Martin Brändström.
Paradise Lost are an English gothic metal band. Formed in Halifax, West Yorkshire in 1988, they are considered to be among the pioneers of the death-doom genre and regarded as the main influence for the later gothic metal movement. Bands that have cited Paradise Lost as an influence, or have covered them, include My Dying Bride, Anathema, The Gathering, Amorphis, Cradle of Filth, Katatonia, Moonspell, Lacuna Coil, HIM, Nightwish and many others. As of 2005, Paradise Lost have sold over two million albums worldwide.
The 69 Eyes is a Finnish rock band. It was founded in 1989 in Helsinki by vocalist Jyrki 69, guitarists Bazie, Timo-Timo and bassist Archzie, joined in 1992 by drummer Jussi 69; the lineup never changed since then. The 69 Eyes music blends gothic rock with glam metal and rock 'n roll in a style that was dubbed "goth 'n roll".
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.
To/Die/For are a gothic metal band from the town of Kouvola in southeast of Finland, originally assembled in 1993 as a hard rock band under the name Mary-Ann. In 1999, they decided to change their musical style to gothic metal, changing their band name as well. The band disbanded in April 2009, but reformed in July 2009, and played their final concert at John Smith Rock Festival in Finland on 22 June 2016. They reformed once again in early 2020.
Kim Ljung is a musician from Tønsberg, Norway. He is best known as the bassist in Norwegian alternative rock band Seigmen and industrial band Zeromancer. He also appeared as guest vocalist on SubGud's Time Machine.
Niklas Sundin is a Swedish musician, best known as a founding member and former lead guitarist of the melodic death metal band Dark Tranquillity from 1989–2020. In 2019, he founded his own band called Mitochondrial Sun, which has released two full-length studio albums to date. He was also one of the guitarists in Laethora from 2005–2010.
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.
Velvet Darkness They Fear is the second studio album by the Norwegian gothic metal band Theatre of Tragedy. It was released in 1996 by Massacre Records. The album was issued in the US by Century Media Records in 1997.
Storm is the sixth studio album by the Norwegian gothic metal band Theatre of Tragedy, released in March 2006. It is the band's first album with a new lead singer Nell Sigland. The song "Storm" was released as the album's only single. The album shows something of a return to gothic metal, although its sound is much lighter and more upbeat than that of earlier albums and it still uses modern English lyrics. The band embarked on a European tour to support the release.
Gothminister is a Norwegian gothic metal band. Formed in 1999, they released seven studio albums and gained success in Germany. They played in several German music festivals, including Wave-Gotik-Treffen (WGT), the Dark Storm Festival and the M'era Luna Festival, and performed in front of over 10,000 people at the Schattenreich Festival.
The Crest was a gothic metal/darkwave band from Oslo, Norway noted for their gothic metal with catchy melodies, massive guitar sound, and a soothing female voice. The band was formed in 1996 by Nell and Kristian Sigland. After going through changes in name and line-up, the band settled on the name "The Crest" in 1999, after recording their second demo when they started to develop their characteristic sound.
Magenta is an industrial rock/alternative rock band from Norway formed by Vilde Lockert and Anders Odden during the summer of 1995. They released their first EP, Magenta in 1997. The song "Secret Sky" entered the charts in Norway and established their career. Co-founder Anders Odden was already known in musical circles. He has been a member of bands like Cadaver and Celtic Frost. He is currently also the bassplayer for Satyricon, and guitarplayer for ORDER.
Fiction is the eighth studio album by Swedish melodic death metal band Dark Tranquillity. It was released by Napalm Records on 19 April 2007, and by Century Media in the UK on 23 April, and in the US on 24 April.
Vain City Chronicles is the second album release by Norwegian gothic metal band The Crest.
Forever Is the World is the seventh and final studio album by the Norwegian gothic metal band Theatre of Tragedy. It was released on 18 September 2009, on AFM Records. The album was produced by the Zeromancer singer Alexander Møklebust and mastered by Bjørn Engelmann.
Happiness in Darkness is the third studio album by Norwegian gothic metal band Gothminister, released 25 November 2008 through German record label E-Wave Records. The album was rereleased in 2014 by AFM records.
Pandemonium II: The Battle of the Underworlds is the eighth studio album by Norwegian gothic metal band Gothminister. It was released on 3 May 2024 through AFM Records and was produced by Bjørn Alexander Brem, the band's lead vocalist.
