Darkthrone is a Norwegian black 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".
Summoning is an Austrian atmospheric black metal band based in Vienna. Since their formation in 1993, they have released eight full-length albums and two EPs via Napalm Records. Their lyrics make extensive use of J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth writings and mythology. Since 1995, their lineup has had a consistent lineup of Richard Lederer as "Protector" and Michael Gregor as "Silenius". The band never played live performances and has consistently maintained that they have no interest in ever doing so. Their latest album With Doom We Come was released on 5 January 2018.
Abigor is an Austrian black metal band formed in 1993. They are named after an upper demon of war in Christian demonology.
Kittie is a Canadian heavy metal band from London, Ontario, formed in 1996. They formed after guitarist Fallon Bowman and drummer Mercedes Lander met in a gym class. Mercedes' sister, Morgan Lander, became the lead vocalist and one of Kittie's guitarists and Tanya Candler completed the band's line-up on bass. Kittie was chosen as the band name because the name "seemed contradictory". The Lander sisters have remained the band's sole constant members. Collectively, their material released via independent record labels has sold over two million copies worldwide.
Ildjarn was a Norwegian cult black metal project that formed in 1991. Ildjarn recorded music until 1997 but did not officially end until 2005. The man behind Ildjarn was Vidar Våer, although some releases were collaborations with a musician known as Nidhogg.
Underoath is an American rock band from Tampa, Florida. It was founded by lead vocalist Dallas Taylor and guitarist Luke Morton in 1997 in Ocala, Florida; subsequently, its additional members were from Tampa, including drummer, clean vocalist and last remaining core member Aaron Gillespie. The band's current lineup consists of Gillespie, keyboardist Christopher Dudley, lead guitarist Timothy McTague, bassist Grant Brandell, and lead vocalist Spencer Chamberlain. Originally, the band identified as a Christian group; they have since distanced themselves from Christianity.
Morningrise is the second studio album by Swedish progressive metal band Opeth. It was released on 24 June 1996 in Europe by Candlelight Records and on 24 June 1997 in the United States by Century Black. The recording sessions took place at Unisound studio, in Finspång, during March and April 1996. Morningrise was the last Opeth release with drummer Anders Nordin and bassist Johan De Farfalla, as well as the last Opeth album to be produced by Dan Swanö.
Katatonia is a Swedish heavy metal band formed in Stockholm in 1991 by Jonas Renkse and Anders Nyström. The band started as a studio-only project for the duo, as an outlet for the band's love of death metal. Increasing popularity led them to add more band members for live performances, though outside of the band's founders, the lineup was a constantly changing, revolving door of musicians throughout the 1990s, notably including Mikael Åkerfeldt of the band Opeth for a period. After two death/doom albums, Dance of December Souls (1993) and Brave Murder Day (1996), problems with Renkse's vocal cords coupled with new musical influences led the band away from the screamed vocals of death metal to a more traditional, melodic form of heavy metal music.
De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas is the first studio album by Norwegian black metal band Mayhem. Songwriting began in 1987, but due to the suicide of vocalist Per "Dead" Ohlin and the murder of guitarist Øystein "Euronymous" Aarseth, the album's release was delayed until May 1994. De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas is widely considered one of the most influential black metal albums of all time. It is the band's only studio album to feature Aarseth and Varg "Count Grishnackh" Vikernes.
Let Mortal Heroes Sing Your Fame is the fifth studio album by the Austrian black metal band Summoning. It was released on 31 October 2001, through Napalm Records. It is the first of their releases to feature male clean vocals, on the chorus of "Farewell". It is also their first album to make extensive use of audio samples, giving the album a slight dramaturgic bent. The cover art is based on Mark Harrison's painting, Draco Niger Grandis (1999), surrounded by a frame coming from Akseli Gallen-Kallela's The Aino Myth (1891).
Dol Guldur is the third studio album by the Austrian black metal band Summoning. It was released in 1997, through Napalm Records.
Die Verbannten Kinder Evas is an Austrian darkwave music project founded in 1993 by Richard Lederer and Michael Gregor, signed to Napalm Records.
Minas Morgul is the second full-length album by the Austrian black metal band Summoning. The band and many of their fans consider this album to be their debut album as it developed the "Summoning sound" and brought the band to a larger audience due to its lyrics involving J. R. R. Tolkien's themes.
Stronghold is the fourth full-length album by the Austrian black metal band Summoning. This album marked a change in the sound of Summoning as it was much more "guitar orientated with more compact keyboard-melodies". "Where Hope and Daylight Die" features Tania Borsky, Protector's ex-girlfriend and a former member of Die Verbannten Kinder Evas, on lead vocals. The album's cover was adapted from 'The Bard', an 1817 painting by John Martin.
Nightshade Forests is the first EP by the Austrian black metal band Summoning. It consists of four songs left over from the Dol Guldur sessions in 1996. It was released on 3 June 1997, through Napalm Records.
Richard Lederer, who often performs as Protector, is an Austrian metal musician most notable for being a member in the bands Summoning, Die Verbannten Kinder Evas, and Ice Ages. He also does the artwork for some of the albums that he plays music in.
Michael Gregor is an Austrian musician who is currently in the bands Amestigon as vocalist, Kreuzweg Ost as programmer, and Summoning as vocalist, keyboardist, and bassist; the two latter bands are bands that he is a founding member of. He supplied vocals for Abigor from 1994 to 1999 and appeared on seven of Abigor's releases. Silenius was vocalist and keyboardist for Pazuzu and played on the band's split album and debut album. Along with fellow Summoning bandmate Richard Lederer, Silenius also used to be a member of Die Verbannten Kinder Evas, serving as a vocalist and a keyboardist. Silenius has recorded music for a project called "Mirkwood", of which no material has yet been released.
Old Mornings Dawn is the seventh full-length album by the Austrian atmospheric black metal band Summoning. The album was released on June 5, 2013, through Napalm Records. The cover art is based on George Hetzel's painting, Rocky Gorge. Silenius commented on the album's title: "Old Mornings Dawn is no concept album, but this time we mostly experienced the stories and legends of Eärendil the mariner: half man half eldar, ancestor of the kings of Númenor, with the Silmaril of his forehead he became an immortal star. 4 songs are dealing with this topic. The lyrics of another two songs come from the poems "City of Present Sorrow" and "Town of Dreams", two very old poems by J. R. R. Tolkien written at a time when the first world war was raging. The rest of the lyrics came from unknown writers or are written by myself and as ever are closely woven to the Tolkien universe".
With Doom We Come is the eighth full-length album by the Austrian atmospheric black metal band Summoning. The album was released on 5 January 2018, through Napalm Records. The cover art is based on Georg Janny's painting, The Dragon's cave (1917). The songs are inspired by the literature of J. R. R. Tolkien, with the title of the album being spoken by Treebeard as the Ents march on Isengard in The Two Towers.
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