Bathory was a Swedish black metal band formed in Vällingby in March 1983. Named after Hungarian countess Elizabeth Báthory, they are considered pioneers of black metal and Viking metal. The book Lords of Chaos described Bathory's first four albums as "the blueprint for Scandinavian black metal." Acts influenced by their early records include Mayhem, Burzum, Darkthrone, Gorgoroth, Satyricon, Emperor, Dark Funeral, Enslaved, Immortal, Marduk, Moonsorrow and Dimmu Borgir.
Heartwork is the fourth studio album by English extreme metal band Carcass. The album was released in the UK by Earache Records on 18 October 1993, and in the United States on 11 January 1994 by Columbia Records, making it the band's only major label release. Heartwork has been described as the band's "breakthrough" and "mid-period masterpiece", as well as a landmark album in melodic death metal. The album was recorded at Parr Street Studios, Liverpool from 18 May – 21 June 1993.
Candlemass is a Swedish epic doom metal band established in Upplands Väsby, a suburb of Stockholm in 1984 by bassist, songwriter and bandleader Leif Edling and drummer Matz Ekström. The band had a defining influence on doom metal, and the epic doom genre itself is named after their debut album Epicus Doomicus Metallicus. Along with Pentagram, Saint Vitus and Trouble, Candlemass has been referred to as one of the "big four of doom metal".
Meshuggah is a Swedish extreme metal band formed in Umeå in 1987. Since 2004, the band's lineup consists of founding members Jens Kidman (vocals) and Fredrik Thordendal (guitar), alongside guitarist Mårten Hagström, drummer Tomas Haake and bassist Dick Lövgren. Since its formation, the band has released nine studio albums, six EPs and eight music videos. Their latest studio album, Immutable, was released in April 2022 via Atomic Fire Records.
Lars Mikael Åkerfeldt is a Swedish musician. He is the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter of progressive metal band Opeth. A former vocalist of death metal supergroup Bloodbath, he was also guitarist for the "one-off" band Steel, and part of the collaboration Storm Corrosion with Steven Wilson.
Mayhem is a Norwegian black metal band formed in Langhus in 1984. They were one of the founders of the Norwegian black metal scene and their music has strongly influenced the black metal genre. Mayhem's early career was highly controversial, primarily due to their notorious live performances, the 1991 suicide of vocalist Per Yngve Ohlin ("Dead") and the 1993 murder of guitarist Øystein Aarseth ("Euronymous") by former member Varg Vikernes of Burzum.
Kai Michael Hansen is a German musician who is the founder, lead guitarist and vocalist of power metal band Gamma Ray. He is also one of the co-founders of another power metal band Helloween, which he was a part of from 1983 to 1989 and rejoined in 2016. He is a prominent figure in power metal and has sold millions of albums worldwide. He is regarded as "the godfather of power metal", having founded two seminal bands in the genre. In 2011, he joined the band Unisonic featuring former Helloween vocalist Michael Kiske. Hansen and Kiske reunited with Helloween in 2017 for a world tour with all current members, celebrating the 30-year anniversary of release of the albums Keeper of the Seven Keys Parts I and II.
Despite is a Swedish death metal band from Gothenburg.
John Terry Norum is a Norwegian-Swedish guitarist and one of the founders of the rock band Europe. Concurrent to his role with Europe, he also maintains a career as a solo artist.
Angelcorpse was a blackened death metal band formed after the demise of Pete Helmkamp's previous band, Order from Chaos. Originally from Kansas City, Missouri, they relocated to Tampa, Florida.
Alf Peter Tägtgren is a Swedish musician and record producer. He is the founder, main songwriter, lead vocalist, and guitarist of death metal band Hypocrisy as well as the industrial metal band Pain in which he is the only member. He is also the owner of The Abyss recording studio and the co-founder of Lindemann, a music project between Tägtgren and Rammstein vocalist Till Lindemann. Tägtgren left Lindemann in 2020.
Carnal Forge are a Swedish band, best classified as thrash metal with some melodic death metal influences. Their name originates from a song on Carcass's album Heartwork.
DGM is an Italian progressive metal band. Over the course of the band's history, they have had numerous line-up changes, with none of the founding members in the band's current line up and eight previous members since 1994.
Dead by April is a Swedish metalcore band from Gothenburg, formed in 2007 by Pontus Hjelm and Jimmie Strimell. The current band lineup consists of Pontus Hjelm, Christopher Kristensen and Marcus Wesslén. Despite many line up changes throughout their career, both Marcus Wesslén and Pontus Hjelm have remained consistent since their debut album.
Chandana Chitral Somapala, aka Chity Somapala, is a Sri Lankan hard rock and heavy metal vocalist and a music director. He is known for his work with European power metal bands Firewind, Power Quest, Avalon, Faro, Red Circuit, and Civilization One. Somapala gained popularity in his home country due to his Sinhala track "Nadee Ganga" which was released in 1998.
Andi Kravljaca is a Bosnian-born Swedish heavy metal singer and guitarist, most known for his vocal work in progressive metal band Aeon Zen, although he is perhaps best known as vocalist for Swedish progressive metal band, Seventh Wonder, appearing on the band's first album, Become, in 2005. He was born in Sarajevo.
Ghost is a Swedish rock band known for its distinctive blend of theatricality, heavy metal, and arena rock. Formed in Linköping in 2006, the band first gained attention with their 2010 three-track demo, followed by the 7-inch vinyl "Elizabeth" and their debut album, Opus Eponymous. This album, nominated for a Grammis and featuring the song "Ritual"—listed by Kerrang! as one of "The 50 Most Evil Songs Ever"—catapulted them to international recognition.
James Franklin Murphy is an American guitarist. He is best known for his work in metal bands Cancer, Obituary, Death and Testament. He founded Disincarnate, an early death metal band.
Victims were a Swedish hardcore punk band, originally hailing from Nyköping, at the end of their career they were based in Stockholm. The final line-up consisted of lead vocalist and bass player Johan Eriksson, drummer Andy Henriksson, guitar player, vocalist Jon Lindqvist and guitar player Gareth Smith.
Daniel Weyandt is the vocalist of the American metalcore band, Zao. He was also the bassist for Seasons in the Field and current bassist for Lonely//Ghost//Parade. Weyandt is also a tattoo artist and owns a shop in his hometown, Greensburg, Pennsylvania.
