Asmodeus is an Austrian black metal band founded in 1996.
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.
Arkhon Infaustus is a French blackened death metal band from Paris. They formed in 1997, are signed to Osmose Productions, and have released four albums to date.
Axis of Advance was a Canadian death metal band from Edmonton, active from 1998 to 2008. Their music was described as "freaked-out, hyper and evil metal...not for the weak and not really for most rational human beings, but it will sound great to those looking for a slice of evil black metal the way it should be done."
Von is an American black metal band formed in 1987 in O'ahu, Hawaii, and later relocating to San Francisco. They influenced the second wave of black metal.
Rune Eriksen, better known by his stage namer Blasphemer, is a Norwegian musician best known as the former guitarist and songwriter of black metal band Mayhem. He took his stage name from a Sodom song and joined Mayhem in October 1994, before departing the band in late 2008. Eriksen founded his solo project RUÏM in 2020 and is currently a member of Aura Noir, Earth Electric, and the multinational bands Twilight Of The Gods and Vltimas, the former initially being a Bathory tribute band and the latter being a supergroup with former Morbid Angel vocalist David Vincent and drummer Flo Mounier of Cryptopsy. Eriksen and Mounier has previously been a part of death metal artist Nader Sadek's band along with Steve Tucker of Morbid Angel. Eriksen has also been a live member of Gaahls Wyrd and made guest appearances on recordings by Absu, Negură Bunget and Root. His former bands and projects include Mezzerschmitt and the Portuguese gothic doom band Ava Inferi. Eriksen has resided in Portugal since 2004.
Endstille is a black metal band from Germany. It was founded in 2000 by L. Wachtfels (guitar), Mayhemic Destructor (drums), Iblis (vocals) and Cruor (bass) in Kiel. L. Wachtfels and Mayhemic Destructor had previously played in the band Tauthr, while Iblis and Cruor came from the band Octoria. They describe their music as "ugliest aggressive black metal with the fire-speed of an MG42 and the power of heavy ship-artillery". The lyrics refer, to a large extent, to the personal experiences and opinions of the band members. In its self-manifestation, the group refers to well-known German weapons from the time of World War II. This, in addition to the band's lyrics, is sometimes seen an indication of a right-wing extremist affinity within the band. Endstille clearly dissociates itself from such labels, explains to have no sympathies for right-wing ideas and says black metal "is in its principle unpolitical".
Osmose Productions is a French independent record label created in 1991 by Hervé Herbaut, after he had spent three years running a small mail order company. They specialize mainly in death and black metal bands.
Blasphemy are a Canadian black metal band based in Vancouver, British Columbia that formed in 1984. The band was formed initially by vocalist and occasional bassist Gerry Bull and drummer Sean Stone, known better by their respective stage names Nocturnal Grave Desecrator and Black Winds & 3 Black Hearts of Damnation and Impurity. Shortly thereafter, guitarist Geoff Drakes, also known better by his pseudonym Caller of the Storms, would join the band. The band formed first as "Antichrist", and would see two further name changes before settling on Blasphemy in 1987.
Necromantia was a Greek black metal band that was founded in 1989 in Athens. Alongside Rotting Christ and Varathron, they are considered to be pioneers in establishing the Greek black metal scene in the early 1990s. The band is notable for the complete lack of rhythm guitar in their music, which is substituted by an eight-string bass guitar. Another notable feature is the band's frequent use of musical instruments not usually associated with black metal, such as the saxophone and flute.
Watain is a Swedish black metal band, formed in 1998. The band's name is taken from an early recording by the American black metal group Von. The band have become famous for their Theistic Satanist views and for their live shows which involve pyrotechnics, candles, Satanic rituals, animal carcasses, and blood. At a now-notorious live performance in Brooklyn in 2014, they doused audience members in animal blood, allegedly causing some members of the audience to vomit. This was picked up and publicised by TMZ, generating controversy around the incident. To date they have released seven full-length albums, as well as three live albums and a number of demos and EPs. Their most recent album The Agony & Ecstasy of Watain was released on 29 April 2022 through Nuclear Blast. The band's core lineup has remained stable since their formation, consisting of Erik Danielsson, Pelle Forsberg, and Håkan Jonsson, though as of 2015 Jonsson no longer performs live, Emil Svensson of fellow Uppsala death metal band Degial was recruited as live drummer.
Abominator is an Australian black/death metal band formed in Melbourne, Australia, in 1994. Their lyrics commonly deal with war and spirituality. They have been compared to Angelcorpse and Morbid Angel.
Casus Luciferi is the second studio album by the black metal band Watain. It was released in 2003 on Drakkar Productions. It was also released on limited edition vinyl by Norma Evangelium Diaboli and, in 2004, on tape by the Romanian label Mirgilus Siculorum. The album was remastered and reissued in October 2008 with a bonus track, a live cover of the song "Watain" by Von that the band is named after.
Impiety is a Singaporean black metal band, formed in early 1990 by Shyaithan (vocals/guitar/bass) and drummer Necro-Angelfornicator. They are notable for being one of the first metal, extreme metal bands to emerge from Singapore.
Order from Chaos was an extreme metal band formed in 1987 in Kansas City, Missouri, by Pete Helmkamp, Chuck Keller and Mike Miller. They are recognised as being an extremely influential group in the early U.S. black metal scene, and served as a launching pad for its band members that went on to form such groups as Angelcorpse, Ares Kingdom, Revenge, Vulpecula, and Kerasphorus.
Bestial Mockery is a Swedish black metal band formed in Uddevalla, Sweden, in 1995 by the quartet of Carl "Master Motorsåg" Bildt, Micke "Doomanfanger" Petersson, Jocke "Christcrusher" and Carl "Warslaughter". The band's stated aim at that time was to "channel perverted lusts for Satanic bloody Metal". Although they split up in 2008, Bestial Mockery released four full-length albums for Metal Blood Music, Osmose and Season of Mist, as well as a large number of stand-alone EPs and shared releases with other underground metal acts. In a review of Slaying the Life in Decibel magazine, a similarity between the band and Nunslaughter was noted.
Diaboli is a Finnish black metal band, initially formed in 1992 as a five-piece. Following band member departures and the suicide of vocalist Hrim Grimn'r in 2001, Diaboli continues as a one-man project. To date the band has released five full-length albums for the labels Unisound, Full Moon Productions and Northern Heritage.
Of Lucifer And Lightning is the fourth and final full-length album from blackened death metal band Angelcorpse. It was released in 2007 on Osmose Productions.
Lawless Darkness is the fourth studio album by Swedish black metal band Watain, released through Season of Mist, on 7 June 2010. The cover art was made by Zbigniew M. Bielak, who also painted The Wild Hunt cover art. The album sold around 1,000 copies in the United States in the first week of its release, reaching no. 42 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart. The single "Reaping Death" was distributed in their home country of Sweden in the Sweden Rock magazine, and was certified gold in the band's home country on 21 April by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry for sales in excess of 10,000 copies. The album received positive reviews from music critics, and in 2011 the band were awarded the Swedish Grammi for 'Best Hard Rock' album for Lawless Darkness.
Malign is a Swedish black metal band from Stockholm, formed in 1994.
