Mercyful Fate is a Danish heavy metal band from Copenhagen, formed in 1981 by vocalist King Diamond and guitarist Hank Shermann. Influenced by progressive rock and hard rock, and with lyrics dealing with Satan and the occult, Mercyful Fate were part of the first wave of black metal in the early to mid-1980s, along with Venom and Bathory. Many of the bands from this movement went on to influence later black metal musicians in the 1990s, particularly in Norway. Mercyful Fate has also been cited as a prominent influence on the subsequent heavy metal scene of 1980s and 1990s, including thrash metal bands like Metallica, Slayer, Testament, Exodus and Kreator, and death metal bands such as Death, Morbid Angel, Obituary and Cannibal Corpse.
Arch Enemy is a Swedish melodic death metal band, originally a supergroup from Halmstad, formed in 1995. Its members were in bands such as Carcass, Armageddon, Carnage, Mercyful Fate, Spiritual Beggars, The Agonist, Nevermore, and Eucharist. It was founded by Carcass guitarist Michael Amott along with Johan Liiva, who were both originally from the death metal band Carnage. The band has released eleven studio albums, three live albums, three video albums and four EPs. The band was originally fronted by Johan Liiva, who was replaced by German vocalist Angela Gossow in 2000. Gossow left the band in March 2014 to become the group's manager and was replaced by Canadian vocalist Alissa White-Gluz.
Michael Amott is a Swedish guitarist, founding member of the metal bands Arch Enemy, Spiritual Beggars and Carnage, as well as a former member of Carcass. He is the older brother of Christopher Amott.
9 is the seventh studio album by Danish heavy metal band Mercyful Fate. 9 was recorded during February and March 1999 and was released on 15 June 1999 on Metal Blade Records. This album continues the heavier sound that was introduced in their previous album Dead Again, and also marks the continuation of the Satanic- and occult-based lyrical themes which were prevalent during the band's first incarnation and were reintroduced on the Time (1994) album, as the primary lyrical focus. 9 was Mercyful Fate's last studio album before their twenty-year hiatus from 1999 to 2019.
Per Jonas Wiberg is the former keyboardist of Swedish progressive metal band Opeth, and a member of Michael Amott's stoner metal band Spiritual Beggars.
Burning Bridges is the third studio album by Swedish melodic death metal band Arch Enemy. It is the first Arch Enemy album to feature Sharlee D'Angelo on bass and the last studio recording to feature vocalist Johan Liiva. The music here showcases the band's wide interpretation of the death metal genre to include portions of melodic death metal, progressive metal and grindcore. A music video was released for the song "The Immortal".
Spiritual Beggars is a stoner metal band from Halmstad, Sweden, formed by Michael Amott, who is known from Arch Enemy, Carcass and Carnage. The band is heavily influenced by 1970s hard rock and incorporates elements of psychedelia into its music.
The Bell Witch is a short, promotional EP released by Danish heavy metal band Mercyful Fate to herald their reunion album. It features two tracks off In the Shadows, of which one is based on the American legend of the Bell Witch, plus four live tracks. The EP was released on 27 June 1994. It was re-released in 2004 on Metal Blade Records.
Time is the fourth studio album by the Danish heavy metal band Mercyful Fate. It was released on 25 October 1994 by Metal Blade Records.
Into the Unknown is the fifth album by Danish heavy metal band Mercyful Fate, released on 20 August 1996 by Metal Blade Records. It is the most commercially successful Mercyful Fate album to date, peaking at No. 31 in the Finnish charts and remaining for two weeks in the Top 40. It is the only album by the band to appear on the charts.
Dead Again is the sixth studio album by Danish heavy metal band Mercyful Fate, released on 9 June 1998 by Metal Blade Records. It marks the first album from Mercyful Fate that Michael Denner is not present on. It also marked a new era for the band, as the production is more muddy and raw, and the guitar tone is more distorted than on the three previous albums. In addition, the album introduced a more complex and arguably progressive sound to several of its tracks.
Dead Eyes See No Future is the second EP by Swedish melodic death metal band Arch Enemy. It was released on 2 November 2004 through Century Media Records.
Witchery is a Swedish blackened thrash metal band formed by former members of Satanic Slaughter in 1997. The current lineup consists of guitarists Patrik Jensen and Rickard "Rille" Rimfält, bassist Sharlee D'Angelo, vocalist Angus Norder, and drummer Chris Barkensjö.
Burning Angel is the first EP by Swedish melodic death metal band Arch Enemy. It was released on 6 March 2002. It is Arch Enemy's second release with vocalist Angela Gossow, who took Johan Liiva's place in the band. The song Starbreaker is a Judas Priest cover from the album Sin After Sin.
Manifesto of Arch Enemy is a compilation album by Swedish melodic death metal band Arch Enemy, featuring two songs from Wages of Sin, two from Anthems of Rebellion, two from Doomsday Machine, two from Rise of the Tyrant, and two from the live album Tyrants of the Rising Sun. It was released on 27 February 2009 on Century Media Records.
Restless & Dead is the first album by the Swedish thrash metal band Witchery. Released in 1998 on Necropolis Records, the album features members of the band Satanic Slaughter. The title is a play on the Accept album Restless and Wild.
Witchkrieg is the fifth full-length studio album by the Swedish thrash metal band Witchery, released on 21 June 2010 in Europe and 29 June 2010 in North America. This album is their second on Century Media Records. Like their previous album, Don't Fear the Reaper, Witchkrieg was mixed by Tue Madsen at his Antfarm Studios. Witchkrieg showcases an impressive line-up of guest musicians such as Andy LaRocque from King Diamond, Kerry King from the thrash band Slayer, Hank Shermann of Mercyful Fate, Lee Altus and Gary Holt from Exodus and Jim Durkin from Dark Angel.
Khaos Legions is the eighth studio album by Swedish melodic death metal band Arch Enemy. It was released on May 30, 2011, by Century Media. The record marks a return to new, original material, after releasing the Tyrants of the Rising Sun - Live in Japan live CD/DVD (2008) and The Root of All Evil (2009) which consisted of a selection of re-recorded songs from the band's back catalog. It is the band's ninth album counting the compilation.
The Night Flight Orchestra is a Swedish hard rock band from Helsingborg. They have signed to Nuclear Blast records. Formed in 2007 by Björn Strid and David Andersson while they were touring in the US with their band Soilwork, they were later joined by bassist Sharlee D'Angelo, Richard Larsson, Jonas Källsbäck and, more recently, Sebastian Forslund (Kadwatha). They have released six studio albums.
