Emperor is a Norwegian black metal band formed in 1991, regarded as highly influential by critics and emerging black metal bands. The group split up in 2001, but reunited from 2005 to 2007 for a few festival dates and brief US tours, and again reunited in 2013 to 2014. Emperor reformed for the third time in 2016. The group was founded by Ihsahn (guitar/vocal) and Samoth.
Borknagar is a Norwegian heavy metal band from Bergen, founded in 1995 by Øystein Garnes Brun. The band's style combines black metal and folk metal with progressive and melodic elements. Borknagar's lyrics often deal with philosophy, paganism, nature and the cosmos.
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.
Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. It has been defined as a "cluster of metal subgenres characterized by sonic, verbal, and visual transgression".
Vegard Sverre Tveitan, better known by his stage name Ihsahn, is a Norwegian multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and composer, best known for his work with black metal band Emperor. Tveitan is also a founding member of Thou Shalt Suffer, where he played guitar and keyboard in addition to vocal duties, and Peccatum, a project in collaboration with his wife and fellow musician Heidi Solberg Tveitan, also known as Starofash. Since 2006, Tveitan has primarily devoted himself to solo albums and occasional guest appearances.
Kristoffer Rygg, also known as Garm, Trickster G. Rex and God Head, is a Norwegian vocalist, musician and producer known primarily for his work with Ulver, Arcturus, and Borknagar.
Simen Hestnæs, better known by his stage name ICS Vortex or simply Vortex, is a Norwegian musician. He is the vocalist of the similarly named band ICS Vortex, the avant-garde metal band Arcturus and the doom metal band Lamented Souls. He is also a vocalist and the bass guitarist to the heavy metal band Borknagar, and the former bass guitarist and backing vocalist for the symphonic black metal band Dimmu Borgir.
The New Black is the fifth and final studio album by Canadian heavy metal band Strapping Young Lad. It was released on July 11, 2006, debuting at No. 200 on the Billboard charts. A music video was shot for the album's sole single, "Wrong Side", and another video, done in CGI, was made for the non-single song "Almost Again".
Asgeir Mickelson is a Norwegian musician, artist, photographer and music reviewer. Although primarily known as a drummer, he is also a skilled guitarist and bassist.
Flow is the fourth studio album by the Norwegian power metal/progressive metal band, Conception. Flow was released on 7 April 1997 by Noise Records.
Shogun is the fourth studio album by American heavy metal band Trivium. The album was released worldwide on various dates between September 23, 2008, and October 1, 2008, through Roadrunner Records. It is their last release to feature original drummer Travis Smith. Work on the album is noted to have begun with producer Nick Raskulinecz in October 2007, with the band stating that they chose not to work with Jason Suecof again as they wanted to explore new ideas.
angL is the second studio album by Norwegian black metal musician Ihsahn. Writing began in early 2007, after Ihsahn had completed touring with Emperor. The album was recorded around December 2007 and released on 26 May 2008.
After is the third studio album by Norwegian black metal musician Ihsahn. This album is the final album in a planned trilogy of albums by Ihsahn.
Leprous is a Norwegian progressive metal band from Notodden, formed in 2001. The group was founded by singer and keyboardist Einar Solberg and guitarist Tor Oddmund Suhrke.
Heritage is the tenth studio album by Swedish progressive metal band Opeth. It was released on 13 September 2011 through Roadrunner Records. The album was recorded in early 2011 at Atlantis Studios in Stockholm and produced by Mikael Åkerfeldt, engineered by Janne Hansson, and mixed by Steven Wilson. It takes on more of a progressive rock sound, something the band had wanted to do for some time. It is a stark contrast to the progressive death metal sounds of their past albums.
Storm Seeker is the debut album by Norwegian musician ICS Vortex, released on 22 August 2011 in Europe and 23 August 2011 in North America.
Eremita is the fourth studio album by Norwegian black metal musician Ihsahn. The album features guest appearances by several notable musicians, including Devin Townsend and Jeff Loomis of Nevermore.
Volition is the fourth studio album by Canadian progressive metal band Protest the Hero released on October 29, 2013 through Razor & Tie. It is the band's first album not to be released through Underground Operations or with any financial backing of label support. Instead, the entire album was funded by their fans via an Indiegogo campaign, where they met and exceeded their goal of $125,000 CAD.
Das Seelenbrechen is the fifth studio album by Norwegian black metal musician Ihsahn. Released on 21 October 2013, the album was described by Ihsahn as a "deliberate sidestep" that used improvisation as the basis for his most diverse recording to date, which Decibel described as "surprising and strangely satisfying".
Sarke is a Norwegian metal band from Oslo, formed in 2008. The band has released seven studio albums and is currently signed to Norwegian record label Indie Recordings.
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