Dimmu Borgir is a Norwegian symphonic black metal band from Jessheim, formed in 1993. The name is derived from Dimmuborgir, a volcanic formation in Iceland, the name of which means "dark cities" or "dark castles/fortresses" in Icelandic, Faroese and Old Norse. The band has been through numerous lineup changes over the years; vocalist Shagrath and rhythm guitarist Silenoz are the only original members who still remain, with lead guitarist Galder being a longstanding member.
Chaos A.D. is the fifth studio album by Brazilian heavy metal band Sepultura, released in 1993 by Roadrunner Records. The album saw a stylistic departure from the band's earlier thrash metal style, by featuring a new groove metal sound. Chaos A.D. is also Sepultura's only album on Epic Records, who handled its release for North American distribution, as well as the first album to feature Paulo Jr. on bass after having played with the band in a live capacity since 1984.
Gorguts is a Canadian death metal band formed near Sherbrooke, Quebec, in 1989. The band has gone through various membership changes since its inception; its only constant member has been guitarist-vocalist and co-founding member Luc Lemay, who remains the driving force of the band. To date, they have released five full-length albums and one EP. Their most recent release, Pleiades' Dust, was released on May 13, 2016. Their latest full-length album, Colored Sands was released in 2013 and was nominated for a Juno Award. Musically the band is known for its complex, musically dense form of technical death metal, and has become "one of the most advanced, experimental, and challenging groups in the entire genre."
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.
Killswitch Engage is the debut studio album by American metalcore band Killswitch Engage, released July 4, 2000 through Ferret Music. The album is the only release ever by Killswitch Engage to be released through Ferret, the band would later be signed to Roadrunner Records, where their follow-up LP, Alive or Just Breathing was released. The band's debut is considered to be one of the first ever successful albums in the metalcore genre, garnering a re-release five years after its original pressing. No songs in the album were released as singles.
Pierced from Within is the third album by the death metal band Suffocation, released in 1995. "Synthetically Revived" is a re-recording of the song of the same name from the Human Waste EP and "Breeding the Spawn" is a re-recording of the title track from the band's previous album.
Toxik is an American thrash metal band formed in 1985 in Peekskill, New York. After breaking up for the first time in 1992 and briefly reuniting in 2007, the band reformed once again in 2013. Toxik has gone through several lineup changes over the years, leaving guitarist Josh Christian as the only constant member. The band has released three studio albums to date, World Circus (1987), Think This (1989) and Dis Morta (2022).
Considered Dead is the debut studio album by Canadian death metal band Gorguts. It was released on October 8, 1991, by Roadrunner Records, whom the band signed with after the release of their 1991 demo ...And Then Comes Lividity. The album features guest vocals by Chris Barnes of Cannibal Corpse on three tracks, as well as a guest guitar solo by James Murphy, who has performed with Death, Obituary, and Testament. The following year, the band took part in the "Blood, Guts and Gore" U.S. tour along with Cannibal Corpse and Atheist.
Obscura is the third full-length album by Canadian death metal band Gorguts. The album was released on June 23, 1998 through the now-defunct Olympic Recordings, but has since been reissued by a number of labels, in particular Century Media in 2015. Since its release, Obscura has come to be regarded as one of the most important albums in the technical death metal genre, and as "one of the most complex and technical records in the genre, due to its unprecedented dissonance and experimentation brought by the band's late guitarist Steeve Hurdle." Lyrically, the album touches on spiritual and existential themes, representing a further departure from the band's previously established approach. Luc Lemay has described the album as "the record that defined our sound."
From Wisdom to Hate is the fourth album by Gorguts, released on March 6, 2001 through Olympic Recordings and Season of Mist. The musical style can be considered a compromise between the previous album Obscura and the older albums Considered Dead and The Erosion of Sanity. This is the only Gorguts album to feature drummer Steve MacDonald. MacDonald had a history of recurrent depression and committed suicide in 2002, which eventually led to the break-up of Gorguts in 2005.
Believer is an American technical thrash metal band from the late 1980s and early 1990s, that plays a hybrid of thrash and progressive metal. Believer is known for its innovative use of symphonic elements in thrash metal, featuring some of the earliest examples of symphonic metal. Their lyrics deal with topics of philosophy, theology and social issues.
Arise is the fourth studio album by Brazilian heavy metal band Sepultura, released in 1991 by Roadrunner Records. Upon its release, the album received top reviews from heavy metal magazines such as Rock Hard, Kerrang! and Metal Forces. Arise is considered Sepultura's finest hour among longtime fans. While the music on Arise was mostly in the same death/thrash style as their previous album, Beneath the Remains, it was clear that the Sepultura sound was acquiring an experimental edge.
Defeated Sanity is a German technical death metal band from Dachsbach, Bavaria that was conceived in 1993 by guitarist Wolfgang Teske and his son, drummer Lille Gruber. The group's lineup currently consists of Gruber (drums), Jacob Schmidt, Josh Welshman (vocals), and Vaughn Stoffey (guitar). The band is known for their very brutal, abrasive and intricate style of death metal, while at the same time maintaining almost jazz fusion style influences. Defeated Sanity's genre has also sometimes been categorized as progressive death metal.
Deeds of Flesh is an American brutal death metal band from Los Osos, California, U.S. They were formed in 1993 by Jacoby Kingston, Erik Lindmark (1972–2018) and Joey Heaslet. They founded their own label, Unique Leader Records, which has since become home to a number of other death metal bands from around the world. Deeds of Flesh have released nine studio albums, their most recent being Nucleus which was released in 2020.
Revocation is an American technical death metal band from Boston, Massachusetts, consisting of guitarist and vocalist Dave Davidson, bassist Brett Bamberger and drummer Ash Pearson. The band has released eight studio albums, two EPs, and ten music videos since their formation.
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.
Colored Sands is the fifth full-length album by Canadian technical death metal band Gorguts. It is Gorguts' first studio album since 2001's From Wisdom to Hate. The album features the band's first recordings with guitarist Kevin Hufnagel and bassist Colin Marston, and the band's only recordings with drummer John Longstreth. It is a concept album based on Tibet. The album was released digitally on August 6, 2013, and the release of the CD and vinyl versions on September 3, 2013.
Evocation is a Swedish death metal band from Borås.
Florida death metal is a regional scene and stylistic subdivision of death metal. Some of the most significantly pioneering and best-selling death metal acts emerged in Florida, especially in the Tampa Bay area. As a result, Tampa is unofficially known by many death metal fans as the "capital of death metal." The scene coalesced in the mid-1980s through early 1990s around the output of bands such as Death, Nasty Savage, Deicide, Monstrosity, Morbid Angel, Atheist, Obituary, and others. The producer Scott Burns and the studio Morrisound Recording were also instrumental in developing and popularizing the Florida scene. Some bands which originated outside of Florida, such as Malevolent Creation and Cannibal Corpse, relocated to the state in order to participate in this burgeoning scene. The Florida bands featured a more technical approach to the evolving death metal sound, a style which spread beyond the confines of the state, and some were instrumental in creating the progressive death metal subgenre. The death metal genre as a whole, including the Florida scene, declined in popularity in the second half of the 1990s, but many bands within the Florida scene persisted and the scene resurged in popularity in subsequent decades.
Pleiades' Dust is the first EP by the Canadian technical death metal band Gorguts, released on May 13, 2016 through Season of Mist. It consists of a single track which runs for thirty-three minutes and is roughly divided into seven movements. It is also the band's only recording with drummer Patrice Hamelin, who has been performing with the band live since 2011 but only became an official member in 2014 after the departure of John Longstreth.
