Moonsorrow is a Finnish pagan metal band formed in Helsinki in 1995. Musically, the band incorporates elements of black metal and folk metal in their sound. The band call their sound "epic heathen metal" and try to distance themselves from the term "Viking metal". They have distanced themselves from other folk metal bands, emphasising that their music is pagan and spiritual and is challenging for its listeners, rather than happy or danceable. The band members have varying levels of pagan belief but they draw on pagan spirituality for lyrics and inspiration.
Ukrainian rock is rock music from Ukraine.
Cruachan are an Irish folk metal band from Dublin that have been active since the 1990s. They are recognised as one of the founders of folk metal, and have been acclaimed as having "gone the greatest lengths of anyone in their attempts to expand" the genre. With a specific focus on Celtic music and the use of Celtic mythology in their lyrics, Cruachan's style of folk metal is called Celtic metal.
Drudkh is a Ukrainian black metal band. It currently consists of Roman Saenko, Thurios, Krechet, and Vlad. All four also were members of Blood of Kingu until it was disbanded. Their lyrics and artistic themes embrace Slavic mythology and Ukrainian nationalism. Many of the band's lyrics are derived from the works of nineteenth- and twentieth-century Ukrainian poets and especially Taras Shevchenko.
"Holy Diver" is a song by American heavy metal band Dio. It was released in August 1983 as the lead single from the band's debut album of the same name. Although it only reached number 40 on the Mainstream Rock chart at that time, it is one of Dio's most popular songs today.
Holy Blood is a folk metal band from Kyiv, Ukraine, formed in 1999. The band is notable for being one of the few Christian bands in its genre, and the fact that they are the most successful group on its label Bombworks Records, and the band has been noted worldwide despite being an underground group. Holy Blood has released six albums: The Wanderer, Waves Are Dancing, The Patriot, Shining Sun, Day of Vengeance and Voice of Blood.
Waves Are Dancing is the second studio album by Ukrainian folk metal band Holy Blood, released in 2005. The band's and their label's best selling album, Waves saw the band moving even further towards the highly melodic folk metal style while still keeping the black metal elements, particularly the thin and high-pitched shrieking vocals. In 2010, HM Magazine ranked it #88 on the Top 100 Christian metal albums of all-time list.
Alkonost is a Russian epic folk metal band formed in Naberezhnye Chelny, Tatarstan, Russia in 1995.
Anagogic Tyranny is the third studio album by the Canadian technical death metal band Sympathy, released on November 11, 2008, on Bombworks Records. The album features lead guitar work by the new member Jeff Lewis, and drumming work by Into Eternity member Jim Austin. The cover artwork was done by Jeff Arwadi of Soundmind Graphics and the band Kekal. In some interviews, Dharok stated the songs are character studies based on the book series Prince of Nothing.
Deus Invictus is an extreme metal band from Atlanta, Georgia, started in 2005 by former drummer of The Chariot, Jeff Carter. The band's current line-up consists of Nicholas Shacklette ( Guitar/Vocals), Bradley Wood (Bass), and Jeff Carter (Drums/Vocals). The band signed to Bombworks Records, an indie metal label based out of Seattle, Washington, in 2007.
Kauan is an atmospheric doom metal/post-rock band from Chelyabinsk, Russia, formed in 2005.
Blood of the Martyrs is an American Christian metal band from Farmville, Virginia, formed in 2007, and currently has two official studio albums.
Day of Vengeance is the fifth studio album by Ukrainian folk metal band Holy Blood. It was released on December 31, 2014, in Russia through Musica Production and on May 18, 2015, in the rest of the world through Bombworks Records.
Omen is the fourth studio album by the Norwegian Christian extreme metal band Antestor, released by Bombworks Records on November 16, 2012. Recording began in 2011, and was mostly conducted at the home of vocalist Ronny Hansen. The album cover is a painting by Polish artist Zdzisław Beksiński, and depicts a deformed, many-fingered humanoid creature playing a trumpet. Antestor met with critical praise for its musicianship and the progressive sound on the recording. Critics described the sound as primarily black metal, though the band prefers the more general term "extreme metal" to describe the sound on Omen.
A Hill To Die Upon is an American blackened death metal band from the Monmouth-Galesburg area of Illinois, formed in 2004 by the brothers Adam and R. Michael Cook. The brothers initially founded the band as hardcore project, but eventually started listening to death and black metal, which led them to transform their band's sound. Over the years, various musicians have filled out the band's lineup, which currently consists of the Cook brothers and Nolan Osmond. Signed to Bombworks Records, A Hill to Die Upon has released four albums – Infinite Titanic Immortal in 2009, Omens in 2011, Holy Despair in 2014, and Via Artis, Via Mortis in 2017 - all to a positive critical reception. In 2013, the band also released a stand-alone single, "Manden med Leen". Musically, the band is compared primarily to Behemoth as well as Immortal, Naglfar, and Old Man's Child, all of which the brothers cite as among their major influences. The brothers are Christian, but they distance themselves from calling A Hill to Die Upon a Christian metal band. Lyrical themes include mythology, war, philosophy, and despair, with references drawn from the Bible and numerous literary works and authors.
Bloodline Severed is a Christian metal band that originated in Charlotte and Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The band started in 1998, and has toured with acts such as Battlecross, Aletheian, Phinehas and many more. The band is independent with their own label named Don't Need One Records.
The Blood of Gods is the fourteenth album by thrash metal band Gwar. It was released on October 20, 2017 by Metal Blade Records. It is the band's first album without founding member Dave Brockie, who portrayed Oderus Urungus, due to his heroin overdose death on March 23, 2014. The album is also the first to feature Michael Bishop since 1999's We Kill Everything, portraying the newest character, lead singer Blöthar the Berserker, as opposed to his role as the original Beefcake the Mighty. It is the band's last album to feature Jamison Land as Beefcake before his departure in 2019 as well as the last to be released through Metal Blade.
Bombworks Records is a record label from McKinney, Texas, that formed in January 2004. The label would sign several bands, including Seventh Angel, A Hill to Die Upon, Grave Declaration and Crimson Thorn. The label started careers for bands such as Holy Blood.
Tortured Conscience is a Christian extreme metal band from San Francisco, California.
