Celtic metal is a subgenre of folk metal that developed in the 1990s in Ireland. The genre is a fusion of heavy metal and Celtic rock. The early pioneers of the genre were the Irish bands Cruachan, Primordial and Waylander. The genre has since expanded beyond Irish shores and is known to be performed today by bands from numerous other countries.
Folk metal is a fusion genre of heavy metal music and traditional folk music that developed in Europe during the 1990s. It is characterised by the widespread use of folk instruments and, to a lesser extent, traditional singing styles. It also sometimes features soft instrumentation influenced by folk rock.
Mayhem is a Norwegian black metal band formed in Langhus in 1984. They were one of the founders of the Norwegian black metal scene and their music has strongly influenced the black metal genre. Mayhem's early career was highly controversial, primarily due to their notorious live performances, the 1991 suicide of vocalist Per Yngve Ohlin ("Dead") and the 1993 murder of guitarist Øystein Aarseth ("Euronymous") by former member Varg Vikernes of Burzum.
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 through 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.
The Dark Saga is the fourth studio album by American heavy metal band Iced Earth. Released on July 23, 1996, it was the band's first album to feature drummer Mark Prator, as well as the last with bassist Dave Abell and lead guitarist Randall Shawver. The Dark Saga was also the first Iced Earth album to be co-produced by Jim Morris, who since then has worked on all of the band's releases.
Primordial are an Irish extreme metal band from Skerries, County Dublin. The band was formed in 1993 by bassist Pól MacAmhlaigh and guitarist Ciarán MacUiliam. Their sound blends black metal and doom metal with Celtic music.
The Gathering Wilderness is the fifth studio album by Irish extreme metal band Primordial, released in 2005. It was their debut for the Metal Blade label. The digipak comes with a bonus DVD featuring a documentary detailing the making of the album. The album is in part dedicated to the memory of Quorthon.
Imrama is the debut studio album by Irish extreme metal band Primordial. It was originally released in 1995. In 2001, it was re-issued by Hammerheart Records with two bonus tracks. It was reissued again, this time by Metal Blade Records in 2009 as CD/DVD digipack in slipcase. It is a part of collector series of the first 4 albums reissues.
Spirit the Earth Aflame is the third studio album by Irish extreme metal band Primordial. It was originally released in 2000.
Storm Before Calm is the fourth studio album by Irish extreme metal band Primordial. It was originally released in 2002.
Dead Again is the seventh and final studio album by the American gothic metal band Type O Negative, released before the death of frontman Peter Steele in 2010, and subsequent dissolution of the band. It was released on March 13, 2007, through record label Steamhammer, a subsidiary of SPV.
The Burning Season is the first EP by Irish extreme metal band Primordial, released in 1999. The title track would be featured on their follow-up full-length Spirit the Earth Aflame as well.
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.
Alan Maurice Averill is an Irish musician most notable for his vocal duties for the extreme metal band Primordial. He has also participated in several side projects, including Void of Silence, Blood Revolt, and Twilight of the Gods.
Redemption at the Puritan's Hand is the seventh studio album by Irish extreme metal band Primordial, recorded at Foel Studio, Wales, with producer Chris Fielding and released on April 26, 2011. The album charted in Finland (#23), Germany (#31), Sweden (#54) and Switzerland (#90).
Blood Revolt are a black metal band featuring A.A. Nemtheanga of Primordial along with J. Read and Vermin, who previously played together in Axis of Advance and Revenge. Described as "intensely militaristic", Blood Revolt attracted controversy with its 2010 debut, Blood Revolt, due to lyrical content that assumed the perspective of a suicide bomber. Nemtheanga explained that the violence of the lyrics was based in realistic subject matter rather than "cartoon imagery or fantastical pseudo religious hocus pocus". For Nemtheanga, the subject matter is more effective owing to its realism:
this is the sniper filing down the pin before picking off innocents, this is the suicide bomber's sweaty greasy hand on the ignition, dead bodies piled in the politics of the mass grave. Unforgiving and unrelenting elitism.
Where Greater Men Have Fallen is the eighth studio album by Irish extreme metal band Primordial. The album was released on November 25, 2014, through Metal Blade Records. A music video for the track 'Babel's Tower' was released on November 24, 2014.
Meliora is the third studio album by Swedish rock band Ghost. The album was produced by Klas Åhlund and released on August 21, 2015. The album was generally well received, placing on several music publications' lists of the best heavy metal albums of the year and winning Best Hard Rock/Metal Album at the 2015 Grammis Awards. Lead single "Cirice" won the 2016 Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance. In September 2016, the band released a special edition of the album, called Meliora Redux.
Exile Amongst the Ruins is the ninth studio album by Irish extreme metal band Primordial. The album was released on March 30, 2018 through Metal Blade Records. It is the last album with Michael O'Floinn as the group's second guitarist.
How It Ends is the tenth studio album by Irish extreme metal band Primordial. It was released on 29 September 2023 through Metal Blade Records and was produced by Chris Fielding.
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