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Unshine | |
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| Origin | Finland |
| Genres | Gothic metal, symphonic metal |
| Years active | since 2000 |
| Labels | Crash Music, Massacre |
| Members | Susanna Vesilahti Harri Hautala Jari Hautala Jukka "Stibe" Hantula Teemu "Teemal" Vähäkangas |
| Website | www |
Unshine is a gothic metal, symphonic metal band from Helsinki, Finland.
Unshine was formed in May 2000, when Susanna Vesilahti visited the rehearsal of the band for the first time. The other members, who had known each other for some years from other projects, describe that as a "kind of a musical awakening".[ citation needed ] At that time the band had their rehearsal room at the cellar of the "Manala" restaurant in Helsinki.
The next years were filled with rehearsals and composing. At the beginning of 2002, Unshine self-produced their first demo which was called "Promo 2002", on which they published three songs. In the following summer, they had their first public gigs, which were followed by their second demo, "Promo 2003".
Their debut-album Earth Magick was recorded in 2004 by Low Frequency Records. One year later it was released in Finland and North-America by Crash Music. Unshine's second album, The Enigma of Immortals, was released in April 2008. In 2013, the third studio album Dark Half Rising was released via Massacre Records [1] followed by the album Astrala in 2018.
In reviews, their music has described as gothic metal and atmospheric symphonic metal, [2] [3] although they categorize themselves as druid metal. [4] Unshine's early style has been interpreted as being torn between bands like Nightwish and Lacuna Coil and a much more pop-oriented direction.
Nightwish is a Finnish symphonic metal band from Kitee. The band was formed in 1996 by lead songwriter and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen, guitarist Emppu Vuorinen, and former lead singer Tarja Turunen. The band soon picked up drummer Jukka Nevalainen, and then bassist Sami Vänskä after the release of their debut album, Angels Fall First (1997). In 2001, Vänskä was replaced by Marko Hietala, who also took over the male vocalist role previously filled by Holopainen or guest singers. Although Nightwish have been prominent in their home country since Angels Fall First, they did not achieve wider success until the release of the albums Oceanborn (1998), Wishmaster (2000) and Century Child (2002).
Edge of Sanity was a Swedish death metal band that, alongside Opeth, is commonly regarded as being the first to fuse extreme metal styles like death and black metal with progressive rock. The group was founded by Dan Swanö in 1989 and ended in 2003.
Cradle of Filth are an English extreme metal band formed in Suffolk in 1991. The band's musical style evolved originally from black metal to a cleaner and more "produced" amalgam of gothic metal, symphonic metal and other metal genres. Their lyrical themes and imagery are heavily influenced by Gothic literature, poetry, mythology and horror films. The band consists of its founding member, vocalist Dani Filth, drummer Martin 'Marthus' Škaroupka, bassist Daniel Firth, guitarists Marek 'Ashok' Šmerda and Donny Burbage, and keyboardist Zoe Marie Federoff.
Within Temptation is a Dutch symphonic metal band founded in April 1996 by vocalist Sharon den Adel and guitarist Robert Westerholt. They have been classified by critics as gothic metal and symphonic metal, although each album contains other influences outside these genres. Critics have noticed the band's experimentation and musical versatility. In an interview, den Adel said they fell into a symphonic rock genre with various influences. In another interview, den Adel stated that "We consider ourselves more an atmospheric melodic symphonic metal/rock band... In my opinion, we are not a gothic band but we have gothic elements".
Tristania was a Norwegian gothic metal band formed in 1996 by Morten Veland, Einar Moen and Kenneth Olsson. Tristania's music is usually classified as Gothic metal with death influences, due to its strong tie and legacy within the gothic metal history. Their songs largely dealt with dark and sentimental topics, including depression, sadness, suicide, love, absence, and anger.
Tuomas Lauri Johannes Holopainen is a Finnish musician, songwriter, and record producer, best known as the primary songwriter, keyboardist, and founding member of symphonic metal band Nightwish. He has stated that his songwriting is influenced by harmonic film music.
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Symphonic metal is a cross-generic style designation for the symphonic subsets of heavy metal music subgenres. It is used to denote any metal band that makes use of symphonic or orchestral elements. The style features the heavy drums and guitars of metal with different elements of orchestral classical music, such as symphonic instruments, choirs and sometimes a full orchestra, or just keyboard orchestration.
Agathodaimon are a gothic/symphonic black metal band from Mainz, Germany. Their early material can be categorized as Symphonic Black Metal and their later musical pieces can be categorized as Gothic/Black Metal.
Midnattsol are a gothic/folk metal band from Germany. The band was founded in 2002 by Norwegian vocalist Carmen Elise Espenæs and German guitarist Christian Hector. The band's name is a modified spelling of the Norwegian word midnattssol, which means 'midnight sun'.
Odes of Ecstasy is a Greek death metal/gothic metal band formed in 1993 by Dimitris Bikos and Iosif Nikou.
Gothic metal is a fusion genre combining the aggression of heavy metal with the dark atmospheres of gothic rock. The music of gothic metal is diverse with bands known to adopt the gothic approach to different styles of heavy metal music. The genre originated during the early 1990s in the United Kingdom originally as an outgrowth of death-doom, a fusion of death metal and doom metal. Lyrics are generally dark and introspective with inspiration from gothic fiction as well as personal experiences.
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Ceremonial Castings are an American black metal band from Washington. Described as "Bewitching Black Metal", they play a unique style surrounded in black magic & the arts of witchcraft. They embarked on a Central American tour with Norway's Gorgoroth in September 2012.
Throes of Dawn is a Finnish metal band. The group formed in 1994 by Henri Koivula (vocals) and Jani Heinola (synth). The band has been known as emotional dark metal. The band's sound is built on the combination of synths and guitars, laced with clean vocals and additional growling and screaming vocals. The lyrical concept of Throes of Dawn is often poetic, reflecting the deeper and darker aspects of the human psyche; solitude, feelings of loss, and the fears and pains of existence.
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Fall of the Leafe was a Finnish metal band formed in Uusikaupunki in 1996. The band released six studio albums before disbanding in 2007.
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