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.
Darkthrone is a Norwegian extreme metal band from Kolbotn, Akershus. Formed in 1986 as a death metal band named Black Death, in 1991 Darkthrone embraced a black metal style influenced by Bathory and Celtic Frost and became one of the leading bands in the Norwegian black metal scene.
1349 is a Norwegian black metal band from Oslo, Norway, formed in 1997. The band's name is a reference to the year the Black Death reached Norway.
Somewhere Far Beyond is the fourth studio album by German power metal band Blind Guardian. It was released in 1992 and produced by Kalle Trapp. The cover artwork was created by Andreas Marschall, who also drew the artwork for other Blind Guardian's releases. The album saw the band creating its own original sound, while still employing most of their speed/power metal techniques.
Destruction is a German thrash metal band formed in 1982. They are often credited as one of the "Big Four" of the German thrash metal scene, the others being Kreator, Sodom and Tankard. In addition to helping pioneer black metal by containing several elements of what was to become the genre, Destruction was part of the second wave of thrash metal in the mid-to-late 1980s, along with American bands like Testament, Sacred Reich, Death Angel and Dark Angel. For most of the 1990s, the band was not signed to a record label and was forced to self-produce their albums until they signed a contract with Nuclear Blast in the early 2000s.
Alter Bridge is an American rock band from Orlando, Florida. The band was formed in 2004 by vocalist and rhythm guitarist Myles Kennedy, lead guitarist Mark Tremonti, bassist Brian Marshall and drummer Scott Phillips. After their former band Creed became inactive in 2003, Tremonti and Phillips formed a new band with former bandmate Marshall and new member Kennedy; Alter Bridge was formally unveiled in January 2004, months before Creed's official breakup in June.
Take Them On, On Your Own is the second studio album by American rock band Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. It was first released in the UK on August 25, 2003, and in the US on September 2, 2003. The album was reissued with bonus tracks in 2008. The album cover is a homage to the film The Third Man.
Dark Endless is the debut studio album by Swedish black metal band Marduk. It was recorded and mixed at Hellspawn Studios during four days in June 1992 and released that December by No Fashion Records. Like many early black metal albums, it mixes black metal vocals with predominantly death metal stylings. Dark Endless is the only Marduk studio album to feature Andreas Axelsson on vocals and Rikard Kalm on bass, as by Marduk's second album Those of the Unlight, they had been replaced by Joakim Göthberg and B. War respectively.
In Sorte Diaboli is the eighth studio album by Norwegian symphonic black metal band Dimmu Borgir, released in 2007. It is the band's first concept album. A site on the Nuclear Blast website was created for In Sorte Diaboli, in which a new promotional photo can be seen and an audio sample can be heard. This would be the last album by Dimmu Borgir to feature ICS Vortex, Hellhammer and Mustis.
Secrets of the Moon were a black metal band from Osnabrück, Germany, founded in 1995.
Dark Fortress is a German melodic black metal band from Landshut formed in 1994. They have released seven studio albums, a split album and a demo album.
Human Fortress is a power metal band from Hanover, Germany. They call their style "epic battle metal."
Eidolon is an album by the German melodic black metal band Dark Fortress. This is the first album with Nassos as a real band member. Morean already appeared on Séance as the composer of the song Incide and the arranger of the string section used in the song While They Sleep. The reason he became a member was based on his musical and vocal abilities, his personage and dedication to extreme and dark music. He is responsible for the lyrical concept of Eidolon.
Séance is an album by German melodic black metal band Dark Fortress. Alex Krull mastered the album in the Mastersound Studios and the whole layout of the booklet was designed by Travis Smith.
Obscura is a German technical death metal band from Landshut, founded by guitarist and vocalist Steffen Kummerer in 2002. The band have released six studio albums, a compilation album and twelve music videos since its formation. Their latest album A Valediction was released on 19 November 2021 via Nuclear Blast.
A Reality Tour is a live album by David Bowie that was released on 25 January 2010. The album features 22 and 23 November 2003 performances in Dublin during his concert tour A Reality Tour. This is an audio version of the concert video of the same name, except that it adds three bonus tracks. The digital download on iTunes adds two more bonus tracks.
Dark Roots of Earth is the eleventh studio album by American thrash metal band Testament. It was released on July 27, 2012, in Europe, and four days later in North America by independent German record label Nuclear Blast Records. The album is available in three configurations, CD, CD/DVD and vinyl, with the latter two versions including four bonus tracks. The album was produced by Andy Sneap, who mixed and engineered the band's previous three studio releases, The Gathering (1999), First Strike Still Deadly (2001), and The Formation of Damnation (2008). The album artwork was created by Eliran Kantor. A music video was made for the track "Native Blood". Dark Roots of Earth entered the Billboard 200 at number 12, Testament's highest position ever.
Florian Magnus Maier, also known as Morean, is a German classical composer, guitarist, producer and vocalist of the bands Alkaloid, Dark Fortress, and Noneuclid. Although born in Munich, he has resided in the Netherlands for over 20 years, his primary occupation being a composer and guitar player within both the contemporary classical and heavy metal communities. Although mostly recognized within the metal community for his vocalist duties with black metal band Dark Fortress, Maier is also a vocalist and guitarist for progressive metal outfits Alkaloid and Noneuclid. Being a classical composer, Maier has also collaborated with Devin Townsend and Paradise Lost on orchestrations.
Last of Our Kind is the fourth studio album by British hard rock band The Darkness. Produced by the band's guitarist Dan Hawkins at his studio The Hawks Nest in Norfolk, it was first released on 27 May 2015 in Japan, and later in other territories, by Canary Dwarf Records. The album is the first and only by the band to feature drummer Emily Dolan Davies, who replaced Ed Graham in 2014 before leaving less than a year later. The album also features Frankie Poullain on lead vocals for the first time on the final track Conquerors. The album was promoted via PledgeMusic, with the band offering signed copies of the album on both CD and vinyl, as well as signed guitars, handwritten lyric sheets and setlists from the band's archive.
Kadavar is a German rock band from Berlin, founded in 2010. Their retro style, incorporating psychedelic rock and stoner rock, has been compared to bands of the 1970s hard rock/heavy metal era such as Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath. Kadavar currently consists of guitarist/lead vocalist Christoph "Lupus" Lindemann, drummer Christoph "Tiger" Bartelt and bassist Simon "Dragon" Bouteloup.
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