Epica

Epica performs a blend of progressive metal, gothic metal and symphonic metal. Another component of Epica's style is power metal; their former guitarist Ad Sluijter having described the band as "a bridge between power metal and gothic metal. Vocalist Simone Simons has expressed a preference for the group to be described as symphonic metal though the founder of the group Mark Jansen notes that they do not mind being called gothic metal.

The music of Epica is aggressive, bombastic and excessive with some songs being "epic, grand and majestic" and others "more subdued and introspective. The band is also known to have progressive tendencies while a gothic atmosphere and sentimentality is also present in their music.

Epica uses a "trademark of many symphonic and gothic metal bands" in contrasting "two extremes, death grunts and brutality on one side, airy female melodiousness on the other." Eduardo Rivadavia of Allmusic notes that the band's "attraction ultimately hinges on exploring the sonic contrasts of light and dark; the punishing intensity of those elephantine guitar riffs and hyperactive drumming cast against the soaring, layered sweetness of the orchestrated strings and keyboards." Simone Simons delivers operatic vocals in a mezzo-soprano range though she has also been known to sometimes sing "with a clear alto voice that has a flawless tone and a lot of emotion." Mark Jansen delivers death grunts "that are secondary to Simons' singing, but very important in terms of balance and variety." The group is also known to employ human choirs and orchestras with additional embellishments such as spoken word recitals and lyrics in Latin and Arabic.

MAYHEM

Mayhem is a Norwegian black metal band formed in 1984 in Oslo, Norway. They are regarded as one of the pioneers of the influential Norwegian black metal scene. Mayhem's career has been highly controversial, primarily due to the suicide of vocalist Dead, murder of guitarist Euronymous, and their violent stage performances.

Over time Mayhem has evolved through a variety of black metal styles, delving at times into areas of dark avant-garde industrial and electronica.

BEHEMOTH

Behemoth is a Polish blackened death metal band from Gdańsk, formed in 1991. They are considered to have played an important role in establishing the Polish extreme metal underground, alongside bands such as Vader, Decapitated, Vesania and Hate.

Until the late 1990s, the band played a traditional black metal style with heathen lyrical content, but soon changed to that of occult and thelemic themes written by their lead vocalist Nergal and Krzysztof Azarewicz. With the 1999 release of Satanica, the band showed their presence in the blackened death metal scene, while retaining their own signature style characterized by the drum work of Inferno, multi-layered vocals and Nile-style Middle-Eastern influences. Even though Behemoth has been labeled as death metal, black metal or thrash influenced, Nergal has mentioned that he doesn't like the band to be labeled.

EMPYRIUM

Empyrium started as German symphonic folk/doom metal and later neofolk band founded in 1994 by Markus Stock (mostly using the pseudonym Ulf T. Schwadorf) and Andreas Bach, but later many other participated. Their first two albums, A Wintersunset and Songs of Moors and Misty Fields, following a demo entitled ...Der wie ein Blitz vom Himmel fiel..., can be considered doom metal (or, as some will argue, folk metal) with folk and symphonic influences. They combine harsh and operatic male vocals, with deep slow guitar parts and atmospheric sounds.

The following two albums, Where at Night the Wood Grouse Plays and Weiland are acoustic, display a constantly heavier neofolk influence. Instead of keyboards, the band switched to acoustic instruments such as acoustic guitars, violins, cellos and the flute. Operatic male vocals are still used, and in Weiland the band uses choir vocals and the piano. Though the music still remains dark and melancholic, Empyrium's music has largely moved away from heavy metal. Many people consider these two albums to be the apex of Empyrium's skill and some accomplishment of the band's - or rather Schwadorf's goal.

The band draws inspiration from nature as some of the album titles reveal. Consequently, Empyrium are often referred to as a dark folk or apocalyptic folk band, expressing in their music (most conspicuously in the last two albums) sentiments akin to those expressed by some other 'legislators' of the genre, as Forseti, Orplid, and Ulver (Kveldssanger). Connoisseurs of dark folk will mention that many of Empyrium's compositions are true representatives of the genre, as, for instance, Dying Brokenhearted, The Shepherd and the Maiden Ghost ("Where At Night..."), Heimwärts, Waldpoesie, Die Schwäne im Schilf ("Weiland"). Intricately woven and always impregnated with an exquisite wistfulness or profound, remorseful sadness (Dying Brokenhearted), these compositions may be regarded as a manifesto of the dark-folkloristic gloomy and pantheistic Weltanschauung. The lyrics are mostly in English, though in Weiland only German is performed. After their last album, Weiland, the band decided to stop recording. As Schwadorf himself put it,

DRACONIAN

Draconian is a gothic doom metal band, formed in Säffle, Sweden in 1994. The band consists of Anders Jacobsson (vocals, writing), Lisa Johansson (vocals), Johan Ericson (guitars, writing), Jerry Torstensson (drums, percussion), Daniel Arvidsson (guitars), Fredrik Johansson (bass), and Andreas Karlsson (keyboards, programming).
In May 1994, drummer and vocalist Johan Ericson, bassist and vocalist Jesper Stolpe and guitarist Andy Hindenäs assembled the band Kerberos, initially playing melodic death metal with black metal influences. Seven months later, lead vocalist and lyrics composer Anders Jacobsson joined the band, and its name changed to Draconian.
Their first demo — Shades of a Lost Moon — was recorded in 1995. The demo counted with flutist and vocalist Jessica Eriksson, keyboardist and vocalist Susanne Arvidsson and with a special participation of Andreas Haag on the introductory section of “My Nemesis”. The album was released in February, 1996.